Undeniable in terms of playability and somewhat clumsier in other aspects, Ninja Gaiden 4 is a good step forward in the saga.
It is clear that, at this point in 2025, Ninja Gaiden is experiencing a second – or third, depending on how you look at it – youth. The Year of Ninjutsu opened fire with an unexpected and imposing Black version of one of the best action games of all time, Ninja Gaiden 2. In summer, and so that things did not decline, The Game Kitchen revived the 2D action with the essential Ninja Gaiden Ragebound. And although it is not part of the saga, its staunchest rival, Joe Musashi, left us a title with capital letters in the form of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. Most likely, that was not the purpose of all these titles, but it almost seemed like they were paving the way for the main saga’s return through the big door.
One developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames (especially by the latter, a studio characterized by leaving a strong imprint both aesthetically and playably on the titles they sign), with everything that this entails.
But before delving into the playable section, it is worth making clear what story we are going to face. No one in their right mind would approach this saga looking for an unrivaled narrative experience and in that, fortunately or unfortunately, Ninja Gaiden 4 is no exception. The corpse of the Dark Dragon remains motionless over the city of Tokyo, cursing the city with its presence and condemning it to suffer eternal rain that turns this metropolis into an uninhabitable place. Yakumo, a young ninja from the Crow Clan, is determined to cleanse the reputation of his clan, always in the shadow of the Hayabusa, and to do so he sets out to infiltrate Tokyo and assassinate the Priestess responsible for the confinement of the Dark Dragon.
It is clear, then, that new leaders, new protagonist. As we said before, Platinum is a studio with a strong personality. And not only playable; There are quite a few echoes of Metal Gear Rising in that artistic direction that combines, with hammer blows if necessary, Japanese traditionality with high-tech environments and armor, over-the-top heavy metal and characters whose looks look like they belong in a Manga Hall, all of this framed in a high-octane gameplay that favors mobility and spectacularity above any other consideration.
But of course, this is Ninja Gaiden. No matter how much of a Raven Clan ninja he is, Yakumo is still a somewhat darker reverse of Ryu Hayabusa, and hence, from the very beginning, there is a certain feeling of familiarity in the controls. Even so, it is inevitable to realize the quality of life improvements that Platinum has introduced when it comes to managing, for example, the items in our inventory. Maintaining LB and having a wheel open so that we can select which will be the quick-use object by quickly pressing that same button again, is a blessing in the middle of combats whose vertiginousness cannot – nor should it – be interrupted by stupid things like opening a menu.
That vertiginousness is, at times, somewhat slowed down by details that, again, the most veterans of the genre will recognize as one of the trademarks of Platinum Games. Dodging our enemies’ attacks at the last moment, fitting a parry or blocking at the right moment will be displays of skill on our part that will also open, each in their own way, interesting windows of opportunity to regain the initiative in combat. The dodge will activate a kind of “witch time” à la Bayonetta that, if that were not enough, will allow us to position ourselves behind our opponents ready to unleash our Ninja Fury. And for its part, parrys and perfect blocks will allow us to counterattack almost immediately, destroying the enemy defenses and leaving the path free to fit the combo that best suits us. Nine out of ten Ninja Masters recommend a good Izuna Drop in these cases.
But the news doesn’t end there. Yakumo is capable of imbuing his weaponry with blood to make it much more versatile and powerful. This detail, which in the hands of less astute developers could well have remained a mere playable anecdote, goes hand in hand with enemies that range from the tough to the implacable, making real efforts to cover themselves from our attacks or concentrating to unleash truly devastating combinations. In both cases, we can use our bloody skill and stop them in their tracks with a single charged blow, allowing us to continue our combo at will. Of course, we will have to measure, very closely, when we use this powerful technique and when we will have to keep our distance since this mechanic depends on a convenient bar that will deplete with use but will fill up as time passes, we defeat enemies and perform one obliteration after another.
Because that, and nothing else, is what the Ninja Gaiden saga is about. Face hordes of enemies, unleash sword blows, dismember demons and enjoy dizzying, badass and ultra-violent gameplay climbing a steep difficulty curve like few others. Ninja Gaiden 4 delivers on all of these promises, and it does so to the highest degree. However, there are certain moments in his journey when his proposal falters. I am referring, unfortunately, to some final bosses. As important when traveling the Ninja Path as they are in other equally challenging journeys such as From Software’s proposals, a good handful of Ninja Gaiden 4’s final bosses not only make the mistake of not being difficult – which would be a pass – but of not providing any challenge or playable interest to the sections they crown. A sovereign sin in a saga that, despite collecting many setbacks, treasures challenges worthy of being remembered by any enthusiast of the action genre.
This sin, however, is still a symptom of a larger accumulation of problems that end up weighing down this title somewhat. Although the playable core could not be more solid – I can think of few things more adrenaline than combining Platinum’s technique with the playable bases of the Team Ninja saga – the truth is that, around this is where the friction arises. Bland secondaries, settings with little personality or the aforementioned problem with the final bosses are aspects that keep this new Platinum foray into the genre from true excellence. And yet, for those who already know the history of the studio, I don’t think it will come as a surprise. Even with its small setbacks, Ninja Gaiden 4 is a title of incontestable playable solidity that not only works by itself, but also manages to straighten the trajectory of the saga after the step back that the launch of its third installment represented. From this point, big things can be expected for the franchise.
