A long time ago, before the likes ofDark Souls,Elden RingorSekiroever dominated the conversationwhen it came to difficult games, the original difficult series was none other thanNinja Gaiden, specifically the games developed by Team Ninja and largely synonymous with theXbox.
With the franchise experiencing a revival,beginning earlier this year with Ninja Gaiden 2 Blackand peakingwith the upcoming release of Ninja Gaiden 4, its developers want fans to know that while the Souls games and others in its genre have dominated the conversation, the latest installment will chart its own path.
Ninja Gaiden 4 Represents The First New Entry In What Feels Like Forever
As part of an interview with GamesRadarduring Summer Game Fest, Team Ninja producer Masakazu Hirayama discussed the character action genre as a whole and its recent shift.
“The conversation about action games has changed quite a lot since the last Ninja Gaiden game,” Hirayama said. “Soulslikes have kind of taken center stage.”
Indeed, in the time since Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden and Onimusha once ruled the genre, the likes of Nioh, Elden Ring and more have all occupied the vacancies.
That said, with Team Ninja returning to one of its most iconic franchises, don’t expect them to channel some of those Souls elements. “Ninja Gaiden is about having high-speed, pure action gameplay,” Hirayama affirmed. “So we are going against the trend in that way.”
What’s more, if you’re a long-time fan of the franchise, you should feel right at home when the game launches. “When you pick up the controller, and you play, it has that responsiveness, that really satisfying gameplay,” Hirayama added. “Right when you pick it up, it feels like an evolution. It’s like, ‘Oh, this is Ninja Gaiden.'”
Truth be told, long-time fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
