Like the very best revivals, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound feels prefer it may’ve come from a special period. Crafted by Blasphemous developer The Recreation Kitchen, Ragebound is a intentionally old-school motion sport that captures the essence of the basic Ninja Gaiden collection, with sharp gameplay, difficult ranges, and gloriously retro visuals and music that might really feel proper at residence on the Tremendous NES. It additionally builds upon this basis with some good new mechanics, making it greater than a mere imitation of earlier video games.
Somewhat than placing you answerable for collection mainstay Ryu, Ragebound follows two new protagonists: Kenji Mozu, an untested trainee of the Hayabusa Clan; and Kumori, a mysterious kunoichi from the rival Black Spider Clan. When Kenji steps in to avoid wasting Hayabusa Village from a sudden demon onslaught, the pair’s destinies turn out to be entwined and so they type an uneasy alliance, utilizing their mixed talents to face towards the demonic forces threatening the world.
On high of this primary moveset, The Recreation Kitchen has launched a handful of good new talents that additional enrich the motion. Foremost is the Hypercharge. By defeating an enemy with a particular aura (or sacrificing a little bit of your individual well being), you may enter a brief, supercharged state that dramatically will increase the power of your subsequent assault, felling most foes in a single blow. It is a thrilling addition. Carving by means of enemies with well-timed Hypercharge assaults as you race by means of a stage is immensely satisfying and reinforces the sensation that you simply’re an unstoppable ninja.
Equally very important is the Guillotine Enhance, a spinning kick that means that you can bounce off of foes and projectiles in midair. This transfer doubles as a defensive measure and a traversal talent; many phases would require you to Guillotine Enhance off a sequence of airborne enemies to cross hazards or ascend to the next part of the extent, including a satisfying contact of platforming to the motion.
Partway by means of the story, Kumori’s soul fuses with Kenji, imbuing him along with her talents and unlocking one other new talent: the namesake Ragebound Arts. These highly effective particular assaults might be unleashed after you’ve got acquired sufficient Rage Orbs, and so they’re significantly helpful throughout tense conditions, reminiscent of whenever you’re overwhelmed by enemies or battling one of many sport’s formidable bosses. You may also buy and equip completely different Ragebound Arts as you progress by means of the sport, providing you with a little bit of freedom to customise your play model.
Regardless of merging collectively, the sport steadily splits Kenji and Kumori aside, requiring you to make use of each characters to progress. At sure factors in a stage, you will encounter a Demon Altar. Getting into these will shift management over to Kumori, who should navigate a portion of the stage on her personal to achieve an in any other case inaccessible swap and open the trail ahead for Kenji. Nevertheless, the kunoichi is tied to an vitality bar that step by step depletes as you discover, providing you with solely a short window of time to finish your goal. It provides a satisfying puzzle-platforming aspect to the sport, as you could rapidly maneuver by means of a winding part of the stage whereas additionally warding off enemies. Happily, there is no penalty for failing, so these segments by no means turn out to be irritating.
That extends to the sport as a complete. Like earlier Ninja Gaidens, Ragebound is a difficult title, however it by no means feels unfair. Every stage is a gauntlet of enemies to chop down and hazards to navigate, usually in fast succession, and you may die steadily en path to the tip. Crucially, enemies and traps are by no means cheaply positioned, so any setback you expertise looks like your individual fault. Checkpoints are sprinkled generously all through the phases, guaranteeing you will not must retread a lot floor whenever you do fail.
The sport additionally gives compelling incentives to replay ranges. Tucked all through are varied collectibles like crystal skulls and golden scarabs, the latter of which can be utilized as forex to buy equippable talismans and Ragebound Arts. You are additionally ranked on the finish of a stage relying in your efficiency, with new objects unlocking within the store for those who obtain a sure rank, encouraging you to revisit earlier ranges to enhance your rating.
For all of Ragebound’s profitable qualities, there are a couple of blemishes. As nice because the pixel artwork visuals look, it is often tough to tell apart which elements of the stage are surroundings and that are hazards, so there will likely be instances you unwittingly wander into hurt’s means. Furthermore, some phases, significantly within the again half of the sport, drag on a bit too lengthy, taking you thru the identical hazards and repeatedly throwing the identical sorts of enemies at you. This makes a couple of of the degrees really feel extra repetitive than difficult.
The general journey is on the brief facet as properly, spanning fewer than 30 phases between its important missions and secret ops ranges. The hidden collectibles do add some replayability, and also you unlock an much more difficult Exhausting mode upon clearing the story, however it finally looks like the sport ends prematurely. There’s additionally occasional slowdown within the Xbox One model, significantly when too many enemies are onscreen without delay. It does not have an effect on playability, however it’s noticeable simply the identical, so the best method to expertise the sport is on a current-gen platform.
Finally, these complaints do not detract from the general expertise. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is an exhilarating revival that efficiently channels the spirit of the basic collection whereas additionally constructing upon it with some impressed new mechanics. It stays to be seen if the upcoming Ninja Gaiden 4 will likewise dwell as much as the collection’ requirements, however Koei Tecmo’s 12 months of the Ninja is off to an excellent begin.