If you’re going to hire a team to develop a combo-heavy, slick, stylish hack and slash game that’s fast-paced, intense and incredibly brutal then Platinum Games are the devs for you. Having established its credentials with Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising and Nier: Automata, Platinum Games has now worked alongside Team NINJA to bring us Ninja Gaiden 4.
And the results truly speak for themselves. Ninja Gaiden 4 is simply, phenomenally good from start to finish. The combat is exceptionally deep and complex yet easy to picl up and play. The violence is gratuitous, yet incredibly satisfying and the visuals are a sumptuopus feast for the eyes.
There’s so much to love about Ninja Gaiden 4 that I’m hard pressed to think of any real negatives. Although, here’s a tip, immediately set the dialogue language to Japanese and never again listen to or speak of the English dub. You can thank me later.
In all seriousness though, Ninja Gaiden 4 is the heart pumping, adrenaline fuelled gaming experience Platinum Games and Team NINJA are known for and here, they’ve distilled the format into its purest form.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Review
Set after Ninja Gaiden 3, Ninja Gaiden 4 starts Raven Clan member and new protagonist Yakumo with Hayabusa on the sidelines…GASP! Fear not, Yakumo is every bit as non-verbal, brooding and grunting in his responses as Hayabusa. I promise you won’t miss him. In this world, Tokyo has been affected by the corpse of the Dark Dragon raining down evil from above. The city is largley abandoned and uninhabitale with only the DDO (Divine Dragon Order) remaining to keep the Dark Dragon at bay.
As a member of the Raven Clan, it is Yakumo’s destiny to defeat the Dark Dragon once and for all and in order to do so, he intends to kill the Dark Dragon Priestess, Seori. When he reaches her, however, she reveals that the only way to fulfill the prophecy is the allow the Dark Dragon to be reborn and then to purify it before killing it, to end it once and for all. Skeptical, but intrigued, Yakumo agrees and sets off on his quest.
To me, the narrative is largely inconsequential. It has enough of a hook to keep me mildly interested and some of the later twsts and turns are fun when they’re revealed, but the plot is just window dressing. Longtime fans of the series, anime lovers and, let’s face it, weebs will likely adore Ninja Gaiden 4’s story, but to me, it’s just fine. Citizen Kane it’s not.
But the story not having much impact has no bearing on Ninja Gaiden 4 and how great it is. Playing one of these games is all about the combat experience and in Ninja Gaiden 4, that experience is damn-near flawless.
In Ninja Gaiden 4, combat is incredibly fast-paced and brutal. Regardless of which weapons Yakumo has equipped (with four to choose from eventually) you hit X for light attacks and Y for heavy attacks. The B button throws shuriken and the A button jumps. Simple enough right? Wrong…The depth of combos, abilities and moves is frankly mind-boggling. So much so that I often felt a little overwhelmed by just how deep and wide the combat system went. Obviously, there are simple, standard combos to perform by hitting different combinations of X and Y. Then there are the moves which require specific directional inputs; up + down, 360 rotation etc. There are aerial moves, a special charged attack, movement based attacks and weapon specific ones.
And if that’s not enough, Yakumo has access to his Bloodraven Form by holding down LT. When his Bloodbind Gauge fills up, you can hold LT to enter Bloodraven form and perform an entirely new set of attacks (thankfully with the same inputs) that deal additional damage, break enemy’s blocks and unlock even greater combo potential.
Seriously, the combat in Ninja Gaiden 4 is insane and insanely good. I’m a bit of a button masher because I struggle to remember even a small number of combos, but Ninja Gaiden 4 takes things to the next level. Thankfully, across Yakumo’s 4 weapons and Bloodraven mode, there is a standard set of inputs so I was able to remember a handful and they became my go to. I’m sure players with a greater aptitude for this stuff are going to find ways to obliterate every enemy on screen without ever breaking their combo or a sweat. That’s not me, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have an incredible time anyway.
Speaking of Obliteration. When Yakumo is able to lop a limb from an enemy, you can press Y to perform an Obliteration which instantly kills that enemy. These are Ninja Gaiden 4’s most brutal, violent and graphic moments. Prepare for exploding body parts, fountains of blood and gibs galore. Ninja Gaiden 4 has earned its R18+ rating.
While Yakumo can use four different weapons in Ninja Gaiden 4, thank to Bloodraven form, he basically has eight weapons at his disposal. When entering Bloodraven form, his current weapon takes on a new shape; the dual swords (Takeminakata) become one giant sword, the rapier becomes a massive drill, the staff becomes an enormous hammer and the fourth weapon, well that needs to be seen to be understood. Better it be left unspoiled.
Each of Yakumo’s weapons and Bloodraven forms feel and play differently and allow you to tackle combat in a variety of different ways. For example, when using the giant hammer, you need to hold your attacks down and release with the correct timing to do additional damage. There’s a metronomic quality to the combat and once you learn the rhythm you start to become unstoppable, even as a button masher. Best of all, you can switch between Yakumo’s weapons on the fly, creating even greater potential for combos than there already is. Platinum Games and Team NINJA had given players an incredible number of tools to go wild with and each and every one of them is a triumph.
Each weapon also comes with a number of additional moves and combos to be unlocked. These are unlocked by spending Weapon EXP. As you fight, you earn Weapon EXP which can be spent to unlock the full potential of your weapons. Unlocking everything requires a ton of Weapon EXP and I’m not even sure you can earn enough in one play through, but these new abilities greatly broaden the scope for combat so you’re definitely going to want to invest in them.
Outside of combat, Yakumo will explore linear-ish levels to fight his way through waves of enemies before reaching boss. There is some light exploring to be done and some side missions and extra content to find, but by and large, you’ll be pushing forwards to get to the next fight. Along the way, Yakumo will find shrines that serve as shops where he can spend Ninjacoin to buy items and can also take on side missions. These usually involve killing a certain number of enemy or finding a hidden group of bad guys and taking them out. The side missions are a fun little diversion and if you’re exploring ever nook and cranny, you’re most likely going to find them anyway. Completing side missions rewards you with items and currency which you can use to improve Yakumo and his abilities.
Alongside every shrine shop is a raven that lets you speak with another Raven Clan member, Tyran. Tyran offers up additional combat and gameplay abilities in exchange for Ninjacoin. Like the additional abilities for your weapons, Tyran’s learned skills become integral to combat and provide Yakumo with even more ways to deal death.
Getting around Ninja Gaiden 4 is a breeze thanks to Yakumo’s nimble athletic abilities. Wall jumps and runs are eventually joined by a grappling hook, wing suit and even a ninja surf board for riding waves in the sewers. Cowabunga dude! There are plenty of white knuckle sequences in which you’ll need to transition from riding a rail, to swinging from a girder, to catching some air with the wing suit and more. These sections are a lot of fun and a good time to take a breather from the combat. But thankfully, they’re always pretty short and you’ll be back hacking bad guys to bits in no time.
I could probably go on and on about Ninja Gaiden 4 but the proof is in the playing and, honestly, if you’re a fan of these series, the devs or these types of games, you’re already going to be frothing to start playing. If you’re on the fence or you’re not sure if this is your bag, just give it a go and I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is pure, unadulterated video gaming. It’s fast, it’s slick and, most of all, it’s incredibly satisfying.
Ninja Gaiden 4 was reviewed on Xbox Series X using digital code provided by Xbox Australia.
