Ninja Gaiden 4 Brings The Series Back To Its Gloriously Bloody Roots
Platinum is back.
With the meteoric rise of the Soulslike this decade, I’ve found myself yearning for the return of high-speed action games. As more games ape Dark Souls, we’ve seen less in the vein of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and Ninja Gaiden. But there’s a sea change coming, as developers again try to embrace the high-intensity combo-driven madness of the past, and Ninja Gaiden 4 is about to lead the charge.
My gut reaction to playing Ninja Gaiden 4 was melancholic confusion. It was abundantly clear from the start that Platinum Games, the studio behind Metal Gear Rising and Bayonetta, had planted its flag. That led to some worry that this game might not feel enough like Ninja Gaiden, especially considering Platinum’s recent lackluster output. But after I sank more than five hours into Ninja Gaiden 4, it grew on me in remarkable ways. This isn’t a game trying to simply revive the feeling of the series; it’s a fusion of Platinum’s expertise and Ninja Gaiden’s blood-soaked hyperviolence. A true meeting of two beloved action game styles, it finally feels like Platinum is back on top of its game.
While Ninja Gaiden has always featured sci-fi elements, this entry feels much more high-tech than past games.
Ninja Gaiden 4 fuses these two approaches in combat, but also with its aesthetics. This long-awaited sequel takes place after the events of Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, in a near-future Tokyo that’s been plunged into chaos by the return of the Dark Dragon. You play as two characters, the iconic Ryu Hayabusa and a new ninja named Yakumo, who’s part of the mysterious new Blood Raven Clan. It appears the story will flip between these two characters, who, at least initially, are on opposing sides.
I was able to play through the first four levels, primarily as Yakumo. I could give you a detailed story breakdown, but it would mostly sound like nonsense full of bizarre jargon and wacky new characters. I mean it as a compliment when I say that Ninja Gaiden 4’s story feels like just as much of a strange fever dream as past games. It makes little sense, but when you’re dismembering cyborg samurai, the absurdity works.
The more important aspect here, of course, is combat. And the more time I sank into Ninja Gaiden 4, the more I started to appreciate its complexities. First, it’s important to explain the distinction between Platinum’s style of action game and Ninja Gaiden's. While they’re ostensibly similar, there’s an important difference. Platinum’s style often feels heavy and crunchy, relying on a variety of systems and combos to build out a satisfying feeling.
Ninja Gaiden 4’s combat is a bit weightier than past entries, and takes a little getting used to.
Ninja Gaiden, on the other hand, focuses heavily on viscerality, simplifying command inputs to make the game feel as punchy as possible. That’s what made Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2 so much fun to play: you can pull off crazy moves without memorizing combos, but you’ll feel like an unstoppable monster if you put the effort in.
Ninja Gaiden 4 smartly takes elements from both styles, leaning into Ninja Gaiden’s visceral brutality while fleshing things out with extended combos and alternate combat modes. Yakumo has multiple weapons, and in my demo, I had access to dual katanas and a lance. You can swap on the fly, executing light and heavy combos in rapid succession. The two key differences added here are a dynamic parry system and an alternate attack mode, called Bloodraven Form.
Bloodraven attacks deplete your blood gauge when used, but are drastically more powerful than the normal attacks that build the gauge up. But the real key with Bloodraven Form is how it can be used to interrupt and stagger enemies. You can break an enemy’s guard, or stop dangerous combos in their tracks. Enemies will glow with a flashing red icon to indicate a powerful attack, and at the right moment, you can either dodge it or use a Bloodraven attack to stop it and stagger an enemy. Normal attacks can also be deflected and parried into a counterattack with the right timing.
Ninja Gaiden 4 nails the series’ sense of smooth movement, letting you effortlessly pull off wall runs and crazy jumps.
These two features quickly become vital to combat, forcing you to juggle combos, parries, and Bloodraven attacks in quick succession. Combat is demanding, but nails a sense of speed and intensity. Like in past games, you’ll chop off enemy limbs, and any dismembered enemies can be dispatched immediately with a seamless, brutal, and very messy execution attack. That sense of speed is heightened further by Yakumo’s wide array of movement options, including wall runs, a grappling hook, and even the ability to jump off of enemies’ heads.
While Bloodraven Mode adds more Platinum-esque combo options into the mix, that sense of finesse helps the game still feel uniquely Ninja Gaiden. That’s even more true with Ryu, who plays a bit differently from Yakumo thanks to unique moves and magical Ninpo attacks. Ryu is bigger and bulkier than Yakumo, which translates to more raw power, making his combat style feel more in line with Ninja Gaiden 2.
The combat especially shines in the two tough-as-nails boss battles I fought, one against a hulking robot samurai and another against a terrifying courtesan demon in Tokyo’s red light district. Both fights honed in on the need for deflecting, dodging, and smart blood gauge management, and the way heavy rock tracks layered in at key moments and got my adrenaline pumping gave me serious Metal Gear Rising flashbacks.
Ninja Gaiden 4’s boss battles harness the same wild energy of Metal Gear Rising.
There’s a lot the game does to break up its core combat as well, including alternate pathways with hidden treasures and sub-missions that earn you money to buy extra healing and buff items. The entire second mission even has a gimmick where you’re sliding on rails like Sonic the Hedgehog, dodging missiles, and using your ninja agility to jump over obstacles, wallrun, and hop between lines.
Despite my initial trepidation, Ninja Gaiden 4 scratched an itch that’s been pestering me for years. The more I played, the more I felt at home with the game’s intensity, and eager to dig into even more harrowing challenges. The marriage between Team Ninja and Platinum Games has a learning curve, but it works surprisingly well. There are new elements, but this is still Ninja Gaiden in all its bloody glory, and boy, it feels good to be back.
