Ninja Gaiden 4 Developers Assure Newcomers That the Tools Are Available to Train Themselves to Get Better at the Game

You’ve heard what we deliberation of Ninja Gaiden 4 — from an adept constituent of view. But what if you’ve ne'er played a Ninja Gaiden crippled before? Will this latest introduction successful the notoriously hard enactment bid connection newcomers thing they tin get to grips with? Will the communicative marque consciousness if you don’t cognize your Ryu Hayabusas from your Yakumos?

That was my space of onslaught going into my gamescom 2025 league with Team Ninja's Masakazu Hirayama and PlatinumGames' Yuji Nakao, co-directors connected this eye-catching caller co-production from Xbox Game Studios. As Nakao expertly dispatched a brag connected a large surface overlooking our down closed doors presentation, I couldn’t assistance but marvel astatine the slick, fast-paced ninja enactment I was seeing. But I besides felt intimidated. I’m nary alien to enactment games; I emotion Capcom’s Devil May Cry series, for example, but I cognize Ninja Gaiden operates connected a full different level.

I besides cognize that Microsoft, which is publishing Ninja Gaiden 4, hopes that that this latest introduction appeals not conscionable to hardcore fans of the franchise, but to the wider enactment crippled fanbase. That it will, essentially, person the likes of maine to springiness it a shot. And truthful my enactment of questioning is astir apt a small antithetic compared to what you’ve already seen from the illustrious Ninja Gaiden experts IGN has on-staff. Read connected to find retired however Team Ninja and PlatinumGames convinced this worrisome enactment crippled instrumentality to springiness Ninja Gaiden 4 a shot.

IGN: I'm a newcomer to the series. For radical who person ne'er played a Ninja Gaiden crippled earlier but person possibly heard astir it by estimation arsenic a precise hard enactment game, volition they beryllium capable to get immoderate enjoyment retired of this, oregon is this precise overmuch aimed astatine radical who are veterans of the bid who cognize however to play?

Masakazu Hirayama: So with Ninja Gaiden 4, archetypal and foremost we wanted to enactment existent to the contented of aggravated combat. But with that said, it has been rather a portion since the past mainline Ninja Gaiden came out, and we besides privation to marque definite that a wide assemblage tin attack our crippled and bask it.

So to that end, we've prepared not lone trouble options, but different features for those caller players. In presumption of trouble settings, determination is simply a mode called Hero Mode. So erstwhile you take Hero Mode, it'll automatically alteration a fig of assists. So these assists see Auto Guard, Auto Dodge, and different assistance that let you to execute much analyzable actions, moves much easily. And these idiosyncratic assists, erstwhile you prime Hero Mode, you're not stuck with the assist. You tin really spell into the paper astatine immoderate clip and toggle them connected and disconnected individually.

So if you commencement retired successful Hero Mode and past you consciousness like, oh, I privation to commencement dodging manually present alternatively of having automatic dodge, you tin spell to the paper and toggle it disconnected and spot however you fare. But not lone that, the trouble settings themselves successful your archetypal play through, you tin freely alteration betwixt leader mode, mean mode, and hard mode.

So for example, you commencement your crippled connected leader mode with each the assists. After you bushed the archetypal chapter, you crook disconnected the assists, and past aft you bushed the adjacent chapter, you consciousness similar you've developed arsenic a subordinate and it's getting excessively easy. You tin spell to the menu, alteration to normal, and past aft that, if you consciousness similar you request much of a challenge, you tin spell backmost and alteration it to hard, and past you tin set it connected the fly. So you tin truly curate your combat acquisition based connected your progression arsenic a player.

So for newcomers who whitethorn consciousness similar this crippled mightiness beryllium excessively hard for them, I privation to guarantee them that the tools are disposable for them to bid themselves and let them to advancement arsenic a subordinate and bask that halfway strength of the combat portion besides providing that tools to let them to advancement done the game.

IGN: And for newcomers who aren't acquainted with Ninja Gaiden but are possibly acquainted with the enactment crippled genre, what sets Ninja Garden apart? What are its signature mechanics that different games successful the genre possibly don't have?

Yuji Nakao: Ninja Gaiden is simply a bid that has been developed by Team Ninja up until now. One of the main characteristics that sets isolated Ninja Gaiden from different enactment games is conscionable that feeling you get erstwhile you're gripping the controller successful the consciousness of precision and responsiveness. Ninja Garden has an intricate feeling of control, but astatine the aforesaid clip it's elegant and precise, and that's what truly sets it apart.

And since this is simply a collaborative effort — it's not conscionable Team Ninja, it’s PlatinumGames that’s processing the crippled — PlatinumGames has injected their ain spirit into Ninja Gaiden 4. And that's champion represented successful the Bloodraven form, which is the main caller strategy successful Ninja Gaiden 4, wherever Yakumo tin unleash these implicit the top, truly expressive attacks. Ninja Gaiden 4 fuses that implicit the apical look with that elegant precision of a Ninja Gaiden.

IGN: On the story, this is Ninja Gaiden 4, truthful newcomers volition beryllium alert this volition beryllium the 4th mainline crippled successful the series. Do you consciousness that newcomers volition beryllium capable to recognize the communicative without having played the erstwhile games successful the series, oregon would they payment from catching up? And however does the communicative disagree from what's gone before? What bash you anticipation to execute with the communicative this clip around?

Hirayama: New players tin remainder assured that they tin conscionable leap into Ninja Gaiden 4 and bask the communicative from the jump. It's not straight connected to the anterior games. The satellite and the mounting is the same, but the communicative itself stands alone. So arsenic agelong arsenic you cognize that Ryu Hayabusa is the badass ninja, past you're bully to spell with Ninja Gaiden 4.

IGN: You mentioned antecedently that it's been immoderate clip since the past mainline Ninja Gaiden game. What person you been capable to execute with this crippled that was intolerable earlier that makes usage of each the caller exertion that has been created since then?

Nakao: In anterior Ninja Gaidens you weren't capable to seamlessly power your weapons connected the fly. With the caller exertion and the caller hardware that's available, we're really capable to recognize that, which truly opens up the possibilities successful combat.

And past different constituent is however unit is depicted. So Ninja Gaiden 4, arsenic good arsenic different anterior Ninja Gaidens, erstwhile you dismember an force and you chopped into them and there's humor splatters, we were truly capable to amp that up successful Ninja Gaiden 4 and supply an adjacent much elevated consciousness of restitution and catharsis erstwhile you are devastating your enemies.

IGN: You’re collaborating with Platinum this clip for Ninja Gaiden 4. What made Platinum the cleanable choice? What is it that they bring to the array that's unsocial that nary different developer possibly could?

Masakazu Hirayama: PlatinumGames, they person a batch of accomplishments successful the enactment crippled genre, and they're truly known for their expressive stylish action. So with Ninja Gaiden 4, due to the fact that it's a collaborative effort, we truly wanted to let PlatinumGames to bring that to the array successful development. And we antecedently touched connected Bloodraven signifier — we deliberation Bloodraven signifier is the champion practice of however we were capable to incorporated it. But not conscionable incorporated it for the involvement of adding caller things, truly incorporating it into the instauration of Ninja Gaiden, truthful it doesn't conscionable beryllium connected apical of it, but it exists wrong it.

IGN: Why was present the close clip to marque a caller Ninja Gaiden mainline entry? How volition Ninja Gaiden 4 grow the assemblage for Ninja Gaiden arsenic a full truthful it is much fashionable than it has been successful the past?

Hirayama: In presumption of the timing of bringing a caller Ninja Gaiden into the world, it wasn't needfully that we wanted this to hap close now. It was much the effect of a bid of events.

At Team Ninja we had wanted to marque a caller Ninja Gaiden for rather a agelong time. And erstwhile that accidental started to contiguous itself, determination was a speech that took spot betwixt the president of Koei Tecmo, Hisashi Koinuma, and the president of PlatinumGames, Atsushi Inaba. They're really friends, and they were talking about, wouldn't it beryllium large if we could enactment connected thing successful the future? That's erstwhile the thought of creating a caller Ninja Gaiden unneurotic came up. And past Phil Spencer from Xbox caught upwind of this thought and conscionable threw his enactment down the project. That's what got it disconnected the ground.

Like you said, it's been a agelong clip since the past Ninja Gaiden game. To the extremity of providing a caller introduction constituent for caller players, we introduced a caller protagonist. This protagonist was a connection from PlatinumGames, actually. And I deliberation we were capable to let PlatinumGames to truly incorporated their ain instrumentality connected Ninja Gaiden done Yakumo.

But of course, Ryu Hayabusa is the icon of the series, truthful we've besides made definite that Ryu Hayabusa is playable and has a beardown beingness successful the crippled arsenic well. So I deliberation done this collaborative effort we've been capable to supply a caller experience, but it inactive feels similar Ninja Gaiden, and it volition beryllium a caller introduction constituent for caller players.

IGN: Why did you judge the connection for a caller protagonist from PlatinumGames, and what precisely is it astir this caller quality that sets him isolated from Ryu Hayabusa?

Hirayama: In presumption of the crushed wherefore we accepted Platinum's connection to bring a caller protagonist, it was truly what I touched upon earlier: providing that caller introduction constituent for caller players, but besides due to the fact that this is simply a collaborative effort, truly allowing PlatinumGames to bring their ain ideas to the table. And Yakumo was a conveyance to let that to happen.

Nakao: So with Ryu Hayabusa, helium truly retains his chiseled qualities from the anterior games. In Ninja Gaiden 4, he's truly each astir that powerfulness and that consciousness of speed. So erstwhile you're playing arsenic Ryu Hayabusa successful Ninja Gaiden 4, you tin truly acquisition that raw, primitive Ninja Gaiden experience.

Contrasting with Ryu, Yakumo has this savviness. There's a cleverness to the mode helium fights with his arsenal, and helium besides has those much expressive combat techniques done the Bloodraven form. And done that helium has this stylish instrumentality of the Ninja Gaiden combat.

So adjacent though they some stock the Ninja Gaiden fundamentals, there's this precise chiseled quality that you volition consciousness erstwhile you are picking up the controller and pressing the buttons and seeing however they respond to those inputs.

IGN: And what is the divided successful presumption of play time, roughly? Is determination 1 quality we volition walk much clip with than the other?

Hirayama: In presumption of the story, Yakumo is the protagonist, truthful the playtime split, Yakumo volition person much playtime. So much than fractional of the communicative you'll beryllium playing arsenic Yakumo. With that said, determination are dedicated segments successful the communicative for Ryu. And you won't beryllium playing arsenic Ryu Hayabusa conscionable for a abbreviated clip and past you'll beryllium done with it. There'll beryllium a precise robust magnitude of contented for you to bask playing arsenic Ryu.

And erstwhile you implicit the communicative once, you'll really unlock a section situation mode. This volition let you to freely play antithetic chapters successful the crippled and you'll beryllium capable to play arsenic either character. So you could, aft your archetypal playthrough, play done each the chapters arsenic Ryu. Conversely, you could play Ryu’s communicative chapters arsenic Yakumo. So there's a batch of contented that you tin bask aft you bash your archetypal playthrough.

IGN: I’d emotion to cognize your favourite caller mechanic we’ve not seen successful a Ninja Gaiden crippled before.

Hirayama: My favourite caller facet is the Bloodraven form. So Bloodraven form, it truly captures the caller benignant of expressiveness that PlatinumGames has brought to the array successful Ninja Gaiden. But not lone that, determination was a batch of backmost and distant with regards to Bloodraven signifier passim the improvement of this game. So Team Ninja would get the physique from Platinum and past play the crippled and supply their feedback. But a twelvemonth agone Bloodraven signifier was conscionable truthful OP, similar arsenic agelong arsenic you activated Bloodraven form, you could truly conscionable decision immoderate enemy. And we were looking astatine it arsenic like, good if Bloodraven signifier dominates everything, we're going to suffer the Ninja Gaiden essence. And determination was a batch of absorbing backmost and distant that we went done to get wherever we're astatine today.

You’ll spot that erstwhile we were incorporating Bloodraven signifier into the Ninja Guide crippled cycle. For example, erstwhile you usage Bloodraven signifier and you onslaught an enemy, it'll summation the likelihood of doing a dismemberment. When you dismember an force successful Ninja Gaiden, you tin execute an Obliteration Technique. Obliteration Technique is fundamentally conscionable a finisher, similar an execution benignant attack. And past erstwhile you execute an enemy, they'll driblet a humor orb essence. Essence was successful erstwhile Ninja Gaidens, and it fundamentally functions the aforesaid mode successful Ninja Gaiden 4. And past erstwhile that essence drops, you person it into an Ultimate Technique utilizing Ultimate Guidance. I cognize I’m throwing a batch of terminology astatine you! But we were capable to bring this Bloodraven signifier into Ninja Gaiden and truly incorporated it into that foundational Ninja Gaiden crippled cycle. Finding ways of exploring that was precise absorbing from a improvement perspective.

Nakao: In summation to the Bloodraven form, there's besides the basal form. Within the basal signifier I consciousness similar we've been capable to germinate Ninja Gaiden successful presumption of the caller benignant of techniques that are available. Ninja Gaiden 4 introduces Just Guards and Just Dodges. In Ninja Gaiden, the dodging determination is called the Reverse Wind. In Ninja Gaiden 4 you tin really bash a Just Dodge Reverse Wind. And this truly opens up the assortment and possibilities of Ninja Gaiden’s combat and serves to proceed to germinate that precocious velocity backmost and distant betwixt discourtesy and defence that truly makes Ninja Gaiden distinct.

Hirayama: And gathering connected the caller possibilities that are disposable successful Ninja Gaiden 4, sometimes you'll spot enemies glow up successful reddish erstwhile they're astir to unleash a almighty attack. You tin really usage Bloodraven signifier to antagonistic that onslaught utilizing an violative ability. This particularly becomes evident successful the brag battles, wherever you tin not conscionable beryllium defensive, but you tin really usage aggression to antagonistic force attacks. And due to the fact that of that, Ninja Gaiden 4’s brag battles particularly consciousness precise chiseled and supply a caller benignant of strength compared to our erstwhile entries.

Ninja Gaiden 4 launches connected October 21 connected PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].