In a world of gaming dominated by the ever expanding range of Souls-likes, it can be easy to forget that character action used to be king. High octane Japanese game series like Ninja Gaiden used to dominate consoles, but over the years this iconic Team Ninja franchise has steadily faded into irrelevancy. It’s easy to see why, when Ninja Gaiden 3 managed to cater to neither existing fans or newcomers. Whatever spark and soul that entry lacked, Ninja Gaiden 4 makes up for in spades, and it’s an awesome reminder of why the classic action game will never truly die.
Don’t let the numeral in the title fool you – there isn’t any homework or catching-up you need to do in order to get into Ninja Gaiden 4. Part of that is helped by the fact that our perspective has shifted to Yakumo, a new character and a skilled ninja from the Raven Clan. They’ve lived in the shadow of the Hayabusa Clan for ages, but the actions of that clan have led Yakumo and the Raven Clan to pick up the pieces and jump into the spotlight in order to fulfil an ancient prophecy, even if it goes against the plans of Ninja Gaiden hero Ryu Hayabusa himself.
After some very truncated recapping of the events of the series up until now, Ninja Gaiden 4 tosses you into Yakumo’s journey to end the Black Dragon once and for all. As a novice to the franchise, it’s easy to follow along with what’s happening here because so much of the game is focused, first and foremost, on being cool as hell. You’re a super powered cyber ninja in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, and I really don’t need much more explaining than that in order to get into the action. It also helps that the cast of characters you interact with are all pretty fun and flashy, like the snarky shrine maiden Seori. Plus, when Yakumo’s path does cross over with Ryu Hayabusa’s, you feel the weight of this moment and get hyped up!
It’s the gameplay that steals the show in Ninja Gaiden 4, though. When it was revealed that this title was a collaboration between Team Ninja and Platinum Games, I could barely contain my excitement. I was pinching myself at the thought of combining the legacies of these two titans of action gaming, and I was absolutely not disappointed. I am blown away by how perfectly Ninja Gaiden 4 manages to blend the depth and unrelenting difficulty of the franchise with the high-octane, over-the-top flash and fun of Platinum Games. It’s all tied together by an onslaught of wild hyper-violence that’s woven throughout the gameplay and the visuals.
Yakumo dishes out light and heavy attacks, but can also expend his Bloodbind Gauge to enter Bloodraven form and deliver especially strong blows. You’ll slowly build this gauge over time, but if you launch a heavy attack when an enemy is dismembered you’ll perform an instant Obliteration attack that rewards you with a good chunk more. It’s a loop of mechanics that reward you with constantly staying on the offensive, but even your defensive tools are all about attacking. In this game, your parry is the attack button – predict an enemy attack and meet it with your own, and you’ll stagger them instantly. Enemies can bust out super-strong attacks that can’t be parried, but guess what? Interrupt those with a Bloodraven attack and you’ll break their stance and stagger them even harder.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is effectively the Doom Eternal of character action games. The entire combat loop is built around forcing you into a dance where every tool in your arsenal is a piece of offensive art, all looping togetherlike a blood-soaked puzzle. As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock multiple weapons, new attack abilities, and weapon-specific bonus attacks for Yakumo. Playing as Ryu Hayabusa, meanwhile, retains all these mechanics but with a simplified arsenal that blends all the best elements of his attack abilities from prior games. Any time I felt myself stuck on a hard fight, having a wealth of other attack abilities and combo strings to experiment with made it so satisfying to bash my head against that wall over and over until I finally made it through.
It doesn’t have to be quite so hard, though. There’s a wealth of difficulty and accessibility options in Ninja Gaiden 4 that make it easy to fine-tune the experience to meet your skill level and enjoyment. You can swap between base difficulty modes at any time – Hard Mode hurts and even Normal Mode packs a punch, but there’s an easier Hero Mode available that makes a lot of encounters easier without becoming an outright cakewalk. Meanwhile, specific options like auto lock-on behavior, controller remapping, and even a bunch of UI customisation make this one of the most approachable character action games I’ve played. One frustration with no solution was the lack of a truly quick-restart for failed battles. Certain boss fights, side missions and trial encounters had me dying and retrying for ages, and the wait in-between death, loading, and re-entering the arena often frustrated me far more than the difficulty of the fight itself.
Remember that Doom Eternal comparison I made earlier? It extends even deeper into the soundtrack. Every battle and stylish set-piece is paired with energetic music that fits the cyberpunk slaughter vibes perfectly. And in important battles and big boss fights, Ninja Gaiden 4 busts out it’s secret weapon: shredding guitars. The pairing of hyper-violent ninja action with loud, wild guitar is so tapped into the same rule-of-cool energy that made Ninja Gaiden so iconic to start with, and it reminds me of the best of Platinum Games titles, too.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is such a breath of fresh air. Every combat encounter ends with my fingers shaking and my eyes wide, and it’s a thrill that kept me chasing the next one all the way until I finished the game. Unrelenting difficulty combined with jaw-dropping speed and style make for a game that lives up to the pedigree of its franchise, its developers, and the heights of action gaming as a whole.
