Mark of the Ninja

Mark of the Ninja is unusual in that it mixes the stealth and sidescroller genres. The player must avoid flashlight beams and stick to the shadows while moving through levels.

The nameless main character is a ninja from the Hisomu clan. The story begins when the clan’s dojo is attacked; the protagonist is awakened from his rest after receiving an extensive tattoo. He is able to rescue his sensei, Azai, who tells him the meaning behind the tattoo—made from a rare desert plant, it endows its host with heightened senses but leads to eventual insanity. Hisomu clan ninjas must swear to commit ritual suicide when the madness begins.

An Eastern European corporation, Hessian, is at fault for the attack on the Hisomu dojo. The protagonist and his fellow ninja, Ora, are tasked with revenge. It turns out that the special flowers from which the clan gets its tattoo ink have been lost; Azai failed to protect them, and thus he is bent on taking the Hessian corporation’s weaponry in order to increase the clan’s diminishing strength.

Upon discovering Azai’s supposed treachery, the protagonist returns to the dojo with Ora in order to kill his sensei, thus maintaining the clan’s honor. However, when he confronts Azai, Azai claims that Ora is a hallucination resulting from the tattoo’s madness. The player is then given the choice to either kill Azai or kill Ora; the first choice leads the protagonist to become the insane leader of the Hisomu clan, repeating history, while the second choice ends with him committing seppuku.
The game’s themes include personal responsibility and honor.

• Mark of the Ninja is a game about Japanese characters, but it is made from a Western perspective. How do you feel about taking a real world idea (ninjas, Japanese culture) and making them into a fantasy? Do you think there could be some problems with this approach, even when done respectfully?
• Is killing someone for reasons of honor ever justified?