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It’s been a long time since the last mainline Ninja Gaiden game; 13 years since Ninja Gaiden 3 and 11 years since Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. This is partly due to poor critical and financial reception of those titles, but also because character action games had fallen to the wayside towards the end of the seventh console generation. Few studios were delivering high-octane action experiences, but one you could always rely on was PlatinumGames.
It’s almost poetic, then, that Ninja Gaiden’s 3D return is being co-developed by PlatinumGames and Team Ninja. A collaborative effort between one of the progenitors of the character action genre and one of the modern masters of said genre is sure to yield promising results. If my time with Ninja Gaiden 4’s early chapters is anything to go by, that sentiment is shaping up to be true, though not without a couple of uncertainties.
The early slice of Ninja Gaiden 4 that I was lucky enough to experience covers its opening chapters, following series newcomer Yakumo, a member of the Raven Clan. Where most Ninja Gaiden games present the player with the imminent threat of demons invading Earth, this entry shakes things up a bit, as its major conflict has already been resolved. The Dark Dragon and the demons have returned, only to be stopped by a lone ninja – Ryu Hayabusa.
Despite Ryu’s best efforts, the Dark Dragon’s presence remains and looms over the world. Its serpentine skeleton snakes through impossibly tall skyscrapers, bringing about a cursed miasma called the Rain of Darkrot. It’s prophesied that the Raven Clan will be the ones to finally thwart the threat, with Yakumo and his team taking on the assignment to free the world of the Dark Dragon’s curse. Things take a pretty wild turn early on, forcing Yakumo to release the seals that bind the Dark Dragon and slay it once and for all.
It’s an intriguing setup that introduces this new cast of characters nicely. Yakumo’s team has a good bit of banter between them, and he does feel distinct enough from Ryu without being as annoying or crass as the likes of Yaiba. I do think he does come across a bit too self-serious in these early hours, but I’m hoping that future chapters and encounters with Ryu will continue to develop his personality. It’s clear Yakumo resents the Hayabusa Clan, setting the two protagonists up for some interesting conflict across the story.
When it comes to gameplay, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a great time with Ninja Gaiden 4. It’s an exhilarating experience that retains much of what made early Ninja Gaiden so engaging. One slip-up, even on normal difficulty, can cost you a significant chunk of your health bar. All enemies, even those that’ve been dismembered, are a threat. It forces you to be on alert at all times, think about how to most efficiently dispatch your foes, and consider engagements in the context of your environment and enemy types being thrown at you.
Yakumo is similar to Ryu in how he plays, but has a few unique systems only available to him. Most prevalent is his Bloodraven Form, a technique that manipulates blood to alter weapons, extending their range or adding new functionality to their attacks. Going into Bloodraven Form is all managed by a meter, which is charged through general combat, but tosses in an extra element of resource management. You’ll dip in and out of it often, as it can break guards and interrupt certain unblockable attacks.
To shake things up, this slice of the game had two of Yakumo’s weapons unlocked. The first is his basic dual katanas, which join up to create an intimidatingly large odachi when in Bloodraven Form. I was also able to use a rapier-style sword that allows for nimble movement and swift combos, which transforms into a giant blood drill if you’re in Blood Raven form. Both feel varied and were a lot of fun to experiment with, each bringing iconic techniques like Yakumo’s own variant of the Izuna Drop and Flying Swallow.
It’s also very, very bloody. Dismembered enemies can still be lethally executed through the visceral Obliteration Techniques, showering Yakumo and arenas in a red haze. Entering Yakumo’s rage mode allows him to charge attacks in Blood Raven Form, with a full charge cleaving most basic enemies in half. All of these elements provide brief respite from the action, but never hold long enough to upend combat’s breakneck pacing.
While none of the story missions in the preview were centered around Ryu, he was playable in the chapter selection mode. He’s mostly unchanged from previous entries, though this build only had him equipped with the Dragon Sword. It’s a blast to play as Ryu again in a mainline Ninja Gaiden game; he’s just as lethal as always, and it feels great to pull off techniques from the old games. He even has his own type of Blood Raven Form called Shimmer Form, which is functionally similar but has preset attacks tied to each face button that consume his Shimmer gauge.
My only real concern with Ryu thus far is that it seems the Dragon Sword is his only available weapon. This was a massive pain point in Ninja Gaiden 3’s original release, and while Ninja Gaiden 4 is a bit different given Yakumo’s presence, I truly hope we get the opportunity to play around with Ryu’s other weapons.
My biggest concern at this stage (though I’m not sure you can call it that) is just how PlatinumGames Ninja Gaiden 4 is. Dodging and parrying have always been a part of the older games, but the successful use of these mechanics was always understated, as if it were something Ryu could do in his sleep. There’s something innately satisfying about a no-frills last-minute parry or dodge that opens an enemy up for your own onslaught of steel.
These systems are still present in Ninja Gaiden 4, only with a bit more fanfare about them. I’ve always loved Bayonetta’s Witch Time, but there’s something odd about seeing a brief slowdown when you execute a perfect dodge in Ninja Gaiden 4. Parries have a similar short freeze-frame effect that looks cool, but I do feel it takes away from that unmatched power fantasy that comes from a perfect parry immediately into a swift execution in Ninja Gaiden Black or Ninja Gaiden 2.
This is also undoubtedly the best Ninja Gaiden has ever looked. This rain-soaked interpretation of a cyberpunk Tokyo is haunting. The husk of the Dark Dragon can be spotted amongst colossal structures, and decrepit, abandoned alleyways are lit up by the fluorescent lighting of Divine Dragon Order outposts. I will say that these four chapters felt a bit visually samey, but I’m sure the full game will bring much more in the way of visual variety.
There are countless other elements of Ninja Gaiden 4 that I haven’t touched on here. This is a Ninja Gaiden game through and through – a damn good one if its early hours are any indication of the game’s broader quality. While it’s yet to be seen if Platinum’s hallmark design flares are a good fit for Ninja Gaiden’s core power fantasy, I’m eager to see more of this revived world and fully immerse myself in the bloody carnage of Ninja Gaiden once again.
