"Demon Ninja" Review

Isto seria mais giro em Português, né? ;)

This time A Máquina do RPG brings you a review of Demon Ninja, the TTRPG of survival and military horror set in a "fictional medieval era Japan cursed by an epidemic of parasitic tentacles, war, demons, and deadly shinobi".

It's always difficult for me to review an RPG with a theme inspired by feudal Japan. My samurai RPG references are Legend of the Five Rings and Blood & Honor (both from the brilliant John Wick); or in the case of ninjas (albeit in a modern setting), Shinobigami (in my Top 2 best TTRPGs of all time). So, a very high bar.

(A Máquina do RPG itself has on hiatus, somewhere in a forgotten drawer, a draft of its Solorized Ninjæ, that aims to be the ultimate stealth TTRPG!)

Therefore, if on the one hand I am passionate about everything involving ninjas and samurai, on the other hand it gives me a keen critical sense in the face of aesthetics and values ​​that are dear to me.

Contacted by the Disciple Studios, A Máquina do RPG agreed to review their latest Demon Ninja game. The publisher itself is no noob in these wanderings and A Máquina has known it since the launch of Radokai, the game that debuted the Drop1 system, which Disciple Studios is proprietary.

But let's start with the cover of Demon Ninja.

The AI origin of the cover is obvious but very well done.

At first glance, the art's AI origin is obvious. At the same time, the cover awakens a sober but magnificent palette. The musty atmosphere that surrounds the ninja's corrupted body contrasts beautifully with the pink of the sakura branches that float peacefully and seemingly in a slow fall.

However, A Máquina do RPG has some aesthetic sensitivity (what some might call "prejudice") when it comes to the art of AI (Artificial Intelligence). And this cover denotes it. On the other hand, A Máquina takes into account that not all AI art is necessarily happy or unhappy. It simply has its own visual identity and a tendency towards a certain amount of repetition. Anyone who has seen a lot knows what I mean. In a very "crude" way, I can say that all AI art looks the same and that first impression layer always triggers before any visual message that the art producer intends to pass. That is, the "vehicle" takes precedence over the "passenger" in terms of initial impact. This is a long discussion that A Máquina does not want to develop here, but which it takes to conclude two things:

1. With so much beautiful art inside and a deluxe graphic novel (read below) to match, was AI art on the cover really necessary? We are talking about the cover! It's just the most important piece of art in any book, RPG or otherwise! To future TTRPG designers: if you have absolutely no graphics, artistic skills or money for all your game art, at least make sure you have a good original cover art! This is the pearl I leave to you.
   
   
2. Truth be told, the art producer (the guy who types in keywords on Midjourney) in Demon Ninja does it right! Normally I see this coming from a mile away but in this case I hesitated for a microsecond, not because it didn't look like AI but because it has such a beautiful composition, namely the happy marriage of colors. (Not wanting to give an unfair opinion, A Máquina asked the Disciple Studios about the origin of the cover and they confirmed that it is AI).

At the time of writing this review, the game is not yet available for purchase, but the publisher hopes that in the future, in digital format, the buyer will be entitled to:

• 175-page digital book of rules, setting and templates;
• 9-page color comic strip.

It goes without saying that for $2.99 ​​there's no excuse not to play Demon Ninja.

At least for the price but... is it even worth taking a spin on it? Let's analyze then.

The Demon Ninja system is a variant of the aforementioned Drop1, in this case The Dojo Version.

3D6 is all you need to play Demon Ninja.
In this example you can see a Critical Failure, since two of the dice have "1".

In this version, the mechanics are streamlined and enjoy a character of their own. The mechanical resolution of the actions is as follows:

"Whenever a player wishes for his character to attempt a task that has a reasonable chance of failure, or a task of some importance to the story, the GM should ask him to perform a Dice Check. The player should then roll 3D6.

1. If 2 or more dice roll “6”, then the player had a Critical Success;
2. If 2 or more dice roll “1”, then the player had a (...) Critical Failure;
3. Otherwise, the player picks a die and drops (...) it from the pool (usually, the lowest roll). The two remaining dice are added to the Character Traits (...) and the result of that sum is compared to the action's Difficulty Rating. (...) Being assisted by another character in a task (...) grants him a single bonus of +1 to the final result."

Simple, isn't it? And a different and distinct system!

Do you want another pearl?

Critical Successes earn +1 XP while Critical Failures penalize you by -1 XP, apart from any other gain that might come from the normal adventure assignments.

And one more:
There is individual XP and collective XP! If that doesn't encourage a spirit of cooperation, then I don't know what will!

The mechanics all fit into 10 pages of the rulebook alone. Yes, you read well. Everything else is details about the game universe, concepts and aesthetic inspiration.

And speaking of aesthetics!

The art

Having already dispatched the less pleasant part about the cover, A Máquina finally feels free to talk about what in counterpoint is a powerful valence of Demon Ninja: its art!

M. Solid (the author of Demon Ninja) may be the brain behind this whole project, but his eight (!) artist friends are not far behind him when it comes to showing his fascinating and grotesque universe. Although the art team is extensive, there is continuity in their style. This makes A Máquina think that M. Solid communicated the vision of the game well to his team and/or that at least everyone played Demon Ninja and that the game's sensations left a strong impression on them, given the aesthetic coherence. When asked if there was a concept artist involved, Disciple Studios confirmed to A Máquina that it had none. In this way, although the risk of discontinuity between the pieces was high (eight artists), this did not happen. There is one style, however, that stands out in a positive way: that of Kunoke and his graphic novel.

Oh, wait! You mean graphic novel?!

Hell yeah, baby! You bet!

A Máquina confesses that it didn't count on a completely indie game to contain luxury items, much less a suggestive graphic novel in the book: The Waves! True! If on the one hand M. Solid in his work delights us with the universe of the game, Kunoke does it with a wonderful and stylistic approach in his comics, more cinematic and less manga than one could expect.

If there were any doubts about the gloomy atmosphere of this universe, they would be completely dispelled with The Waves.

Kunoke's talent in The Waves speaks for itself and needs no defending.

The best

Pedro Reis is the creator of Demon Ninja and his nom de guerre is M. Solid (which is a cool name and reminds me of both M. Night Shyamalan and Solid Snake!). This work of his starts with a touching tale of (dis)hope and redemption, as if illustrating what to expect from a typical Demon Ninja climax, when War and Love touch each other in the darkest and least obvious moments. In this case the tale of Akane, the beautiful kunoichi (ninja woman) who with watery eyes leaves the Shadow War behind her back "and the darkness takes the rest".

Intense but true.

The credits come next, like a prologue to a movie imagined in our heads as soon as we pick up Demon Ninja and eagerly devour its pages. When I was still yearning for the tale of the beautiful Akane, I found myself reading a disclaimer where basically Demon Ninja warns the reader that the content that follows is not for everyone ("grotesque Japanese demons, vicious supernatural shinobi, relentless ninja cults, horrifying and explicit killing techniques") but doesn't regret it. And just in case the reader doesn't take it seriously, there's another disclaimer right below to let him know that M. Solid doesn't intend to hype with his statement, but just to be honest about expectations about the contents of his work. From this point onwards, the notice is given and the responsibility rests entirely with the reader.

The universe of Demon Ninja comprises a myriad of curiosities ranging from martial arts to mysticism, passing through a perverse lens of visceral details. If, on the one hand, the text anchors us with concepts of Shintoism and Buddhism (like any well-intentioned RPG set in an imagined version of feudal Japan), on the other hand, it presents us with the sordid hardness typical of violent action and horror films of the 90s. A delightful perspective for those who know how to appreciate it and denotes a deep knowledge of History, Anthropology and Cinema by the author. If nothing else, it's at least a love letter to all those RPGs that could be like Demon Ninja but didn't dare to be.

It is worth noting the effort not only to write the rules clearly and with as little text as possible, contrasting with the generous texts on all the varied details of the game universe, so that the Game Master who is less proficient in this aesthetic is not only informed but -perhaps- left with a thirst for more Japanese culture and 90s cinema.

The Character Creation chapter, while long, is very easy to follow and extremely well driven by the author's voice.

The book meticulously explains step-by-step how to create your favorite Demon Ninja!

The worse

I won't consider the game's harshness and overt violence to be a bad thing, even under today's sensitive lens. They are their own characteristics and allude to a 90's hardcore sensibility (which really appeals to A Máquina). However, this game universe approach reduces Demon Ninja to an audience that while potentially more passionate about this extreme experience will also be considerably less vast.

It's unfortunate that there's only a digital version of the game, when it could be a fine artifact on the RPG shelf of any avid collector of obscure games. For all the art (but one) it has, it's certainly worth the effort, especially with the graphic novel included!

Unfortunately the worst thing about the game is precisely what stands out the most and (in my opinion) unnecessarily and even unfairly: its cover. It doesn't do justice at all to the great game that Demon Ninja is and nobody knows. And it certainly won't do anything to make it known.

The verdict

Pros

• Careful game universe composition and a unique twist approach;
• The comic that accompanies the book is a luxurious bonus;
• Drop1: The Dojo Version features innovative mechanical solutions and a distinct way of gaining (and losing) XP;
• The art! Such glorious art from the inside to The Waves!
• At $2.99 ​​there's no excuse not to play Demon Ninja.

Cons

• It's not a game for beginners. Although relatively simple, it is designed with an intentional learning curve that does not seek a quick assimilation;
• Digital version only. Disciple Studios, we want the physical book of Demon Ninja, you hear me?!
• The cover is AI. It does not do justice to the magnificent inner beauty of the book. Who knows in a future physical version?