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We Must Teach Younger Gamers the True Meaning of Ninja

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Commenter Kevwood112 worries that we as a community may have lost sight of what it means to be a ninja, which should be a good thing, as you aren't supposed to see them anyway. Let's Speak Up about it.

My friend and I were have a discussion the other day about ninjas and how they are portrayed now, particularly in video games, anime, and manga. I made an observation on whether or not the true meaning of being a ninja has been lost nowadays.

Now, I enjoy playing games like Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, and the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games, but sometimes I can't help but say that these guys aren't truly ninja. As I'm sure most of you know, being a ninja was about being stealthy and leaving little to no trace of who was responsible for the kill.

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In terms of gameplay, I can understand the need to add a bit of flair and action to true but somewhat dull ninja combat (with the exception of the Tenchu series I suppose, but I've never played the games so...).

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I guess what I'm trying to say is that while it's fun to rampage through hundreds of ninja, leaving body parts all over the place or launching a giant fireball while announcing the name of jutsu, I hope that the true meaning of being a ninja is not lost nowadays, especially with the younger generation of gamers.

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About Speak Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes what they have to say has nothing to do with the stories we run. That's why we have a forum on Kotaku called Speak Up. That's the place to post anecdotes, photos, game tips and hints, and anything you want to share with Kotaku at large. Every weekday we'll pull one of the best Speak Up posts we can find and highlight it here.