If you never played Ninja Gaiden ever before, now is the perfect opportunity to do so. Koei Tecmo, the publisher of the game, announced a big reveal last Feb 18, 2021. This reveal includes the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection arriving on Steam this June 2021. You can check out the game’s official trailer here.
Why You Should Be Excited for Ninja Gaiden Trilogy
Ninja Gaiden was the biggest competing game to Devil May Cry during the good old PS2, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox 360 days. To be a Tecmo fan, you were either an avid of their two popular games (or both): Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden.
As a fan of both DoA and NG, I would say these were the golden decades for Tecmo since they always lit up on the radar for their high-impact action. Okay, so both of these games may have heavy fan service, but so what? That’s just the bonus. The main broth in the soup is their fast gameplay. In fact, Ninja Gaiden was an arguably faster game than DMC or even God of War. It was also one of the most difficult action games during its era along with a predictable yet enticing storyline.
Ninja Gaiden 1, 2, and 3 were highly praised for their over-the-top action, intrinsic level progression, and a plethora of amazing combos that you can customize. Oh, and also the existence of Ayane, Momiji, and Rachel.
It’s a trilogy that never shies away from heavy amounts of red arterial spray, guts, and super ninja moves. It’s great to keep your adrenaline pumping, as well as some extremely flashy moves that you can pull off. That’s if you can pull them off, that is. Even to this day, the games look good. Sure, the remastered HD is a plus. But back in the days, Ninja Gaiden was one of the top games with the best graphics.
The Badassery of Ryu Hayabusa
Of course, the game is nothing without its protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, who was also in the original Ninja Gaiden in the NES and my main fighter in Dead or Alive. Think of him as a sort of chad in the whole series because nothing can stop this man from finishing the fight, even if his arm is about to go off. Not even an attractive lady can stop him from doing what he must.
Ninja Gameplay Down to Its Core
Of course, the game brings an excess emphasis on the “Ninja” part; you run on walls, slay multiple enemies with one dash, look cool, and, above all, do crazy ninja hand gestures while in mid-air.
It was also a crazy hard game, almost too crazy at times. Just when you thought the Normal mode is alright, it’s not. It tends to get broken at some point. Unless you have a sort of “gamer literacy,” you might not enjoy it for its difficulty at all. Personally, I love it. The challenges are tough but rewarding. You can just feel like a total bad-ass while doing so.
It also laid so many foundations for the souls-like Gaiden game, Nioh and Nioh 2, which were both published by Koei Tecmo.
Some Flaws to Expect on PC
Remember, this is Koei Tecmo we’re talking about. Don’t expect the game to be optimized properly on the PC (e.g. Nioh and DoA 6). Also, expect bloated required space storage. For real though, I wish Tecmo did learn how to properly port a PC game because that’s the only thing that keeps them from fans returning their trust in the company (though I don’t think they will after the absurd $1000 DLCs for DoA 6 alone).
But if you want a masterfully crafted action game that shows you games were beyond amazing during the 2000s, you have to get Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection on PC now.
