Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will prove that western games are "fun", says Inafune

Keiji Inafune believes Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will help overcome a Japanese prejudice against western-developed games.

Speaking to Polygon, Inafune said he believes the game's western aesthetic may lead to slow take up in Japan, but that once gamers get their hands on it they will change their tune.

"It's a visual style of American comics, which was developed by Spark Unlimited. It is different from a lot of Japanese games. But we believe our chance is to gain interest through its uniqueness," he said.

"Once Japanese players demo the game they will realize it is not an American game; It is a fun game. All bias will be gone and we will bridge the gap by doing so."

It seems appropriate to point out at here that many western games sell like hotcakes in the west and generalisations like "Japanese gamers don't like western games" are something of an exaggeration.

Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z is due on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the first quarter of 2014.