Ninja Gaiden carries a certain amout of clout within the gaming community, especially with action fans. Debuting in arcades and on the NES in 1988, the Ninja Gaiden series has always prided itself on intense combat and tough challenges. That was especially prevelent in 2004’s Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox, which rejuvinated the franchise for the 21st century. However, the seriess had something of a lull period after 2014. In fact, there hasn’t even been a mainline entry in the series for 13 years, heaping a lot of pressure onto the shoulders of Ninja Gaiden 4.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is a solid return for the franchise, with a softer inital learning curve that quickly transforms into the kind of quick-paced hack-and-slash that Ninja Gaiden fans have been dying for. While the execution of the game is comendable and the combat is as tight as ever, there’s a certain amount of repeition that settles in not to long into the game’s action. A great pick for genres fans and newbies curious about the franchise, Ninja Gaiden 4 has a few stumbles that keep it from reaching the level of effectiveness that previous entries achieved.
SCORE: 3/5
Set years after the events of 2012’s Ninja Gaiden 3, Ninja Gaiden 4 puts players into the role of Yakumo instead of the standard series protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa. Yakumo is a young warrior sent into the techno hellscape that is Tokyo, which has become unrecognizable in the years since the Dark Dragon was defeated in Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Yakumo’s mission is to kill a priestess and put a stop the curse left hanging over the city — as well as the Divine Dragon Order, who rule over the metropolopis and protect the Seal of the Dark Dragon.
To fulfill his mission, Yakumo will have to fight his ways through legions of masked soldiers, skilled swordsmen, and deadly demons. While the game has a new lead character, it doesn’t impact the gameplay radically. The plot is quick to explain the worldbuilding and onboard new players, with other members of Yakumo’s raven clan assisting in missions with items, side-quests, and unlockable techniques. The latter also establishes a first for the series — a practice room, where different attack combinations and gameplay mechanics can be perfected outside of proper combat. This speaks to the overall intent of the game, which is to bring a new generation of fans into the Ninja Gaiden fandom by showing them the ropes instead of throwing them too head-first into the challenge.
Considering the years that have passed since the series had a formal release, that makes sense. There’s also a clear desire to retain the lifelong fans’ interest as well, with the inclusion of Ryu as an occasional playable character (and fully unlockable warrior for replays of the campaign mode) ensuring the connection between the past and the future of Ninja Gaiden remains key to the experience. On an execution level, it’s all a cool step forward for the series, with strong visuals and charming characters breaking up the otherwise non-stop action. However, whereas the first entry in the series found the right balance between set-pieces and fight scenes, the relentless nature of the combat is where Ninja Gaiden 4 stumbles.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is throughly a mainline entry in the series, not changing up the action too much but leaning into the gory combat of the earlier entries for lots of quick-paced bursts of bloody action. Combat is fast-paced and often chaotic, with a mix of dodges, blocks, and parries giving players lots of choices to make in the split-second a sword is slashed their way. When the game does change perspectives over to Ryu at certain points, there’s not necessarily a massive shift in the gameplay approach. Each battle is quickly decided in a flurry of attacks, and it can be very easy for the player to be overwhelmed if they’re not careful.
This is reminiscent of the earlier entries in the series, albeit with a little room in the opening levels for new players to get accustomed to everything. Once players have made it through a few legions of soldiers, they’ll begin unlocking new techniques that throw new layers into the combat. At the end of the day, however, the attacks all more or less have the same result. The biggest addition to the combat gameplay is the Bloodraven Form that Yakumo can unleash, transforming his attacks and expanding their range in a flurry of magical power.
With a power bar that fills up after succesful blows and dodges, players can infsue attacks or create entire combos out of the empowered attacks. They’re crucial in overcoming certain tougher enemies and bosses, as they can shatter a block or throw off a major attack. This mechanic adds a bit of neccesary spice to the proceedings, with players forced to balance their approach between overwhelming attacks and precise strikes. Obliteration and Ultimate Techniques are also useful abilities to pull off, and are visually striking — and plenty gory.
The problem is that Ninja Gaiden 4 can quickly become very same-y, very quickly. Even with the traversal mechanics like wall runs and rope, everything quickly boils down to “see group of enemy ninja, kill them.” The relatively limited basic enemy types, even as more demonic forces come into play, means that most combat plays out in much the same way. While a perfectly timed parry or a tricky combo feels rewarding to pull off, just as many battles are decided by a frantic rush button-mashing.
The different weapon types and setting shifts add a bit of variety to the action, but it won’t take long for players to grow bored of the same Obliteration animations playing with each other kill. The massive landscapes give way to the standard big rooms with waves of enemies, with the real challenge coming from players trying to avoid the heavy-damage Coupled with a targeting system that can feel finicky whether or not the auto-taget is on or off, Ninja Gaiden 4‘s combat isn’t slick enough to make up for its repeitive nature.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is a fun action-adventure/hack-and-slash title, doing well by the history of the series. It’s also not refined enough to overcome the hiccups in the gameplay, which can snap players out of the experience. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with Ninja Gaiden 4‘s controls, but the onslaught of enemies and their relatively straightforward approaches to combat quickly turns minor skirmishes into more of a chore than an adventure.
The boss fights do a better job of standing out, especially as they find ways to force players incoperate the Raven Style and the berseker brutality of the Bloodbind Ninjutsu Nué Style to stand a chancce. The story is entertaining if extremely rooted in a techno-demonic plot that doesn’t quite match the mythic scope of previous entries. Ninja Gaiden 4 has solid music and graphics, but it never feels like it is ever really breaking new ground in the way that the first Ninja Gaiden did over two decades ago. It’s all well-made and it looks fantastic, but quickly becomes repetitive.
When Ninja Gaiden 4 is at its best, the graphics paint a vivid portrait of a blood-soaked ninja moving through enemies like a ghost while cutting them to pieces with brutal effeciently. In these moments, everything falls away and players are left with a rich experience of unstoppable power. More often than not, however, players may be more frustrated by needing to cut down the same looking soldier for the 50th time in a level just so they can turn in a side-mission to unlock another air combo. A solid entry point for the series and an enjoyable enough experience for gamers who love a good action title, long-time fans might find themselves disappointed in the lack of variety in Ninja Gaiden 4 — but if you’re looking for an excuse to cut up ninjas in gruesome high-definition video, this is the game for you.
An Xbox Series X code for Ninja Gaiden 4 was provided to ComicBook.com for the purposes of this review.
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