After greater than a decade within the shadows, the Ninja Gaiden collection returns with not one however three releases this 12 months: the shock remaster of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black that’s already out, this fall’s Ninja Gaiden 4, and in between, the 2D motion platformer that returns the collection to its roots, Ninja Gaiden Ragebound. While the mere existence of this trio is a nice shock, Ragebound is probably the largest shock, because the collection hasn’t been two-dimensional for the reason that early ‘90s. It’s additionally being delivered by a developer (The Game Kitchen) and writer (Dotemu) who’re new to Ninja Gaiden. They aren’t new to pixel artwork or retro throwbacks, although, and Ragebound seems to be in good arms which have actual love for the franchise.
If The Game Kitchen’s Blasphemous collection, you’ll know they produce a few of the best-looking pixel artwork in the present day. Even although the Ragebound reveal trailer featured plenty of hand-drawn animation, all the things I noticed throughout my playtime was pixel artwork, from the title display screen to chop scenes. I like the sense of depth they create in a forest space with layers of parallax scrolling, whereas fireflies drift about within the foreground, unconcerned with all of the bloodshed taking place proper in entrance of them.
Speaking of bloodshed, defeated enemies present a satisfying splatter of pixelated pink spray. Some unhealthy guys even have a number of dying animations. I additionally admire how, whereas some enemy corpses will fly offscreen or simply burst into goo, others stay littered in your wake. Your personal blood will sometimes spill on the background.
For its half, in the meantime, Dotemu revealed TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Streets of Rage 4, Metal Slug Tactics, and the upcoming Marvel Cosmic Invasion. This is a staff with a observe file of reviving dormant recreation franchises and reinvigorating them with recent concepts and sometimes dazzling artwork. That appears to be the case once more with Ninja Gaiden Ragebound. It appears like a supercharged 16-bit model of the NES trilogy and provides some gnarly new ninja tips.
One is the Guillotine Boost, which helps you to bounce off enemies and projectiles with a spin assault. Not solely will it deal harm, it extends your time within the air and due to this fact will enable you to cross extensive areas with no floor beneath your ft. Game Kitchen has ready many platforming challenges for you round this method.
You’ll discover sure enemies have a glowing aura round them. These you may slash to load your hypercharge assault, which decimates massive foes and obstacles with one hit. Hypercharges may be chained collectively if there are a number of glowing enemies close by. So in lots of cases there’s a preferable order by which unhealthy guys needs to be defeated, including another layer for you to consider.
Just to be clear, Ragebound is a level-based motion recreation, not a Metroidvania. You make your manner by way of every space slashing enemies, platforming, and preventing a boss on the finish — like the big demon bat factor I encountered in one of many first areas.
Mercifully, checkpoints will stop you from being despatched again to the start must you be overcome. At the tip of a stage you’re scored in your efficiency from D to S and can obtain a abstract of your completion time, variety of kills, max combo, collectibles you discovered, and any challenges you accomplished. Challenges could be issues like not taking harm or killing a specific amount of enemies with hypercharged assaults.
I wish to point out the prologue that units the scene for Ragebound as a result of it’s superior, however if you wish to keep away from any and all story spoilers chances are you’ll wish to skip forward. *pauses* Okay, forged your thoughts again to that first cutscene that opened the unique Ninja Gaiden again in 1989. Two ninja face one another underneath a full moon. They sprint ahead, leap into the air, and conflict swords. Back on the bottom, after a second, the pink ninja falls, and we be taught this was Ryu Hayabusa’s father. Most of us had by no means seen something so cinematic in a online game earlier than. This occasion kicked off Ryu’s quest for revenge.
In the prologue of Ragebound, we play as Ryu’s father within the moments main as much as his duel. It’s so cool! Right from the leap, followers will acknowledge up to date variations of traditional tunes, like that which underscored the second Hayabusa San collapses to the bottom.
When phrase will get again to Ryu of what occurred to his father, he leaves for America and all of the occasions we witnessed in Ninja Gaiden I-III. Back in his village, some form of portal is opened that sends demons spilling into our world. With Ryu preoccupied, it’s as much as one in every of his pupils, Kenji, to save lots of the village and dispatch this demonic risk. So it might appear the occasions of Ragebound play out alongside the unique recreation. A literal gaiden, or facet story, then. Clever.
Ryu is in one in every of his 3D Ninja Gaiden outfits right here. He’ll clearly be becoming his unique blue outfit for his journey to America, nevertheless it’s cool to see a 3D costume rendered in pixel artwork.
Many avid gamers who got here up within the ‘80s and early ‘90s nonetheless have PTSD from these rattling birds that first appeared in degree 3-1 of the unique Ninja Gaiden. They had been form of an annoying mixture of the medusa heads and fleamen from Castlevania. My pals, I remorse to tell you: The buzzards are again. Thankfully, they nonetheless take only one hit and appear to be extra manageable right here, at the very least within the early phases.
One of probably the most fascinating new additions to the traditional Ninja Gaiden system is Kumori, a demoness who will change into your companion and has some helpful tips of her personal. If you occur upon a Demon Altar, Kumori can commune with it and change to the darkish world, the place hidden demonic entities are revealed and can be utilized to navigate environments and open no matter was blocking Kenji’s path. This isn’t a cooperative recreation, although, so Kenji will stay trapped within the altar whereas Kumori is galavanting about demon city. She additionally has particular assaults that may assist Kenji in fight.
I already encountered some actually cool enemies in my brief playtime, like a cyclops that spits large eyeballs from its intestine. I like the way in which it dissolves right into a skeleton, too. In a pleasant contact, intelligent moments break up the motion, like when a demon leaps out at you however is eaten by a dragon snake factor that comes out of nowhere. These are eye sweet moments that might simply be amusing, or they may introduce a monster you’ll run into afterward.
I feel old fashioned Ninja Gaiden followers are certain to get pleasure from this return to type. Ragebound has nice pixel artwork, fast-paced platforming motion, and new concepts that elevate the supply materials. I’m trying ahead to studying extra about Kumori and seeing how her relationship with Kenji develops. From what I’ve performed up to now, this looks like one other profitable mixture of beloved however uncared for IP with passionate indie devs. Ninja Gaiden Ragebound is out this summer season.
