“Angus holds some very fond memories for many”.
Kasumi Ninja is an ill-fated Atari Jaguar title released in late 1994. Like many fighting games of the time, it tried to grab a slice of the street-brawling pie that was so lucrative in the mid-nineties, thanks to the success of Street Fighter and Fatal Fury. Its use of motion-captured characters and extreme violence certainly put it firmly in the Mortal Kombat clone camp, and it was duly ripped to shreds by the gaming press, with UK publication C&VG awarding it 51& and branding it “a highly unenjoyable game”. It wasn’t all bad news, though, as a unique story has emerged concerning Scottish heritage, martial arts skills and new-found fame at video game conventions.
Our story starts with Ian McCranor, who began practising martial arts at the age of twelve following a visit to Coventry Boys Club. He started with Aikido and boxing and explains to Time Extension that it was “just some fun” at first but became serious when he joined a karate club. You may ask what this has to do with Kasumi Ninja, but a chance meeting led to McCranor getting involved in the game industry when he least expected it. He was hired by developer Hand Made Software as part of the motion capture team, and had no clue what to expect as he travelled up to Manchester in 1994.
Read the full article on timeextension.com
“Angus holds some very fond memories for many”.
Kasumi Ninja is an ill-fated Atari Jaguar title released in late 1994. Like many fighting games of the time, it tried to grab a slice of the street-brawling pie that was so lucrative in the mid-nineties, thanks to the success of Street Fighter and Fatal Fury. Its use of motion-captured characters and extreme violence certainly put it firmly in the Mortal Kombat clone camp, and it was duly ripped to shreds by the gaming press, with UK publication C&VG awarding it 51& and branding it “a highly unenjoyable game”. It wasn’t all bad news, though, as a unique story has emerged concerning Scottish heritage, martial arts skills and new-found fame at video game conventions.
Our story starts with Ian McCranor, who began practising martial arts at the age of twelve following a visit to Coventry Boys Club. He started with Aikido and boxing and explains to Time Extension that it was “just some fun” at first but became serious when he joined a karate club. You may ask what this has to do with Kasumi Ninja, but a chance meeting led to McCranor getting involved in the game industry when he least expected it. He was hired by developer Hand Made Software as part of the motion capture team, and had no clue what to expect as he travelled up to Manchester in 1994.
Read the full article on timeextension.com
