The Ninja Gaiden series has a very long history. Originally released on Arcade and later on the NES, the series quickly became known for its unprecedented storytelling and difficulty. Those who were able to finish the game could brag to their friends and experience a compelling story that would continue to evolve over the next almost 40 years. This narrative was expanded upon through multiple sequels, the Dead or Alive series, and eventually a modern reboot that also became known as one of the greatest 3D action games of all time. In short, a lot has happened over the years, and after a 13-year gap, the next entry in the series is finally upon us.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a 2D action platforming game that returns to the original series' roots while also serving as a sequel to the modern Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive titles. It offers another perspective on the story originally told in Ninja Gaiden on the NES, updating it to align with modern standards and plot points introduced during the four modern Ninja Gaiden releases, including the Nintendo DS game Dragon Sword. Despite this, the game focuses on two original characters, making it a perfect jumping-in point for both new and old fans. While references to past events are made throughout the game, this is a completely original adventure, which is a good thing, as 2D Ninja Gaiden has never felt better.
What was once frustrating on the NES is now fast, fluid, and simply a lot of fun to play. It offers accessibility sliders to allow players of all skill levels to complete it, while also providing a challenging experience by default for those who enjoy the series' infamous difficulty. All of this helps Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound be not only one of the best Ninja Gaiden titles out there but also one of the most fun 2D action platforming experiences in general.
However, there's a lot more to Ragebound than meets the eye. Many elements come together to make this game such a fun and rewarding experience that simply stating "it is a good game" doesn't do it justice.
This is what Ragebound truly is, and why you might want to consider playing it for yourself.
The Story:
The story of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound begins before the NES release. We see Jô Hayabusa, father of series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, heading off to face someone in a duel. He leaves a message for Ryu in case he doesn't return, and, staying true to the original story, that's exactly what happens. The intro stage has you playing as Jô, which eventually leads him to come face to face with his adversary. A quick cutscene plays out, Jô is seemingly killed, and the story quickly shifts to our new main protagonist: a young Hayabusa ninja named Kenji.
Kenji is a ninja in training, and his story begins with him practicing his techniques alongside the one and only Ryu Hayabusa. While Kenji is a very capable ninja, he can't quite stand up to our hero who has been to Hell and back (literally), but he's ready to prove himself as soon as possible. Little does he know his chance is about to come, as shortly after a quick sparring match, demons and fiends attack Hayabusa Village.
Of course, Ryu is ready to step in and take care of the problem, but this is when he discovers the messages from his father and learns of his fate. Just like in the NES release, Jô's message to Ryu asks him to come to America and seek out a certain man. Though torn on what to do due to the demon attack on the village, he ultimately decides to head to the US and leave things back at home to Kenji.
This is the event that sets our new story into motion and eventually leads Kenji to meet an unlikely partner along the way. Although the demon attack is initially thought to be the work of the Black Spider Clan, the Hayabusa Clan's biggest rivals, Kenji encounters a young kunoichi from the clan named Kumori. She had been captured by the very same demons that invaded Hayabusa Village and is now on the verge of death. With Kenji also in a critical state, she directs him to stab her, which allows her to use her powers to fuse with him.
Now Kenji, with Kumori's spirit by his side, once again sets off to take down the demons and get to the bottom of why they were attacked. It's a partnership born out of necessity, but the two learn to work together as they strive towards a common goal.
The Gameplay:
As previously mentioned, Ragebound is a full-on callback to the classic NES Ninja Gaiden titles, returning to being a 2D side-scrolling action platforming title, rather than the full 3D style of recent entries. The controls are kept simple, with both playable characters able to jump, climb walls and ceilings, and dodge attacks. Where this game greatly differs from previous entries, however, is the inclusion of an air attack, which not only damages enemies but also allows the characters to bounce off them, and their projectiles, to gain extra mid-air jumps.
This skill becomes key to navigating the many stages within the game, with some hidden and challenge areas asking you to bounce off enemies that only appear on screen during a short window. Of course, the attack can also be used in combat, and it feels really great when you can use it to chain together combo attacks. It's fast, fluid, and once you get the hang of it, it's a game-changer! However, it's only one of the few additions that greatly alter how classic Ninja Gaiden is played.
Besides this jump ability, both characters have a new "hypercharged" mechanic where killing specific glowing enemies makes their next attack much stronger. Kenji can enter this state by killing blue glowing enemies, while Kumori achieves this by taking down pink enemies. Once in this state, their next attack will obliterate whatever they hit, and sometimes this is required to progress. Specific enemies have shields that are harder to get through without being hypercharged, and roadblock objects force the mechanic to be used from time to time as well.
If no enemy is around to enter the state, however, both characters can sacrifice some of their health to enter it manually, but they also need to stand still for a few seconds to do so. This keeps it from being overused when fighting bosses or other tough enemies, but it's a viable strategy if an opening is found. Although the game starts out pretty simple with how this mechanic is used, things become a bit trickier as the game progresses and the two characters are merged into one.
Although early stages in the game feature both characters as individual entities, the main game begins once Kenji has Kumori's spirit within him. When this happens, Kenji can use energy to activate her special attacks, which are typically range-based to complement his close-range katana strikes. This energy is refilled by killing enemies with melee attacks or by picking up recovery items within the stages, and it becomes key to progressing through sections that require hitting out-of-reach switches. These attacks must also be used on pink glowing enemies if you want to achieve the hypercharged state, while blue enemies still require Kenji's sword.
This forces players to pay attention to what enemies are coming at them and adapt their playstyle and attacks on the fly to fully utilize the mechanic. Killing a pink enemy with a sword won't do you any favors, and sometimes enemies move so fast that it's easy to slip up and do so. Thankfully, you can still manually enter the hypercharged state if you truly need it and missed your chance, but sometimes the small health loss still ends up being the difference between life and death.
On top of using Kumori's powers as Kenji, Kumori still has a playable role in the stages. In specific areas, there are "gates to the other world" which allow Kumori to cross over into an afterlife-like version of the stage. She's on a time limit here, so players need to move her fast, but she can access hidden areas and switches that are off-limits to Kenji. This, too, is required to advance from time to time, but thankfully, failing just means you get to restart these short sections from the beginning. Some of them do require practice to get through flawlessly in time, so the lack of a penalty is a very welcome feature.
As for the stages themselves, each one is packed full of different obstacles to overcome. Enemies come at you in waves, projectile weapons are constantly shot and thrown at you, and the platforming sections require you to use all of your known techniques to get through them. As the game progresses, the challenges get harder and harder, with more and more hidden items and paths to discover, but the step up is at a steady pace that never feels too punishing.
There are checkpoints throughout the stages that not only revive you an unlimited number of times but also greatly heal you when your health is low. These points are lifelines in more ways than one and are a lot more reminiscent of the save points seen in the modern 3D titles. This helps keep the game from becoming too frustrating, but there's also the option to turn them off if you truly want to push yourself to be the best. Doing so will actually help improve your rating at the end of the stage, providing incentive to enable this option if you're aiming for the highest scores possible.
Along with how hectic and crazy each stage can get, the even harder-to-access areas often reward you with special items and techniques to unlock. These allow you to buy new skills and abilities from the game's shop, which can be accessed any time from the stage selection screen. Each character can only equip so many abilities, and it's the player's choice to either add ones that help them or ones that make the game harder to improve their overall ranking. It's a fun system that allows everyone to customize the game in a way that works for them, by making it either easier or harder, and it works well.
The final aspect of the main gameplay comes from the challenge missions and the secret stages that become unlocked.
Challenges are exactly what one might expect them to be: extra objectives that players can attempt to complete within each stage for a higher ranking and more rewards. These can be simple, such as "do not fall into a pit," or more unique, asking you to use specific attacks to kill designated enemies within a stage. This means simply beating a stage and collecting every item isn't truly "completing" it, giving players more reasons to go back and try to perfect a level they've already cleared. This also extends to the secret missions, which are stages based on the main story areas but are harder and have slightly different layouts and requirements to complete. These levels demand that players put all their talents to use to reach the end, and they're even harder to achieve the highest rank in. They also greatly extend the game's playtime, and technically, they aren't the only secret to find.
Without going into spoilers, Ragebound is actually a much larger game than it initially appears. There's a lot to discover within its stages and plenty of reasons to keep coming back after the credits roll. Harder and harder challenges will continue to pop up for players to overcome, and without enabling the assist mode, they are sure to push nearly everyone to their limits. But again, there's an option to make the game easier as needed, which includes a setting that reduces all player damage to 0%. Of course, many may feel this is cheating, but surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprisingly), this may be the only way some players will ever truly be able to beat this game.
Should you play it?
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is hands-down one of the most enjoyable 2D action games I've played in recent years. It flawlessly merges the classic NES experience with modern refinements, perfectly preserving the spirit of both old and new Ninja Gaiden titles.
Seeing Ryu Hayabusa pull off the iconic Izuna Drop in 2D is absolutely perfect fan service for longtime fans, but playing through the game as our two new leads is what really makes this game shine. Both of their abilities bring something new and fresh to the series, and the unique gameplay mechanics help Ragebound stand out from other titles in the genre. Every stage here is expertly handcrafted to make use of these abilities, and the non-stop hectic combat and platforming feels strangely smooth and almost calming once you get the hang of it.
Yes, the game does ramp up the challenge, especially during the later half, but every death is a learning experience and never feels cheap. This helps the game remain fun, even when failing, and there are accessibility sliders for those who still find themselves struggling. Ultimately, it's a game designed for everyone to have fun with, and that's exactly what this game is: a fun and rewarding adventure from start to finish, and one you'll want to come back to time and time again. It surpassed all of my expectations, and I cannot recommend it enough for fans of the genre.
VERDICT: Essential
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
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