Ninja Gaiden 4 review: A brutally satisfying comeback

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Ryu Hayabusa returns in a fantastic new installment! After a ten-year break following a somewhat disappointing third game, Ninja Gaiden 4 delivers a truly impressive experience. It successfully blends exciting action with a compelling story, doing justice to the legacy of gaming’s most famous ninja.

The new game from PlatinumGames and Team Ninja doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. While the 20-hour adventure through a futuristic Tokyo won’t offer anything completely new to long-time fans, that’s not really the point.

Ninja Gaiden 4 doesn’t stand out with a brand new feature, but rather through its incredibly refined gameplay. Two experienced action-adventure studios came together to create a game that’s both easy to pick up and offers satisfying depth.

The story of Ryu and the new character Yakumo feels like a blast from the past – it strongly resembles action movies from the mid-2000s. Surprisingly, it works really well! Combining that nostalgic feel with updated gameplay is a great combination.

Ninja Gaiden 4 screenshots

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What is Ninja Gaiden 4 about?

In a not-so-distant future, Tokyo is plagued by a relentless, poisonous rain caused by the remains of a massive dragon. Yakumo, a brooding ninja from the Raven clan, decides the only way to break the curse is to bring the dragon back to life and somehow cleanse it.

The task can only be accomplished by someone from a specific family, for reasons that don’t quite make sense. Ryu, a famous ninja from a competing clan, isn’t happy about being assigned this mission, as a failure could have disastrous consequences for the world.

Luckily, Yakumo is also incredibly skilled, much like Ryu. He can effortlessly defeat hordes of demons using smooth, powerful attacks and a diverse range of weapons.

Tools of the trade

Ninja Gaiden 4 is difficult, but generally not as frustratingly hard as the original two games, especially when played on the standard Normal setting. What makes action-adventure games like this so rewarding is the incredible feeling you get from perfectly performing the game’s fast-paced, dramatic combat.

It’s tricky to make a game challenging but still approachable. While you can sometimes overcome obstacles in Ninja Gaiden 4 by using a lot of health items, simply pressing buttons randomly won’t get you very far.

Offering more forgiveness makes the game more accessible to newcomers, while still allowing experienced players to strive for incredibly high scores and perfect gameplay. It’s like a helping hand for beginners without limiting the challenge for experts.

After just an hour of playing as Yakumo in a futuristic, troubled Tokyo, I was already stringing together flawless defenses and attacks, unleashing incredible moves. Discovering a hidden network of nightclubs pumping out rave music while hunting a demon shaped like a shark, it became immediately obvious what Platinum and Team Ninja had accomplished: they’d created something truly special.

Ninja Gaiden 4 avoids unnecessary additions. Each weapon and skill is strong in certain fights but weak in others, pushing you to try different combinations to find what works best. Just when I felt like I understood the game, it surprised me with something new.

A tale of two ninjas

Similar to how Capcom switched the main character between Nero and Dante in Devil May Cry 4, Ninja Gaiden 4 shifts focus away from Yakumo and towards Ryu as the game progresses.

Okay, so both Ryu and Hayabusa play pretty similarly, but I noticed Ryu focuses more on using fireballs and stuff, ditching a lot of weapons. They both feel really good to play, super responsive, but honestly, Hayabusa’s story just doesn’t feel as important. He kind of feels like he’s just… there.

His part of the game mostly reuses levels from Yakumo’s story, and one section is just a boss fight with no exploration. This makes the ending feel a bit rushed and repetitive, though overall it’s great to have this classic ninja character included.

After you finish the story, you can play through it again as either of the main characters. Plus, there are lots of extra challenges to try, and completing them can unlock even more content.

Verdict

Ninja Gaiden 4 is a fantastic revival for the series, especially after the previous installment didn’t quite hit the mark. Although the game’s pace stumbles occasionally, the story always supports the incredible combat and creative enemy designs that fans expect from this legendary action-adventure franchise.

Ninja Gaiden 4 delivers the best combat the series has ever seen. I finished the story and immediately dove into extra challenges because it felt so good being an incredibly powerful warrior – I just didn’t want the experience to end.

If Platinum and Team Ninja continue to collaborate, we can expect even more high-quality games in the future – and that’s something to look forward to.

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2025-10-21 02:19