Ninja Gaiden is back with a payback . Last month , Koei Tecmo surprise releasedNinja Gaiden 2 Black , an Unreal Engine 5 remake of an Xbox 360 classic . It ’ll follow up on that later on this year withNinja Gaiden 4 , the first original secret plan in the series in over a decennary . That would be a in use year for any franchise , let alone a long formant one pass to imprint , but it is n’t contain there . This year will also bringNinja Gaiden : Ragebound , a 2D spin on the series from the retro masters at Dotemu and The Game Kitchen .
It ’s a double-dyed serial for that kind of discussion . After all , Ninja Gaiden start its life-time in arcade and on the NES as an erstwhile school heartbeat - em - up . Can that formula still resonate with innovative audience who recognise the series more for its beloved 3D installments that defined theXbox 360 generation ? Based on my first hand - on demonstration , which tour me through a handful ofRagebound ’s levels over an hr , Dotemu is cooking up another polished retro revival that is n’t just out to cash in on nostalgia . It ’s a counter to a classic genre that was neither broke , nor in pauperization of fixing .
2D action rules
Ninja Gaiden : Rageboundis set around the effect of the serial publication NES installment . While Ryu is off in America on a pursuit for vengeance , Kenji place out on his own pursuance back at home . I did n’t get a full sense of the story quite yet during my demo , but it seems like Dotemu is maintain it simple . There are some crystals to be amass and Kenji is the human race for the line of work .
Within seconds , I can seeRagebound ’s exact imagination . I ’m chuck into a quick introductory stage that has me running right and slashing my sword as ninjas and colossus surround me . If you ’ve ever take on classic side scrollers like the Sega Genesis’Castlevania : Bloodlines , you ’ll feel right at base . I can only attack direct ahead , blocking projectiles with my steel , and harness some light platforming with a combination of paries jumps and cap hangs . It ’s the definition of a game that feels the way you remember one-time game feeling .
That orifice is a fiddling misleadingly simple , though . After I get wind those basics , I ’m tossed into a right tutorial that teaches me more nuances . On the movement side , there ’s my hover jump which let me bounce off of projectile and a dodge roll . For offense , I can do a advancing dash strike by pressing attack and my right bumper at the same time . The first suggestion of a proper formula twirl comes when I learn about charged attacks . If I hit an enemy with a blue aura around it , my next attack will be soup up , let me cut through adult enemies in one swipe . If a glow enemy is n’t nearby , I can alternatively oblige the attack release and squander a number of my wellness to get the same power . It ’s a modest bit of resource direction , but one that peppers a bit of risk - wages play in .
Dotemu
I get the hang of that fairly promptly as I move through stage carefully designed to pay that scheme off . Beefy opposition are always carefully placed near ones with glowing aura , letting me activate and test that power in a riotous , fluid mode . Collectibles are scattered throughout stages that require me to utilize my hover jump to vault over pot retch liquified ball . I once again think I have the bent of it all until Dotemu springs another twist on me .
Players actually control two role at once in the main game : Kenji and Kuromi . The latter widens my moveset , as I can entreat B to throw a projectile forward or Y to curve another upwards . Doing so costs a pink vigor that can be regain by killing enemy . That twist turnsRageboundinto a more complex platformer than it is likely in its initial gash - em - up tier . For one , the enemies that lift my attack will either grow pink or blue , so I need to hit them with the right onset to get the caramel . It adds a bit of colour matching puzzler work to the combat , rewarding me for using all my attacks instead of spamming one .
Soon enough , I ’m using Kuromi ’s powers to move through time traversal gauntlets that have me using my projectiles to teleport over spike pits . In a seaboard level , I need to sweep water gaps by bouncing off of leaping fish using Kenji ’s hover cut . There ’s a bit of deepness to it , but not enough that it feels removed from the games that preceded it . It ’s a instinctive evolution of the 2D formatting that we reasonably could have come in the XC .
Of course , no retro side scroller would be complete without some political boss fights that demand mastery of each system . The good one I make for put me up against two sea serpents who popped up on either side of a rickety wooden platform . I had to slash at one while avert its projectiles , occasionally jump off to a high platform to avoid a stream of fire . One cable slam fire pit it with a blue aura , allow me to get my charge attack and stun one of the creatures briefly . It ’s a 2D thrill that feels more fighting that your distinctive contrivance - and - onset battle .
It comes as no surprise thatNinja Gaiden : Rageboundis feeling so fine - tuned . Dotemu is committed to make classic games that do n’t just feel like misanthropic hard currency grabs , but like proper continuations of the franchises we left behind in the 90s . The Game Kitchen is a great partner to handle that vision for Ninja Gaiden , as itsBlasphemous gamessuccessfully bring in modern loop into 2D adventure work up from rich pixel art . Rageboundembraces tradition at every spell , ride out true to its tooth root without just wheeling out a nostalgic schtick . If the final game is as fun as what I ’ve played here , there ’s a full probability it could steal Ninja Gaiden 4 ’s spotlight .
Ninja Gaiden : Rageboundlaunches later this year for PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and PC .
