Red Ninja : End of Honour

🎮 What Kind of Game It Is

Red Ninja: End of Honour is an action-adventure / stealth game set in feudal Japan. It was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 (also on Xbox) and features a mix of ninja stealth, acrobatics, and brutal melee combat. 

🗡️ Story & Main Character

You play as Kurenai (which means “Crimson”), a young woman whose father — the inventor of a powerful weapon — is murdered by a ruthless clan known as the Black Lizard. After witnessing his execution, Kurenai is left for dead, but rescued and taken in by a ninja clan. 

Trained into a ninja, she vows vengeance. Her mission becomes to recover her father’s weapon designs — and to destroy the Black Lizard clan responsible for her family’s downfall. 

🧰 Gameplay & Mechanics

• Perspective & Combat: The game plays from a third-person view with free camera control. You fight enemies using a unique primary weapon: a tetsugen — a wire weapon that can have different attachments (e.g. a blade, a blunt weight, or a hook). With it, Kurenai can perform lethal attacks, dismemberments, or use it to swing or climb. Stealth & Approach Options: You’re not forced into open combat. The game encourages stealth, infiltration, disguise, or cunning tactics such as silent kills or even a seduction-based “stealth kill” option. Dragging bodies to hide them and avoiding detection are core parts of many missions. 

• Ninja Mobility & Acrobatics: Kurenai can jump, stealth-walk, run, wall-jump, cling to ledges or ceilings, swing from ropes or the tetsugen hook — letting you navigate rooftops, leap over obstacles, and reach hidden paths. 

• Power-Ups & Abilities: As you dispatch enemies without dying, you can build a “ninjutsu gauge.” When filled, this allows temporary enhanced abilities — kind of like a slow-motion mode — that help you deal with multiple foes or take them down more efficiently. 

🎭 Tone, Style & Overall Experience

• The game is dark, violent, and gritty: many kills are brutal and graphic, involving dismemberments, decapitations, etc. 

• It blends historical / feudal-Japan themes with over-the-top ninja fantasy: secret clans, treachery, vengeance, and shadowy intrigue. 

• There’s a mix of stealth and action: you can sneak through levels, avoid guards, or go in guns (or swords) blazing — giving players freedom in how they approach challenges. 

✅ Strengths & What It Offers

• The tetsugen weapon is creative and versatile — giving the game a distinctive feel compared to standard swords or swords-and-shuriken ninja games. 

• Good variety: stealth, acrobatics, platforming, and combat all mix — so gameplay doesn’t feel one-dimensional.

• For players who enjoy darker, edgier ninja stories and don’t mind mature, violent content, it delivers a raw, vengeful revenge fantasy. 

⚠️ Weaknesses & What to Know

• The game has often been criticized for clunky controls, awkward camera, and inconsistent mechanics, which can make fighting or platforming frustrating at times. 

• The presentation and structure — tone, violence, and the mixture of stealth & gore — make it more suitable for mature audiences. 

• The overall reception was mixed: critics often found flaws in pacing, polish, and design, though some players appreciate the core ninja fantasy and mechanics. 

🎯 Who It’s For

You’ll probably enjoy Red Ninja: End of Honour if you like:

• Ninja-themed games with a dark, revenge-driven storyline

• A mix of stealth, acrobatics, and brutal melee rather than just sword-slashing or ranged combat

• Games that let you choose how you approach a mission — stealth kills, sneaking, or all-out combat

• Mature, gritty atmospheres instead of cartoony or heroic tones