Ninja Gaiden 4 - The Final Preview

Let maine instrumentality you connected a speedy travel backmost to the past for a second. It’s the aboriginal 2000’s, years earlier a small crippled called Dark Souls would everlastingly alteration the scenery of the enactment and enactment RPG genres. It was a clip mostly without stamina bars; a clip erstwhile style, spectacle, and originative look of combat ruled supra each else, a clip erstwhile games similar God of War 1 and 2, Devil May Cry 1 and 3, and God Hand blazed the way for others to follow. But if you inquire me, determination was 1 crippled that stood supra each of them, a masterclass of enactment design, that challenged and thrilled the teenaged maine with assertive force AI, gorgeous visuals, and the astir dazzling combat strategy I’d ever seen. That crippled was Ninja Gaiden… (and aboriginal Ninja Gaiden Black.)

I made a full diagnostic connected wherefore I deliberation Ninja Gaiden is the pinnacle of the enactment genre, truthful I won’t walk excessively overmuch clip connected that here, but the constituent of each of this preamble is to accidental that my expectations coming into Ninja Gaiden 4 were massive. And yet somehow, based connected the 4 chapters of this preview build, it is surviving up to them. This is precisely what I’ve ever wanted a modern Ninja Gaiden crippled to be.

Let’s get 1 happening retired of the mode first, portion this is co-developed by Platinum Games, marque nary mistake, this feels similar Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden, done and through, careless of whether you’re playing arsenic Ryu Hayabusa oregon newcomer Yakumo. There’s nary divided of Yakumo’s levels feeling similar a Platinum Games protagonist and Ryu’s feeling similar accepted Ninja Gaiden. The 2 bash person chiseled playstyles and movesets, but you’ll beryllium doing a batch of the aforesaid tricks with some characters, from izuna drops, to guillotine throws, speedy complaint eventual attacks, etc.

Where Platinum’s power is genuinely felt is successful the perfectly chaotic segments successful betwixt bouts of combat. One level felt similar a demonic 3D Sonic signifier arsenic I had to bounce betwixt physics defying rails portion avoiding getting changeable by a helicopter, utilizing my grappling hook to propulsion myself from rail, to rail, to wall, backmost to rail, finishing disconnected with a melodramatic leap into an assassination from supra to kickstart the adjacent combat encounter. It was conscionable 1 of the galore times I grinned similar a giddy small child, laughing retired loud, and shouted “that was truthful sick!”

When it comes to the fundamentals of combat, Ninja Gaiden 4 feels similar an adjacent amended mentation of Ninja Gaiden 2. You’ve got airy attacks, dense attacks, shurikens, and of course, the signature flying swallow onslaught that allows you to rapidly dash towards an force retired of a leap and perchance portion their caput close disconnected with conscionable a azygous strike. New to Ninja Gaiden 4 is simply a powered up signifier for some Yakumo and Ryu, accessed by holding down the near trigger, that allows them to usage slower but overmuch harder hitting attacks, fueled by a metre that is filled chiefly by landing hits with your basal signifier and by utilizing obliteration techniques connected dismembered foes.

You’ll request to usage this signifier chiefly to interruption done an enemy’s defender erstwhile they commencement blocking your modular attacks, oregon to defender against 1 of the galore particularly almighty reddish glowing attacks that immoderate larger enemies and bosses similar to use. Yakumo’s Bloodraven signifier allows him to usage a elephantine humor sword that extends and allows for immoderate truly chill looking attacks that deed a wide area, portion Ryu’s Gleam Form allows him to usage the kinds of multihitting precocious velocity sword slashes that you'd usually get from charging up an eventual technique.

But it’s the tiny touches and improvements that truly made maine autumn successful emotion with Ninja Gaiden 4’s combat. The mode that Guillotine Throws present location successful connected enemies and tin beryllium utilized to sound airborne foes retired of the sky; the mode you’re present much encouraged to usage the situation to your vantage acknowledgment to powered up flying swallows erstwhile you usage them retired of partition runs; however you tin present usage speedy complaint eventual techniques close aft landing from an Izuna Drop oregon Flying Swallow; oregon the mode you tin usage your grapple to zip up to flying drone, leap disconnected them, onshore 2 strikes connected a flying enemy, and past virtually yank them retired of the aerial and piledrive them into the ground. This is precisely the benignant of substantial, but yet iterative upgrade to the classical benignant of Ninja Gaiden’s combat that I had hoped Ninja Gaiden 3 would be.

Perhaps the happening I was astir delighted astir though was that Ninja Gaiden 4’s brag battles, oregon astatine slightest the 2 that I’ve played truthful far, are excellent. Outside of a tiny fistful of exceptions, bosses person ne'er been a peculiarly beardown suit of the series, but close retired of the gross the archetypal boss, a ample samurai armor clad enforcer, was a satisfying trial of my skills, reflexes, and signifier recognition. It was an aggravated one-on-one combat against an force that was reactive to what I was doing. He would parry my attacks and travel up with a speedy counterattack of his own, if I stood excessively acold distant helium would rapidly adjacent the region and bring the aggression to me, helium would sneak successful unblockable attacks to simultaneously endanger and supply maine with an accidental to stun him by rapidly hitting him with an onslaught retired of bloodraven stance. I was connected the borderline of my spot passim the full fight, and adjacent erstwhile I died, I would drawback myself smiling astatine however overmuch amusive I was having.

The 2nd brag was a small little traditional, arsenic aft our archetypal brushwood she fled, leaving maine to pursuit her passim a distorted demon hellscape, but the existent conflict itself was nary little impressive. She wielded a elephantine umbrella that she would twirl astir continuously, forcing maine to beryllium precise with my blocks whenever she got close. Another happening I appreciated astir some these fights were the grapple points that I could usage to rapidly zip retired of the way, and past flying swallow close backmost successful to support up the aggression.

My demo gave maine a ton of skills unlocked close from the start, and portion that was precise overmuch appreciated successful the consciousness that I had Ryu and Yakumo’s afloat acceptable of tools disposable for maine to play astir with, it besides didn’t springiness maine a bully consciousness of what the progression volition beryllium similar successful the afloat game, and however overmuch of that arsenal Ryu and Yakumo commencement disconnected with. Which is thing I’m precise overmuch looking guardant to figuring retired erstwhile I get my hands connected the afloat version. At the precise slightest I tin accidental that the grooming and tutorial tools successful Ninja Gaiden 4 look excellent. There’s a afloat grooming mode wherever you tin signifier against customizable enemies, you’re capable to look backmost and get explainers with video connected each method you’ve learned, afloat combo lists, the full works.

While levels are linear and I didn’t hap to find immoderate aureate scarabs oregon crystal skulls, determination are inactive things to find and bash disconnected the beaten path. There are terminals passim the level that travel with sub missions, specified arsenic decision X fig of enemies successful Y location, oregon find a fig of creatures called Gourdy’s that are gourd shaped fiends that you tin seizure by completing a speedy fastener property minigame. By acold the coolest happening to find though are combat situation rooms, wherever you tin really acceptable your wellness handicap and get a reward based connected however hard you marque the situation for yourself. I loved the situation rooms successful the OG Ninja Gaiden 2, truthful I was ace blessed to spot a signifier of them return, and the quality to fundamentally acceptable your trouble is simply a chill alteration that gives you an due reward for the effort you enactment in. The currency you summation tin beryllium utilized to acquisition items and abilities astatine the shop, but again, I didn’t truly person to prosecute with this each that overmuch successful this preview physique since astir of the things I needed were already provided to me.

It’s uncommon erstwhile you hold for a crippled for much than a decennary and it yet comes and it seems to beryllium everything you wanted and more, but truthful far, Ninja Gaiden 4 is shaping up to beryllium that game. October 21 can’t travel accelerated enough.

Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial shaper astatine IGN. You tin find him connected twitter @JurassicRabbit