is fictional character from the ''
Ninja Gaiden
is a series of action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American ''Ninja Gaiden'' title means "side story" in Japanese. The o ...
'' series of video games by
Team Ninja
is a Japanese video game developer, and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995 as a part of Tecmo. It is founded and formerly led by Tomonobu Itagaki, later by Yosuke Hayashi, and is best known for the ''Ninja Gaiden'' action-adventure gam ...
and
Tecmo
, was a Japanese video game corporation founded in 1967. It had its headquarters in Kudankita, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its subsidiary, Tecmo Inc, was located in Torrance, California. Tecmo was formerly known as Tehkan.
Tecmo is known for the ''Captain ...
(
Koei Tecmo
is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Games ...
). She was introduced in the 2004
action game ''
Ninja Gaiden
is a series of action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American ''Ninja Gaiden'' title means "side story" in Japanese. The o ...
'', where she is a human/demon hybrid who serves as a supporting
non-playable character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
and an ally of the protagonist
Ryu Hayabusa. Rachel is playable in ''
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
is an action adventure hack and slash video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox. It was released in March 2004. Players control Ryu Hayabusa, a master ninja, in his quest to recover a stolen sword and avenge the sl ...
'' and ''
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2'', stylized as ''Ninja Gaiden Σ2'', is a port of the 2008 Xbox 360 video game '' Ninja Gaiden II'', and was developed by Team Ninja exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2009. It includes the entirety of the original story m ...
'' (including their ''Plus'' ports for the
PlayStation Vita), as well as in ''
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate'', ''
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' is a 2015 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Arcade. It is the third and final updated version of 201 ...
'', and ''
Dead or Alive 6
is a 2019 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 1, 2019, and w ...
'', and as a guest character in ''
Musou Orochi 2 Special'' and ''
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper''. The character has been mostly well received, especially noted for her sex appeal.
Appearances
In 2004's ''
Ninja Gaiden
is a series of action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word "gaiden" in the North American ''Ninja Gaiden'' title means "side story" in Japanese. The o ...
'', Rachel is a fiend hunter whom the game's protagonist
Ryu Hayabusa meets in the Holy Vigoor Empire, where she is on a mission to destroy the fiends, as well as find her missing sister, Alma, who has become a Greater Fiend. Soon after they first meet, she is captured but soon saved by Ryu. After the battle, she stays with
Ayane
Ayane (/aˈjaˌnɛ/) is the romanization of a feminine Japanese given name. Literally translated it means "colorful sound" (彩音 or 綺音).
* or Junko Hirata, Japanese singer-songwriter
*, Japanese television personality
*, Japanese badminton ...
to recover from her ordeal. She later leaves to search for Alma and follows Doku's spirit through the torn fabric of space and time. She then fights Ishtaros and Nicchae. Despite her best efforts, she is defeated and held captive again. Doku plans to use Rachel as a sacrifice for Alma's awakening. After Ryu wins, Doku is about to kill Rachel, but Alma rush in to protect her sister, taking the fatal blow, and dies in Rachel's arms. Rachel helps Ryu escape the Underworld and witnesses the battle between him and Murai. The remake ''
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
is an action adventure hack and slash video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox. It was released in March 2004. Players control Ryu Hayabusa, a master ninja, in his quest to recover a stolen sword and avenge the sl ...
'' tells some the events from her perspective and shows how her actions affected the main plot.
Rachel returns in ''
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2'', stylized as ''Ninja Gaiden Σ2'', is a port of the 2008 Xbox 360 video game '' Ninja Gaiden II'', and was developed by Team Ninja exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2009. It includes the entirety of the original story m ...
''. In her own chapter, after Ryu and the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
agent Sonia left
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, Marbus takes over with the disappearance of the
Statue of Liberty, resulting in a Fiend infestation. Rachel appears and braves through the hellish night slaying Fiends until she confronts Marbus atop a skyscraper. Rachel defeated Marbus, taking off his other horn and killing him.
Rachel made her first fighting game appearance in ''
Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate'' and ''
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' is a 2015 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Arcade. It is the third and final updated version of 201 ...
'', and returned to the series in ''
Dead or Alive 6
is a 2019 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 1, 2019, and w ...
'' as a post-release downloadable content character. She also appears in the crowd-fighting games ''
Musou Orochi 2 Special''
and ''
Warriors Orochi 3
''Warriors Orochi 3'', originally released as in Japan, is a 2011 hack and slash video game developed by Tecmo Koei and Omega Force for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This is the fourth installment of the crossover series ''Warriors Orochi'', a ...
'' (including in the game's duel mode), and in the smart phone action card game ''Hyakuman-nin no Ninja Gaiden''. Her costume is available in ''
Super Swing Golf Season 2''
and a 1/6 scale PVC figure of Rachel was released by Kotobukiya in 2006.
[
]
Design, gameplay and promotion
Team Ninja
is a Japanese video game developer, and a division of Koei Tecmo, founded in 1995 as a part of Tecmo. It is founded and formerly led by Tomonobu Itagaki, later by Yosuke Hayashi, and is best known for the ''Ninja Gaiden'' action-adventure gam ...
's Yosuke Hayashi said that when they "were designing new features for ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma'' based on feedback from users, the number one request was - make Rachel playable!"[ This happened even despite the original director and Team Ninja's first boss ]Tomonobu Itagaki
(born April 1, 1967) is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the '' Dead or Alive'' series and also reviving the ''Ninja Gaiden'' franchise in 2004. Joining Tecmo in 1992, Itagaki produced two video game franchises that were com ...
's stance against making Rachel, and the female characters in general, playable in ''Ninja Gaiden'', which was carried into '' Ninja Gaiden Black'' and the original ''Ninja Gaiden II''. He also said in 2007: "Obviously, we love the character Rachel, and within the ''Ninja Gaiden'' world she plays a really important part, and I'm glad that she's as popular as she is." In 2009, Yosuke called her "a very important part of Team Ninja's games, now and in the future." ''Dead or Alive 6
is a 2019 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It is the sixth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 1, 2019, and w ...
'' director and producer Yohei Shimbori said he is "personally keen" to include Rachel as DLC in this game. Eventually, Rachel was announced to be part of Season 3 Pass DLC.
Regarding the process of turning Rachel into a playable character for ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma'', Hayashi (who directed the game), stated: "As you know our goal with yuHayabusa is to make the coolest action game character. So what we're saying now is that if Hayabusa is the coolest male action-game character, and the best-controlling, fastest action-game character, then let's make Rachel the best female action-game character. As you know, there are other action games coming out for PS3 with female lead characters, but I can guarantee you that Rachel is going to kick their asses. We've tweaked everything so that she plays differently than Hayabusa, but is still fast and controllable and feels—I don't have a better way to put it—female. Her actions aren't as calculated and aren't as efficient as Hayabusa's. She has a certain elegance to her that's explicitly female, and so just going in there and playing with her and seeing how she controls, it's obvious that we're going to have a really great character on our hands."[ A female motion capture actor was employed to create the character's movement.][Ninja Gaiden Sigma Preview for PS3 from 1UP.com]
(article unavailable, mirrored here ). ''Sigma 2'' animation director Sosuke Wakamatsu said they wanted Rachel to be "sexy and powerful".
In ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma'', she is playable for about 20% of the game in her own extra missions, including one in the demo version of the game, Rachel is controlled in a similar way as Ryu but has different attacks and animations and wields the Great Hammer, a powerful weapon designed to eliminate fiends. She can also use a grappling weapon resembling Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...
's projectile and Link's hookshot,[ and use sorcery] to create a powerful shockwave. The player is able to customize the character's defensive and offensive capabilities by swapping her earrings, which works in similar way as with Ryu's amulets.[ The game also allows the player to change Rachel's unlockable][ hairstyles, including long- and short-haired brunette options. ]Downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enabli ...
(DLC) for ''Sigma'' includes a set of survival mode missions called "Rachel Master" and coming with an additional hairstyle. Her addition was the most publicized new feature in the game. In '' Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus'', Rachel gains several alternate costumes, such as a business suit.
In ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2'', she is also a playable character, wearing the same "S&M-style leather outfit" as she did in the original version of the first game as well as some new alternate costumes available via DLC and in ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus
''Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2'', stylized as ''Ninja Gaiden Σ2'', is a port of the 2008 Xbox 360 video game ''Ninja Gaiden II'', and was developed by Team Ninja exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2009. It includes the entirety of the original story mo ...
'', including one as part of GameStop's pre-order
A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...
bonuses. She is also available in the multiplayer co-op
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
modes, including self-contained "Team Missions" with their own rules. GamesRadar described this "deadly dominatrix
A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for infli ...
" as "a berserker-style character, the most destructive of all three" alternative playable characters (her, Ayane and Momiji
''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. ...
), in part to her "stupidly powerful machine-gun." As in the case of other female characters in the game, Rachel's bust answers to the motion sensing Sixaxis
The Sixaxis (trademarked SIXAXIS) is a wireless gamepad produced by Sony for their PlayStation 3 video game console. It was introduced alongside the PlayStation 3 in 2006 and remained the console's official controller until 2008. The Sixaxis was ...
controller.
In ''Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate''/''Last Round'', Rachel is a heavyweight power-type fighter of a weight class is similar to that of Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
's. Her fighting style is also reminiscent of Spartan-458's in ''Dead or Alive 4
is a 2005 fighting video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox 360. It is the fourth main entry in the '' Dead or Alive'' fighting series.
The story of the game focuses on the continuing war between the Mugen Tenshin ...
''. GameStop pre-order bonuses included a "more mature" bonus costume for Rachel. ''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round
''Dead or Alive 5 Last Round'' is a 2015 fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Arcade. It is the third and final updated version of 201 ...
'' pre-order bonuses included a beach party costume for Rachel from Best Buy. Her wardrobe in ''Last Round'' also include a destructible bodysuit designed by Tamiki Wakaki, and the downloadable costumes of Lady Freise from '' Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess'', Kai from the ''Samurai Warriors
is the first title in the series of hack and slash video games created by Koei's Omega Force team based closely around the Sengoku ("Warring States") period of Japanese history and it is a sister series of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series, relea ...
'' series, Dela from Nihon Falcom
is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', ''The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneeri ...
's '' Brandish'' games, Daidōji from Tamsoft
is a Japanese video game developer, founded on 26 June 1992. Its current president, Toshiaki Ōta, previously worked at Toaplan as one of the six original team members and head of software development.Translationby Gamengai. ).Translationby Shmu ...
's ''Senran Kagura
is a video game series created by Kenichiro Takaki, produced by Marvelous and mostly developed by Tamsoft. The franchise revolves around groups of female shinobi, and has received manga and anime adaptations. The anime has been licensed by F ...
'' games, Imina Ibuki from Square Enix's ''Schoolgirl Strikers'', Jurie Crotze from Gust's '' Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea'', and the uniform of the Military Police from the manga and anime '' Attack on Titan''.
Reception
GamesRadar's Ben Schroder predicted that "buxom femme fatale Rachel" would be "perhaps the biggest selling point" of ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma'' and the website's Mikel Reparaz described her as one of defining characters of the post-2004 ''Ninja Gaiden'' games. Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
's Rob Fahey opined that Rachel's mission in ''Sigma'' were so interesting that they addition is "arguably the biggest headline feature after the graphical upgrades." Gavin Ogden of '' Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') also agreed with this sentiment, calling her "one of the biggest draws to ''Sigma'' for those who hammered the Xbox version to death," including himself, and praising Rachel for her gameplay traits; ''CVGs very positive (9/10) review stated that in the headline the "sweet" addition of Rachel "brought sexy back to the hardest ninja game ever." In a similarly rave (also 9/10) review by GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, Kevin VanOrd wrote "the biggest addition is that Rachel is a new playable character. She's a badass buxom babe who (...) may be top-heavy, but she still manages a good number of terrific moves."[ In their review, PSU.com too stated that "the biggest addition in ''Sigma'' is the ability to play as Rachel herself," adding that "despite the gameplay with Rachel being a tad stark, watching her gracefully end an enemy's life is more than satisfying." Less impressed with Rachel, but not the game overall (a nearly-perfect review score of 9.3), Chris Roper of ]IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
opined her levels were "a decent addition, but they're not fantastic" as "she's not as fun as Ryu;" reviewing ''Sigma Plus'', IGN's Jack DeVries likewise called her "a fun, though less exciting, foil to Ryu."
Rachel has been often regarded as one of the sexiest female characters in video games. As such, she topped the countdown of "gamer babes" by GameTrailers in 2007, ranked third on the list of top "video game chicks" by ActionTrip that same year, and was included among the top nine "video game vixens" by ''Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
'' in 2009. She was ranked as the 23rd "hottest game babe" by GameDaily
GameDaily (GD) was a video game journalism website based in the United States.
It was launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads. The site changed its business model from a flat fee ...
in 2008, showcased among some of the sexiest "babes of computer games" by ''Fakt
''Fakt'' ( Polish for "fact") is a Polish tabloid daily newspaper published in Warsaw, Poland, by Ringier Axel Springer Polska (a Swiss-German joint-venture subsidiary of Axel Springer SE and Ringier), and is one of the best-selling papers in Pol ...
'' in 2009, and chosen as the 11th "hottest" video game character by Larry Hester of ''Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' in 2012. MSN
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
had her featured in their 2008 lists of "the best-looking game characters with perfect figures," Furthermore, ''PLAY
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
'' ranked her as sixth top "hottest" blonde in games in 2010, and UGO.com
UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States.
History
The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
ranked her as one of the top 25 "hot ninja girls" in all media in 2011. GamesRadar listed Rachel her alongside Lara Croft
Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around th ...
and '' Tekkens Nina and Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
as "top-heavy examples" of video game characters. her breasts have been included on many lists of the finest in video games, including by ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'', ''Thanh Niên
''Thanh Niên'' (Vietnamese: ''Báo Thanh Niên'' "Young People's Newspaper") is a Ho Chi Minh City-based newspaper in Vietnam. It was the second most circulated newspaper in Vietnam in 2009, with an average circulation of 300,000. ''Thanh Niên N ...
'', Nerdcast, NetEase, TGbus.com, and Tom's Hardware
''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...
. Her bust was also chosen by GamesRadar UK as one of 2007's best of the year, and placed at the seventeenth and seventh place 2011's lists of top breasts in video game history compiled by GameFront
GameFront is a video game website that provides patches, demos, modifications, and other user generated game related content to users. In addition, the site provides editorial content around the modding community and the wider gaming industry. T ...
and Joystick Division
Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the publicati ...
, respectively.
Some others have criticized aspects of Rachel's character design. Calling ''Ninja Gaiden'' the "whoriest game in history" while simultaneously ranking it as the fourth best game of 2004, Eurogamer staff wrote they did not even mean how "Rachel dripping in beastie-ooze is one of the least PC sights of the year." In 2008, Winda Benedetti of NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
' InGame included Rachel's outfit among the five most preposterous getups in games, commenting that it might not be a practical costume to wear even for a magical battle against demons. GameSpot's VanOrd wrote the "heroine Rachel (the buxom beauty from ''Ninja Gaiden Sigma'') is so impossibly curvaceous that it is a wonder she can stand upright, let alone wield her heavy hammer with such aplomb;" GamesRadar used her image to illustrate "the average bust size is EE" in the article about "10 lies games tell us about women". Including her among ten female characters who have never been featured on their games' cover arts, Samir Torres of VentureBeat
''VentureBeat'' is an American technology website headquartered in San Francisco, California. It publishes news, analysis, long-form features, interviews, and videos.
History
The ''VentureBeat'' company was founded in 2006 by Matt Marshall, ...
wrote that while "Team Ninja sexually exploits all of their female characters, yet Rachel somehow got axed from every modern ''Ninja Gaiden'' box art."
References
External links
''Dead or Alive 6'' character profile
{{Dead or Alive series
Dead or Alive (franchise) characters
Demon characters in video games
Female characters in video games
Fictional demon hunters
Fictional half-demons
Fictional hunters in video games
Fictional hammer fighters
Koei Tecmo protagonists
Ninja Gaiden characters
Twin characters in video games
Video game characters introduced in 2004
Video game characters with superhuman strength
Video game characters who use magic
Woman soldier and warrior characters in video games