British tabloid The Telegraph have interviewed the man behind Ninja Gaiden II, designer Tomonobu Itagaki, about the violence in Ninja Gaiden. They questioned the violent content on the game, which is yet to be rated by the BBFC, and compare it to Manhunt 2. However Itagaki has stood up for the game saying that "Violence is not about cutting an enemy into pieces or seeing a lot of blood." He believes "real violence" is about inflicting "dishonoring wounds" and that "you would really have to hate your opponent and this is not what this game or this character is about."

"Violence is not about cutting an enemy into pieces or seeing a lot of blood," he says. "That's not what real violence is." To emphasise his point, Itagaki reaches for a sheathed samurai sword mounted in his office, and holds it out in front of me.

"In the Japanese warrior tradition you would shame an opponent. A real sword expert would aim his slice at the first four fingers of his opponent's sword hand. This would cost a warrior his livelihood and someone suffering this wound would normally commit suicide rather than live without their sword hand.

"That's what I consider to be real violence," he says, replacing the sword in its mount. "It's not about lopping off limbs. It is about the relationship between you and your opponent. In order to inflict these dishonouring wounds you would really have to hate your opponent and this is not what this game or this character is about."