Ninja Gaiden 4 review – Platinum standard action

The Izuna Drop is one of Ninja Gaiden’s most iconic moves. Similar to the Spinning Piledriver, the Izuna Drop sees you combo a foe in the air before grabbing them and spinning head-first into the ground, devastating the spine of whomever you clung onto. Ninja Gaiden is filled with moves like this, executed either in the middle of attack strings or with a fighting game-style input that involves spinning the stick or tapping down and up before launching at a foe. These flashy techniques are what make Ninja Gaiden a true character action game, one where you launch opponents into the air and swap weapons to juggle them for massive damage.

I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the action game masters at Platinum Games, especially after stellar games like Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Nier Automata, and many more. But it’s impossible to shake the feeling that something is different here. Although new protagonist Yakumo has the ninja moves that made Ryu Hayabusa a legend, this doesn’t quite feel like the older Ninja Gaiden games. Ryu was fast, sure, but he also felt heavy, like the most mobile wrecking ball in the world. Yakumo is all speed, all the time, and he’s lighter, closer to other Platinum Games titles than the 3D Ninja Gaiden trilogy.

As a result, Ninja Gaiden 4’s first impression is a bit off-putting. It doesn’t feel as solid as earlier games in the series off the bat, and it doesn’t make up for it with the bombastic, action-packed intro that we saw in games like Nier Automata and Bayonetta 2. Don’t get me wrong, combat feels slick and immediate from the first moment, but it won’t blow you away.

Not at first, at least. You’re gradually introduced to Yakumo’s moveset over the course of the first chapter, and unfortunately, there’s just not enough in that chapter to make you appreciate it. That all changes when you come up against the first truly imposing boss. Suddenly, being able to follow up a Perfect Dodge or Perfect Parry with a Bloodraven strike is incredibly valuable, not to mention the fact that Bloodraven Arts can crush guarding enemies — and if all else fails, you can activate your Berserk mode to wipe out a crowd.

The true value of Yakumo’s toolset slowly reveals itself, and while you can “hack-n-slash” your way through many encounters – especially on the easier difficulties – mastering it will be the only way to take on fraught encounters on tougher modes. When you’re starting out, though, your controller inputs can feel like a bit of a mess.

RT can be held to guard, pressed to parry, and held with a movement input to dodge. RB is good for certain movement functions and attacks. LT activates your Bloodraven Form, which you’ll regularly flick to for one or two moves mid-combo. Meanwhile, you’ll be jumping, attacking, and throwing shurikens with the face buttons, though you can sprint and slide too. Some attacks need to be executed mid-combo – that Izuna Drop requires three standard hits into a heavy hit, while in the air, so you’ll need to launch your foe first – and then others require buttons to be pressed simultaneously. 

It’s honestly impressive that so many tools are at your disposal simultaneously, but mastering and pulling them out at precisely the right time requires hours of practice. I’ve neglected to mention that there are, of course, multiple weapons, each with their own unique movesets and unlockable techniques attached to them, essentially multiplying the number of actions you can make with each weapon in your arsenal.

It’s frankly overwhelming to think about, but also exciting. The skill ceiling has left the atmosphere, but that doesn’t mean you need to build a rocket in order to keep up. If you’re willing to swallow down HP consumables when facing a tough enemy, you’ll be able to overcome each of the game’s challenges with enough patience.

Even after a fairly tumultuous period for the studio, Platinum Games has once again proven that it is one of the premier names in the action game space. Ninja Gaiden 4’s combat is true character action goodness, though some levels and environments are a bit boring. The true greats of the genre feel distinct from level-to-level in tone and atmosphere, while Ninja Gaiden 4 has fewer distinct areas, and more chapters where you’ll be battling through an area that looks almost identical to the area from the last chapter. Fighting through crowds of creatures can become tedious, but the big boss encounters guarantee some fantastic, memorable moments.

If combat design is all that matters to you, then Ninja Gaiden 4 is a fantastic entry into a legendary series, but the design of some enemies and areas become familiar far too quickly, and your hundredth time killing a haunted lantern or soldier isn’t going to get your blood pumping. The pacing might be slightly off, but the action is always on beat.