Last year’s Game Awards kicked offwith the reveal of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound,an old-school side-scrolling throwback that came as quite the pleasant surprise, given that the series hadn’t had a new entry in over a decade. Well, at today’s Xbox Developer Direct Showcase, Team Ninja revealed an even more pleasant surprise: Ninja Gaiden 4, the next mainline title in theNinja Gaidenseries since 2012. And if that wasn’t enough, there was another surprise waiting when it came to the game’s developers, as this fourth entry will be a collaboration between Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, meaning that two masters of gaming action finally get to team up. And as seen in the announcement trailer below, they definitely appear to be going all-out for this comeback.
Young Blood
Oddly, much like Ragebound, Ninja Gaiden 4 also places emphasis on an entirely new protagonist, this time a young “Master Ninja” by the name of Yakumo, part of the Raven Clan and thus a rival to the Hayabusa Clan, though Ryu will still be playable at certain parts. The setting is that of Tokyo, with the events taking place after the defeat of the Dark Dragon, a recurring villain in the series. Unfortunately, it looks like the Dark Dragon’s husk has created a never-ending “Rain of Darkrot,” signifying that he’s still alive in some way. Yakumo’s mission is to defeat the Dark Dragon, but keeps clashing with Ryu along the way, with Team Ninja Producer Fumihiko Yasuda stating that his motives will be revealed throughout the game, as we see just what his reasons for interfering with the mission are…
“We are staying true to the challenge and deep action that defines the Ninja Gaiden series, while incorporating the speed and dynamic expression of PlatinumGames.” - Yuji Makao, Producer and Director, PlatinumGames
Yudai Abe, Level Design and Environment Lead over on the PlatinumGames side of things for Ninja Gaiden, showed us during the presentation just how this cursed rain will come into play, warping the city around Yakumo and Ryu and making things more chaotic for them, as if the returning Fiends and other various adversaries such as the Divine Dragon Order guarding things weren’t enough already. Luckily, Yakumo has a set of skills that includes rail traversal, the ability to swing around gaps (both making use of a further emphasis on verticality in levels), and a new “Bloodbind Ninjitsu Nué Style” (alongside his regular Raven style) that allows for wide-range and instant-kill attacks, as well as a way to deal with larger groups of enemies, while Ryu has his own unique play style.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is described as being accessible for veterans and newcomers alike, and is still set to satisfy those who crave the classic hardcore combat of the previous game while innovating a bit thanks to Platinum’s experience with even speedier and stylish combat. All this means Ninja Gaiden fans will be eating well later this year, with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound providing an early appetizer this Summer before Ninja Gaiden 4 arrives in Fall 2025 for XSX, PC, and PS5 from Koei Tecmo (though granted, the fans are likely already chowing down on Ninja Gaiden II Black, having been shadow-dropped earlier today…).
