Ninja Gaiden 2 Remake Has Been Shadow Dropped

News

Team Ninja the developers behind the genre defining Ninja Gaiden Series, Wo long Fallen Dynasty and Nioh developed a remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 which was shadow dropped on January 23rd during a Xbox Developer Direct. It is fully available across Xbox Series S and X, Playstation 5 and PC.

It’s Like Ryu Never Left

It is a straight up graphical upgrade over the original Xbox 360 exclusive with better lighting effects, better controls and overall responsiveness as some of the core features that the game fully delivers on. This is due to the fact that the game is fully running on the latest Unreal Engine 5, thus each of the various environments throughout are just a joy to look at.

Even the rendered cutscenes look like the game is a 2024 release rather than a remaster, the visual upgrades does not stop there as the enemies themselves have a higher amount of detail to them, making it much easier to see, block or dodge attacks and continue the flawless combo.

The intricate combos are back in full force for the various weapons Ryu has in his arsenal, from slicing unfortunate ninjas with the signature Dragon Sword to breaking bones with his staff and nunchucks, each attack flows seamlessly into the next thus executing a combo feels endlessly satisfying with any of the weapons that the player might enjoy.

Rise Of The Ninja Gaiden Series

In an article on Xbox Wire, Team Ninja boss explained the reasoning behind a Ninja Gaiden 2 Black remake, stating that the reason for remaking and shadow dropping this was to address the concerns fans would likely have about the protagonist of the series, Ryu Hayabusa but also provide something for fans to enjoy as they wait for Ninja Gaiden 4 which was also announced in the Developer Direct.

For those not in the know, the Ninja Gaiden Series can be considered one of the most iconic series in the games industry with the first Ninja Gaiden being released in 1988 by Tecmo as an arcade title. In 2004, Team Ninja came about and made their vision of Ninja Gaiden as an inspiration from the 1988 title and made the base of what fans would know Ninja Gaiden as today.

Team Ninja purposefully made it so that the combat is difficult and challenging and thus extremely rewarding for those who manage to pass the hurdle. Those who could grasp the combos and execute them would be left satisfied as Ryu would tear limbs and chop off heads with amazing, flashy combos then leave each area with blood soaked walls and floors at the end of it

The Series Drop Off

Team Ninja’s game was a certain hit for the western audience that Team Ninja were targeting and soon there was a 2008 release of Ninja Gaiden 2 for the Xbox 360 as an exclusive. Ninja Gaiden 2 was received with blinding praise and more of what people were amazed by in the first game, sheer difficulty, gore but as always the satisfaction when one surpasses the difficulty.

With the commercial success of the second game a 3rd was in the works and Ninja Gaiden 3 was released for the Playstation 3 and did not achieve favorable reviews, most stating that the story and lack of gameplay innovation was the cause for the game’s poor score.

After this the series was essentially put on hold with some spin offs appearing that also missed the mark entirely. Now Ninja Gaiden seems to be back as Ninja Gaiden 4 will be co-developed by Platinum games, the creator behind the Nier Automata and Bayonetta titles and Team Ninja.

Conclusion

Although the graphical upgrade and almost flawless performance is a welcome sight to see for an iconic game like this, there are some features missing from the original. Such as the complete exclusion of any online features, Ninja Race, Test Of Valor and Ninja Cinema are also missing from the remake.

It is no doubt a welcome sight to see the Ninja Gaiden series making a comeback, while the sequel Ninja Gaiden 4 will seem to follow a new protagonist, someone to bring the series into a modern audience, the developers made sure to mention that Ryu will still very much be a part of Ninja Gaiden 4.

As for this remake the responsiveness, graphical upgrade and near perfect performance are more than enough reasons for this game to belong in every player’s library and especially in the libraries of those who grinded through the originals.

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