Ninja Gaiden 4 Review

In truthful galore ways, Ninja Gaiden 4 is precisely what I wanted it to be. It’s a collaborative effort betwixt Team Ninja and Platinum Games, 2 of my each clip favourite developers; it builds disconnected the combat from Ninja Gaiden 2, which has the champion enactment of the bid successful my eyes; and it comes packed with tiny touches that marque it a spot much approachable without sacrificing the tough-as-nails trouble that longtime fans similar maine expect. But portion I’d adjacent spell truthful acold arsenic to accidental this combat strategy is among the precise champion I’ve ever seen, Ninja Gaiden 4 stumbles successful galore different areas – from its bland caller pb character, to its uninspired level design, to its predictable communicative that falls wholly flat. The enactment is inactive truthful bully that a batch of those shortcomings get deflected similar bullets against Ryu Hayabusa’s sword, but others gaffe done that defence and coiled what is different an unthinkable revival for the Master Ninja.

Story has ne'er been a selling constituent of the Ninja Gaiden series, truthful it didn’t travel arsenic a astonishment to maine that Ninja Gaiden 4’s crippled was 1 of its weakest elements. It introduces america to our caller protagonist, Yakumo, a skilled ninja of the Raven Clan whose archetypal extremity to termination a priestess of the Dark Dragon alternatively rapidly turns into a ngo to escort her to a fistful of magic seals successful an effort to truly for realsies termination the Dark Dragon for bully this time.

What follows is an highly predictable 10-hour run with attempts astatine large affectional moments that autumn level due to the fact that the legwork to marque you attraction astir these characters is ne'er done. There is immoderate banter that happens betwixt Yakumo, his handler, and the different members of his small Raven Clan squad, but it’s ne'er charming oregon endearing, and surely ne'er develops to a constituent wherever I ever got a existent consciousness that these characters were really close. Yakumo chiefly communicates with grunts, growls, acknowledgements of the ngo objectives, and aggravated threats, and arsenic a effect conscionable comes disconnected arsenic a lame edgelord astir of the time.

You bash get to play a mates of chapters arsenic Ryu toward the end, and portion these are a invited reprieve, they besides consciousness similar a immense missed opportunity. His levels person him retracing Yakumo’s steps, warring done the aforesaid environments, mostly the aforesaid enemies, and the aforesaid bosses, but this clip with less combat options since Ryu lone has entree to 1 weapon, a acold little absorbing Gleam Form to regenerate Yakumo’s Bloodraven Form, and conscionable 4 returning Ninpo ace attacks. Imagine Dante’s missions from Devil May Cry 4, but helium doesn’t get immoderate caller weapons, his playstyle is astir precisely the aforesaid arsenic Nero, and there’s nary of the chill Dante trash talk.

I americium consenting to forgive an enactment crippled for a batch if the enactment itself is good, and fortunately Ninja Gaiden 4’s combat isn’t conscionable good, it’s phenomenal. It’s incredibly fast, the enemies are intelligent and won’t fto you bash the aforesaid happening implicit and implicit again, there’s a large woody of flexibility that allows you to alteration up your attack to each fight, it looks slick arsenic hell, and it has that trademark Team Ninja fluidity mixed with the over-the-top craziness that Platinum Games is renowned for. It conscionable checks each azygous box.

The concealed condiment present is force aggression. Enemies are perfectly ruthless in Ninja Gaiden 4. They don’t politely hold their crook arsenic they onslaught from disconnected screen, deed you with unblockables, drawback you if you effort to turtle up, armor done your regular attacks, and overwhelm you with sheer numbers. It’s a benignant of combat that is wholly unsocial to this series, and that suffocating unit from enemies is what makes each combat brushwood specified a thrilling combat for survival.

All of that whitethorn dependable brutal, but Yakumo’s ain toolset is highly almighty arsenic well. You person the iconic Flying Swallow method that allows you to zip towards an enemy, perchance slicing their caput disconnected successful conscionable a azygous hit; the Izuna Drop aerial combo that ends successful a flying piledriver that volition instantly termination astir enemies successful a azygous blow; the plethora of almighty unlockable attacks for each weapon; and astir importantly, eventual techniques that fto you sorb essence from defeated enemies to complaint up a flashy combo that is wholly invulnerable, tin deed aggregate enemies, and does highly precocious damage.

None of this is caller to Ninja Gaiden 4, and successful information is conscionable a basal overview of what’s ever been large astir the combat successful this series. But it’s important to speech astir due to the fact that my biggest interest coming into Ninja Gaiden 4 was that it would consciousness little similar Ninja Gaiden and much similar a Platinum Games crippled – not that there’s thing incorrect with that, it’s conscionable not what I’d privation retired of a instrumentality I’ve been waiting 13 years for. Fortunately, that’s not the case. This is simply a Ninja Gaiden crippled done and done with a airy interaction of Platinum spirit to heighten it adjacent further.

That spirit mostly comes successful the signifier of 1 large summation to the combat system: Yakumo’s Bloodraven Form. By holding down the near trigger, Yakumo volition alteration his limb into a slower, much extravagant mentation with a wholly caller acceptable of moves and the quality to interruption an enemy’s defender oregon interrupt their ace attacks. These attacks are sick arsenic hell, and decidedly bring to caput immoderate of Bayonetta’s Wicked Weave dense attacks, particularly the Rapier that turns into a immense drill, oregon the unit that turns into a elephantine hammer.

But much than being chill to look at, they adhd a caller magnitude to combat that forces you to beryllium reactive to however the enemies are dealing with your offense. If you spell into autopilot and spam airy attacks, enemies volition artifact your strikes and present a damaging antagonistic of their own. But if you announcement that they’re flashing achromatic and shrugging disconnected your attacks, you tin deed them with a Bloodraven Form onslaught to not lone woody large damage, but besides unfastened them up to adjacent much punishment aft breaking their guard.

Bloodraven Form moves are tied to a metre that drains beauteous quickly, adding an other furniture of assets absorption I enjoyed. These humor infused attacks are besides mostly beauteous slow, which makes them a spot risky to effort and interrupt a faster armored attack. So you request to determine whether to hazard wasting your metre by pre-emptively utilizing a humor onslaught to effort and drawback an armored determination during its archetypal animation, whether to hazard your wellness by trying to hold and respond to 1 of their slower and much telegraphed armored moves, oregon or whether to usage the metre defensively alternatively to effort and perfectly artifact different unblockable techniques. Whatever the case, having aggregate antithetic options to woody with a challenging combat brushwood is important successful a crippled similar this, and Ninja Gaiden 4 is stacked with options to play astir with.

One departure from erstwhile games is that alternatively of individually upgrading your weapons and having each betterment travel with caller moves and accrued power, this clip astir you indispensable bargain each of your upgrades a la carte. Universal upgrades that impact each limb outgo Ninja Coin, which is simply a currency gained chiefly from completing broadside missions, optional Purgatory challenges, and arsenic a reward for completing a chapter. Weapon circumstantial techniques connected the different manus indispensable beryllium purchased with Weapon EXP, which is gained simply by warring enemies. The amended you perform, the much Weapon EXP you get. I enjoyed ever having thing caller to unlock the full mode through, adjacent though I bash deliberation Ninja Gaiden 4 is simply a small stingy with your starting acceptable of upgrades.

I'm not gonna sweetener overgarment it: X, Y, X, X, X, Y

You’re not adjacent capable to sorb essence to instantly complaint your eventual technique, rapidly complaint it aft landing from a jump, oregon adjacent complaint it up to level 2 by default. All of those techniques person to beryllium purchased, on with staples similar the aforementioned Flying Swallow and Izuna Drop. And that aforesaid currency is besides utilized to acquisition consumable items, starring to a brutal system successful the aboriginal going. Especially if you didn’t acquisition the Deluxe Edition, which gifts players with a whopping 50,000 Ninja Coins close from the start. That’s capable to bargain virtually each starting upgrade and capable up your inventory. If you lone person the modular edition, the archetypal mates of hours tin beryllium beauteous unsmooth arsenic you dilatory physique up the arsenal of techniques that bring Ninja Gaiden 4’s combat to life.

The last caller combat wrinkle is the summation of a Berserk Meter that fills up arsenic you woody oregon instrumentality damage, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile you decision delimbed enemies with Obliteration Techniques. When the Berserk Meter is full, your charged-up Bloodraven Form attacks volition trigger Bloodbath Kills, which are fundamentally cinematic one-hit kills. It’s different amusive constituent of assets absorption that gave maine a mode to satisfyingly wide a full surface of pugnacious enemies successful conscionable a fewer seconds, if I managed to past agelong capable to beryllium capable to physique up the meter.

Platinum besides injects a steadfast dose of benignant and originative look into the combat by giving Yakumo the quality to blistery swap betwixt his weapons with conscionable the property of a button. So you tin bash chill things similar motorboat an force with the dual swords, deed them doubly successful the air, power to different weapon, deed them doubly again, power to a 3rd weapon, max retired that aerial combo, and past nonstop them crashing down with an Izuna Drop. We’re not talking Devil May Cry levels of imaginable for combo creativity, but there’s inactive a batch of fancy worldly you tin bash betwixt the galore techniques that you’ll unlock for each weapon, and there’s adjacent a grooming mode truthful you tin signifier optimizing your harm and stylish combos. Variety similar this goes a agelong mode for maine successful presumption of making combat consciousness caller and breathtaking passim the full campaign.

I did my archetypal playthrough of Ninja Gaiden 4 connected Hard, and portion that was the saccharine spot successful presumption of trouble for me, it’s worthy noting that you tin alteration this mounting astatine immoderate constituent (except successful Master Ninja mode), which is simply a large diagnostic for anyone struggling with its demanding challenges. Hero mode has been added arsenic good which allows you to alteration auto-block and auto-dodge astatine debased health, on with an auto-assist that allows you to bash damaging combos with conscionable azygous fastener presses. It’s not for me, but I admit its inclusion nevertheless arsenic a mode to fto much radical bask the spectacle and enactment of the Ninja Gaiden series.

While the enactment is pristine and the combat arenas themselves person immoderate large interactable elements that springiness you the state to zip astir from constituent to point, cutting up enemies on the way, the existent level plan is beauteous uninspired. There are occasional splashes of absorbing architecture crossed the futuristic mentation of Tokyo that’s been twisted by the evil powerfulness of the Dark Dragon’s husk, but acold much often you’ll conscionable beryllium wandering astir precise bland rooftops, identical looking corridors, and boring metropolis streets. It doesn’t get overmuch amended erstwhile you’re retired of Tokyo, either. You conscionable commercialized those drab streets for foggy cliffsides, disfigured sewers, and samey looking subject bases.

There are a mates of amusive question sequences that interruption up each of the limb liberating sword slashing, similar Sonic-esque obstruction grinding sections, bits wherever you person to glide connected upwind currents to soar implicit a upland range, and immoderate sewer surfing, but they’re repeated passim the run with small to nary saltation oregon evolution. As a result, they extremity up feeling much similar filler than thing else.

There’s a caller sidequest strategy that allows you to summation immoderate other currency by completing optional tasks, similar uncovering and defeating concealed minibosses, capturing hidden collectible monsters called Gourdies, oregon conscionable simply defeating a definite fig of enemies successful a circumstantial area. It’s a bully summation that gives other inducement to beryllium thorough and not conscionable tally past optional fights, adjacent though the drab and exceptionally linear level plan doesn’t marque it precise breathtaking to really explore.

My favourite happening to find hidden successful a level though are the Purgatory Gates. These are optional situation rooms with the chill twist of letting you determine however overmuch wellness you privation to effort them with. The greater the wellness handicap, the greater the reward. These fights are by acold the astir aggravated and astir amusive challenges available, and I loved pushing myself to effort and get done the hardest trouble and past being handsomely rewarded for the effort.

Bosses person ne'er been a beardown suit for the Ninja Gaiden bid but, comic enough, person ever been a spot of Platinum Games. The substance of the 2 seems to person gone astir however you would expect, arsenic the bosses successful Ninja Gaiden 4 alteration wildly successful quality. There are a mates of genuinely large scraps against pugnacious enemies with adrenaline pumping soundtracks that brought to caput immoderate of Metal Gear Rising’s champion fights. Meanwhile, others are conscionable underwhelming battles against elephantine monsters with excessively overmuch wellness and immoderate frustrating gimmicks – from bosses that obnoxiously teleport astir a ample arena whenever you get close, to elephantine fiends that spawn annoying fodder enemies to distract from their ain highly unsafe attacks.

After beating the campaign, you unlock the Master Ninja difficulty, the quality to replay immoderate stage, boss, oregon unlocked Purgatory Gate arsenic either Yakumo oregon Ryu, and astir substantially, 18 combat trials that diagnostic unsocial modifiers and adjacent a fewer enemies that I ne'er encountered successful the main game. These combat trials mightiness person you clearing waves of enemies without utilizing your Bloodraven Form oregon origin your wellness to tick down continuously, forcing you to equilibrium utilizing your eventual method to wide retired enemies portion besides making definite to occasionally prime up the life-restoring orbs that are utilized to rapidly complaint it – oregon a proceedings mightiness conscionable forestall you from healing each together. I haven’t beaten each of these yet, but I americium having a blast going done each of them and look guardant to challenging my friends to apical my scores connected the leaderboards.