Ever since I cut my teeth, or rather my sword on Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, I have been been itching to jump into Ninja Gaiden 4 — the crazy collaboration between Team Ninja and PlatinumGames. What follows is an old school, yet flawed experience. The brutal and fast combat is held back by the fact that it is a pretty standard action game. The idea of returning to a long dormant franchise can be tricky. Do you lean on old mechanics, and run the risk of that tried and true formula becoming stale? Or do you introduce something new, and possibly alienate your hardcore audience? Ninja Gaiden 4 tries to do both.
Yakamo Is Not Ryu, And It Shows
This time around, you’ll find yourself in the shoes of Raven Ninja Clan member Yakamo, probably one of the most bland and millk-toast video game protagonists to ever guided by a controller. Yakamo is stoic and cold, but still manages to be a proper bad ass. He is the kind of character with a that rough gravely voice, but he comes off as trying way to hard sound battle hardened. Ninja Gaiden 4 takes places in a far flung techno-future where the Raven clan is working to prevent the dragon lord from being resurrected — by predictably, killing a bunch of demons.
The Combat Is Fast, Brutal, And Bloody
Ninja Gaiden4’s combat is where is really shines. It takes heavy cues from the formula established in Ninja Gaiden 2. You will slash and dismember your way through demons, soldiers and square off against bosses in a gloriously blood-soaked tornado. The action is fast and intense. It retains the challenge you remember from Ninja Gaiden games of old, all dripping with that over-the-top Platium Games’ style of cool.
Is Ninja Gaiden 4 A Sekiro-Like?
Another great thing about the combat is that is takes notes from Sekiro, placing a great emphasis on parrying and counter-attacking than in previous games. I was excited about the Sekiro-like DNA, but unfortunately, it never really leans into it enough for my liking. Ninja Gaiden 4 definitely has the flair, complete was fast and flashy sword play. Yakamo can also stealthily take down enemies and some areas allow to perching on rooftops, making for awesome blood soaked surprise attacks. However, there is also no crouch button, so it never leans fully into its stealth elements.
Parry Or Die
The Ninja Gaiden 4 has always been known for its challenge — but just how challenging is the fourth entry in the series? Even with its aforementioned nods to a certain FromSoft game, fear not — Ninja Gaiden 4 is not a proper soulslike. That being said, it still a rock solid challenge. Those hungry for soul thumbs can even crank up the difficulty for an even more intense challenge. And it makes the fight for achieving that end of level high score all the more satisfying. The game does a good job of easing your into the curve of its challenge but by its second chapter, being a master of parrying is a must. You will find yourself easily ripped apart by mid-level enemies, and even more challenging end level bosses.
The game is challenging, and while not on the same level of a souls-like it also isn’t as fleshed out as it needs to be in terms of balance. Many of the later levels are way too long. And a lack of enemy variety and level design make it feel very tedious at times. It feels less like a balanced challenge and more like a game that tries to over whelm in sure numbers. You will spend a large portion of levels fighting the same enemies over and over, and with little no variation. It’s not as noticeable until later in the game, but it’s there.
Yakamo will have plenty of tools at disposal to disembowel through the onslaught. The raven class ninja will begin the game with dual swords, his Takeminakata. As you damage enemies, you will charge a “Blood Raven” meter allowing the use of special moves from a spectral blood blade. Ninja Gaiden 4 has a very robust skill tree that will unlock new moves from all your base weapons and their Blood Raven modes. Defeating bosses will unlock new weapons, all of which can be switched to on the fly. Weapons combos and moves provide a choice of speed or raw power and give the game a great choice of different combat options depending on your play style.
The stories in Ninja Gaiden has never been super deep, but its story in part 4 seems particularly generic, and I can’t help thinking the fault lies in the the unnecessary inclusion of its new ho-hum protagonist. Ragebound introduced us to Kenji, and I was endeared to him because of how honor bound and similar he was to Ryu. Speaking of Ryu Hayabusa, I struggle to think why he wasn’t included as a main protagonist in this game. He does make an appearance, but he just plays a secondary part in the story — way less than he should. Yamako story being in a “future timeline” but not so far removed that Ryu could not have been the central character. He does a have a role in the story, but I won’t go into that here. All of the most interesting story bits revolve around Ryu’s role in the story, making Yakamo impact feel as though he could be replaced by just anyone.
Combat Is Great, Everything Else Is Just Okay
In terms of graphics, Ninja Gaiden 4 visuals are also a bit of let down. The original trilogy definitely had an exaggerated anime look them them, and part 4’s hyper realism looks a bit — and Yakamos character model seems a bit small when contrasted to his surroudings. Yakamo’s level designs are okay, but lack of the variety of the previous games. Although it seems to have ditched the closed in corridors of the old trilogy in favor of more open areas. It could be argued that the game isn’t too graphically demanding to prioritize the speed of the gameplay — but it feels underwhelming. Especially considering how long its been since we have had a mainline title in the Ninja Gaiden series.
Without question, Ninja Gaiden 4 has amazing combat. Yakamo journey will send you head first like a blood-soaked death tornado. Those seeking old school gory action will love it, and its challenge will satisfy long time fans of the series. If you can turn your brain off and enjoy its forgettable story, there is a fun game here. But its lacking in depth for those looking for the next great ninja revenge tale.