Hot on the heels of the rebirth of Joe Musashi and Sega’s Shinobi series, yet another famed ninja is back from the dead: Ryu Hayabusa returns with an all-new adventure in Ninja Gaiden 4, the first mainline game in the series since 2012.
Thirteen years is an eternity in the video game world, though, so while this new entry is an enjoyable romp of high-speed combat and extreme spectacle on its own, Ninja Gaiden 4 also marks a new direction for the series that might take some getting used to for purists.
Released on Oct. 21 as a joint venture between longtime series developer Team Ninja (part of Koei Tecmo) and Osaka-based PlatinumGames, Ninja Gaiden 4 sees the masked face of the franchise share the spotlight with a new protagonist: Yakumo, a young prodigy and descendant of the Dark Dragon, the archnemesis seemingly vanquished by Ryu earlier in the series.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.