[quote name='RollingSkull']One magical Japanese man's vision does not a good game make, and given the amount of people involved in video game development, "So and so's Vision" isn't really a correct phrase anyway.[/QUOTE]
Sure, just having THE guy doesn't make a great game. Even having Miyamoto can't save certain games (Star Fox Adventures comes to mind). That said, Ninja Gaiden's revival on the Xbox and its later iterations (with the exception of Sigma 2) ARE Itakagi's games. Of course, other developers are involved but Itakagi is the man leading the charge and making sure the game fits into his idea of what it should be.
I'm not sure where you're going with criticizing my "vision" comment. We hear it all the time and it makes perfect sense to me. The ipod, iphone and Apple's industry decisions are planned and executed as part of Steve Jobs' vision. Mario, Zelda, and the many iterations have been projects led by the visionary Miyamoto and he crafts and nurtures each game to fit his vision of what he wants it to be. Tim Schaffer certainly does the same as the leader for Psychonauts and the recent Brutal Legend. And of course, there's David Jaffe and his Twisted Metal and God of War games.
Itakagi games have a certain flavor to them. They're gritty, unsympathetic, and tightly programmed pieces of software. Just because other people are involved doesn't mean they're coming up with what the game should be from a holistic standpoint.
There's a reason why Itagaki was always the pointman on these games. He designed them; he ensured the character and spirit of the titles matched the vision he had for them. Games that lose their original creators tend to suffer and those who play them often can sense that something went wrong (remember the latter stages of Super Mario Sunshine and how unnatural or clanky they felt? might be because Miyamoto took his hands off the project towards the end. Or remember GoW3 and how the story went WTF at the end? Might be because Jaffe never led that project.)
Lead directors matter a LOT. Whenever new games are announced, I always look to see who's behind the director's chair. Is it a Schaffer? Mikami? or a Miyamoto? Stamper Bros.? Or Hashimoto? Their games are usually not only good, but bring a certain character/style along with them.
Seriously, how can one say a game doesn't follow a director's vision? We make that association all the time for movies; it's no different here.