Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound proves the old ways never die; they just get sharper.
Witnessing a legend come to life has an electrifying effect. Ninja Gaiden was more than simply a tough-as-nails side-scroller for fans of the NES action game heyday; it was a rite of passage. Decades later, the mere prospect of bringing back that legendary franchise was enough to evoke strong feelings of nostalgia.
But when Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was unveiled at The Game Awards 2024, it didn’t just repeat the past; instead, it attracted notice. It was made by The Game Kitchen, the same group behind the hauntingly beautiful Blasphemous and its sequel, and it has a striking trailer. It became clear then that this would not be a rerun of the past. It was going to be worth going back for this fight.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound doesn’t ask you to just recall the past; rather, it plunges headfirst into it and uses its katana-sharp edge to cut through memory. The story begins in a familiar place: a ninja stands between complete destruction and demons invading our world and ruining everything in their path.
There’s a catch, though. You take on the role of Kenji, a teenage apprentice who quickly merges with Kumori, a ghostly kunoichi from the enemy Black Spider Clan, after following in Ryu Hayabusa’s footsteps.
After being betrayed and almost destroyed by a demon lord, the two combine to create a hybrid warrior that possesses both ethereal ranged attacks and melee aggression. The story of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound revolves around their tense alliance, which gives drama and chemistry to what may have been another story about a lone hero.
The action becomes a throbbing rhythm of attack, dodge, slash, and leap as Kenji and Kumori fight through a succession of more ridiculous and thrilling set pieces, such as jetski chases, cargo train duels, motorcycle pursuits, and gas chamber breakouts. At first, the controls are surprisingly straightforward: one button for jumping and another for attacking.
However, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound‘s armament is revealed layer by layer. A strong lunging strike quickly closes the distance on foes, and a shoulder button adds a fast dodge roll. For traversal and chaining battle combos, the Guillotine Jump, a smooth mid-air bounce over foes or objects, gives aerial control. Once you get the hang of it, it’s the kind of move that makes you wonder how you ever played without it.
You shouldn’t hold back, just as combat doesn’t. When you encounter enemies with bright pink or blue auras, you are forced to act and think more quickly. By using Kumori’s kunai on the pink and Kenji’s blade on the blue, you can build up a Hypercharge attack, which is a screen-clearing slash or barrage that is crucial for eliminating more formidable foes that are in your path.
What begins as a fashionable addition soon turns into a fundamental feature. You lose out on the additional power if you utilize the incorrect color or if you time your attacks incorrectly. If you do it correctly, you can easily defeat even the biggest opponents with a single blow. The system rewards excellence but requires attention.
Most of the time, it functions flawlessly. What would have been a brawler with a lot of mush is made more complex by the clever layer of difficulty that the color-coding mechanism provides. In contrast to many of its genre peers, it promotes mastery without penalizing exploration.
However, not all battles feel as close as they need to in Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. Boss encounters may be both thrilling and draining. Some feel like presentations for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound‘s best concepts, fusing mechanical intricacy with dazzling spectacle, such as the twin mega eels or the battleship turret boss. Others become annoying slogs, like a massive ape-like creature that throws spike crystals, which are necessary to charge your Hyperattack.
There is frequently too little time to accomplish what you need to do and too much chance of suffering inevitable harm. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, fortunately, does not take a strict stand on difficulty. Rather, it provides a wide range of helpful features, such as damage reduction, no knockback, and even the option to totally eliminate harm if you’re just interested in seeing what happens next.
On the other hand, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound gives hardcore players talismans that, upon dying, return their progress to the beginning of a level or quadruple incoming damage. Giving you the resources to customize the experience to your preferences is more important than disclosing how you play.
Additionally, it makes it obvious that customization goes beyond battle in a game this momentum-focused. In between levels, you go to see Muramasa, the renowned 3D Ninja Gaiden game weaponsmith, who now owns a store where Golden Scarabs are used as money.
These scarabs, which are hidden throughout each stage, enable a broad range of upgrades. Some of these upgrades are beneficial, such as faster ultimate recharging or health regeneration at high kill streaks, while others are devilishly cruel, such as turning off health pickups. This includes subtle RPG aspects without slowing down the action and provides a strong incentive to explore the levels more carefully.
However, it’s the flow that truly unites Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. It feels otherworldly when you’re in the zone, chaining strikes, bouncing between adversaries, setting off Hypercharge blasts, and dodging lethal platforming gauntlets. In the early stages, when Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound promotes experimenting without penalizing failure, it’s a speedrunner’s paradise.
However, as the game goes on, that smoothness starts to wane. Later levels start to demand perfection more frequently than not, and bosses turn into endurance tests that are tested by fire. Once generous and well-balanced, the game’s pacing becomes a bit too reliant on its vintage inspirations. You will probably feel right at home if you miss the hard difficulty spikes of 1980s design. Others could begin using help modes more frequently in order to move forward.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has amazing visuals. From the flickering candles of abandoned temples to the stark neon of metropolitan skylines, its pixel graphics glistens with atmosphere and intricacy. Despite its retro roots, the animation is precise and flowing, and nothing seems old or underdone.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound evokes the essence of arcade-era presentation while enhancing it with contemporary refinement. With each frame full of movement and purpose, every Guillotine Jump, kunai throw, and sword slash leaps off the screen. Even more stunning is the sound design. The mood is established right away with a mix of freshly written songs and remixed NES oldies in the opening stage.
Each sound effect is backed by actual muscle: explosions reverberate with bass, swords slice with weight, and the swelled music heightens the suspense during boss battles. The tactile sense of every motion is enhanced when listening through headphones, particularly on the Steam Deck. You feel the activity, not just hear it.
The tiny things, like rebounding off an enemy missile in mid-air to reach a hidden ledge, timing a Hypercharge strike to defeat a wave of demons in one blow, or finding a tough scarab buried behind a maze of environmental dangers, are what make a game memorable, as they do in all great games. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound shines brightest here, in these moments of victory.
However, it is not without flaws. Particularly on Hard Mode, where there are few checkpoints and Muramasa’s shop is completely unavailable, later stages might drag. Recapturing the NES-style gauntlet is the obvious goal, but the outcome occasionally deviates into irritation.
Furthermore, even while the color-coded combat is often engaging, occasionally it disrupts the flow, especially when you accidentally tag the incorrect enemy type and have to deal with the consequences. Nevertheless, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound succeeds more often than it fails in spite of these flaws. With its clever concept, tight fighting, and some of the most exquisite pixel art available, it updates a classic.
In addition to adding spice to the story, the combination of Kenji and Kumori forms the basis of a dual-style fighting system that revitalizes the brand. It provides novice gamers with an entry point that doesn’t require instantaneous responses and gives devoted fans something they can enjoy.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound elevates the Ninja Gaiden tradition rather than merely honoring it. It demonstrates that traditional methods can still be effective, particularly when honed using contemporary game design tools.
There is a rewarding challenge in the pixelated shadows of this harsh world, regardless of whether you are an experienced player or this is your first time entering it. You might discover that Ragebound isn’t merely a return to form, but perhaps the form’s future if you’re prepared to confront the anger head-on.
