Ninja Gaiden 4: Blimey, They Might Have Actually Done It!
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Turns out Ninja Gaiden 4 isn't just another sequel; it's shaping up to be the magical, brutal combat evolution fans have dreamt of, finally hitting the mark after all these years with Platinum's wild flair and Team Ninja's core genius. Blimey!
Right, so let's cast our minds back for a sec, shall we? Picture it: the early 2000s, years before *Dark Souls* decided to redefine masochism for us all. This was a time when action games weren't bogged down by stamina bars or the grim seriousness of, well, everything. It was all about the spectacle, the style, the sheer bloody creative expression of combat. You had your *God of War*, your *Devil May Cry*, even the quirky brilliance of *God Hand* blazing a trail. But if you asked me, mate, there was one series that transcended them all, a true masterclass in digital mayhem: *Ninja Gaiden*. Especially *Ninja Gaiden Black* – proper wizardry, that one.
I’ve gone on about why I reckon *Ninja Gaiden* is the pinnacle of the action genre before, so I won't bore you with a full sermon here. But the long and short of it is, my expectations for *Ninja Gaiden 4* weren't just high; they were practically orbiting the moon. And yet somehow, after tinkering around with four chapters of this preview build, it’s not just living up to them, it’s… surpassing them. This, my friends, feels like the modern *Ninja Gaiden* game I’ve been silently wishing into existence for over a decade, like a spell that finally, *finally* worked exactly as intended.
First off, let’s clear the air. Yes, Platinum Games has had a hand in this – and you can feel their chaotic energy, believe you me – but make no mistake: this is Team Ninja’s *Ninja Gaiden* through and through. Whether you’re slicing and dicing as the legendary Ryu Hayabusa or tearing things up as the newcomer Yakumo, the core DNA is pure, unadulterated *Gaiden*. There’s no weird split where Yakumo feels like a Bayonetta refugee and Ryu’s stuck in the past. Nah, they both get stuck into the same classic tricks: Izuna Drops, Guillotine Throws, those utterly satisfying quick-charge Ultimate Attacks. It’s all there, beautifully interwoven.
Where Platinum's influence really bursts through, like a portal to another dimension opening mid-combat, is in the wild, exhilarating segments *between* the fights. One moment I was in a demonic 3D *Sonic* stage, bouncing off physics-defying rails, grappling from one impossible surface to another, all while dodging helicopter gunfire. It culminated in a dramatic leap, an assassination from above, and then BAM! Right into the next bloody combat encounter. I swear, I actually grinned like a giddy little kid, laughing out loud and shouting, “that was so sick!” These bits are pure, unadulterated chaotic fun, a glorious side effect of mixing the right ingredients. It reminds you that games can, and should, be utterly ridiculous and joyous at times.
When it comes to the nitty-gritty of combat, *Ninja Gaiden 4* feels like *Ninja Gaiden 2* on steroids, but in the best possible way. You’ve got your light attacks, your heavy attacks, your shurikens – the works. And, of course, the iconic Flying Swallow attack, which lets you zip towards an enemy mid-air and, if you’re lucky (or skilled), lop off their head with a single, graceful strike. The big new addition for both Yakumo and Ryu is a powered-up form – activate it with a held left trigger, and you unleash slower, but much harder-hitting attacks. This form, fuelled by a meter that fills as you land hits and perform obliteration techniques on dismembered foes (which, frankly, is a delightful feedback loop), is essential. You’ll need it to break through enemy guards and to counter those menacing red-glowing attacks from bigger foes and bosses.
Yakumo’s Bloodraven form lets him wield a giant, extending blood-sword, dishing out wide-area attacks that look incredibly cool. Ryu’s Gleam Form, on the other hand, gives him those multi-hitting, high-speed sword slashes you'd normally only see from fully charged Ultimate Techniques. It’s like having a super saiyan moment on demand, mate. But honestly, it’s the small, almost subtle touches and improvements that truly made me fall in love with *Ninja Gaiden 4’s* combat. The way Guillotine Throws now seem to home in on enemies, snatching airborne foes right out of the sky. The clever encouragement to use the environment, with powered-up Flying Swallows when you launch them off wall runs. The ability to chain quick-charge Ultimate Techniques right after an Izuna Drop or a Flying Swallow. Or, and this is just bloody brilliant, how you can grapple up to a flying drone, leap off it, land two strikes on a different flying enemy, and then literally *yank* them out of the air for a piledriver into the ground! This is precisely the kind of substantial, yet iterative, upgrade to the classic *Ninja Gaiden* combat style that I honestly hoped *Ninja Gaiden 3* would be. It’s smart, it’s fluid, it just *feels* right.
Perhaps the most delightful surprise, though, were the boss battles. Or at least the two I’ve played. For a series that, outside of a few exceptions, hasn’t always had the strongest bosses, *Ninja Gaiden 4* comes out swinging. The first boss, a formidable samurai armor-clad enforcer, was an immediate test of skill, reflexes, and pattern recognition. It was an intense one-on-one duel against an enemy that actively reacted to my moves. He’d parry my attacks and counter, quickly close distances if I backed off, and weave in unblockable attacks that simultaneously threatened me and provided an opening to stun him if I landed a quick hit from Bloodraven stance. I was on the edge of my seat, completely absorbed, and even when I died (which, let’s be honest, happened a few times), I caught myself smiling at how much fun I was having. The second boss was a bit less traditional, leading me on a chase through a distorted demon hellscape, but the battle itself was equally impressive. She wielded a giant twirling umbrella, forcing precise blocks. Both fights also cleverly incorporated grapple points, letting me zip out of danger and then Flying Swallow right back in to maintain the relentless aggression. It felt like a proper dance of death, full of wizardry and brutal grace.
Now, my demo build did grant me access to a ton of skills right from the get-go, which was grand for messing about with Ryu and Yakumo’s full arsenal, but it didn’t really give me a sense of the progression in the full game. How much of this dazzling kit do you start with? How do you earn more? That’s something I’m genuinely looking forward to figuring out when I get my hands on the final version. What I can say is that the training and tutorial tools in *Ninja Gaiden 4* seem absolutely excellent. There’s a full training mode where you can practice against customisable enemies, explainers with video for every technique you’ve learned, comprehensive combo lists – the whole bloody works. It’s the kind of thing that makes you think, 'Right, they actually want us to master this.'
While the levels I played were linear, and I didn’t stumble upon any golden scarabs or crystal skulls (perhaps they’re hidden deeper or weren’t in this build), there are still plenty of things to find off the beaten path. Terminals scattered throughout the levels offer sub-missions, like 'defeat X enemies in Y location,' or 'capture those odd, gourd-shaped fiends called Gourdy’s' via a quick button-press minigame. But by far the coolest discovery were the combat challenge rooms. You can set your own health handicap and get rewards based on how hard you make it for yourself. I loved the challenge rooms in the original *Ninja Gaiden 2*, so seeing a form of them return, with the added flexibility to basically set your own difficulty for appropriate rewards, is a brilliant touch. The currency you earn can be used at a shop for items and abilities, though again, I didn't need to engage with this much in the preview. It's rare, isn't it? Waiting for a game for over a decade, and when it finally appears, it seems to be everything you wanted and more. But so far, *Ninja Gaiden 4* is shaping up to be just that. October 21st can’t come fast enough, mate. It feels like the stars are aligning for this one.
Tags: Ninja Gaiden, Action Games, Team Ninja, Game Previews, Hack and Slash
Original article: IGN South Africa