Ninja Gaidenfans have been through one hell of a rollercoaster ride in 2025. Right before the year kicked off,we got the announcement of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a brand-new entry in the series from Blasphemous developer The Game Kitchen, which was then followed up with thereveal of the long-awaited Ninja Gaiden 4alongside aremake of the series’ best game, Ninja Gaiden 2.
Since then,all eyes have been on Ninja Gaiden 4 and the return of the brutal 3D character actionseries we’ve spent a decade waiting for. As exciting as that is, though, my scepticism about Yakumo and the new direction that NG4 is taking has meant thatRagebound has continued to stand out to me as the most exciting thingcoming to the series.
This is all despite the fact that I don’t really have a relationship with the original 2D Ninja Gaiden games. I’m 3D through and through, but Ragebound just lookedthatgood.
I felt that way after playing just over an hour of Ragebound towards the start of the yearand seeing how perfectly it melds the two eras of Ninja Gaiden games with its brutal combat, slick platforming, stunning presentation, and a punishing difficulty curve. I’ve been anxious to see whether it could stick the landing across the whole game, and I’m happy to say thatNinja Gaiden: Rageboundnot only did that, but it also managed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ninja Gaiden 2 as my favourite in the whole series.
A Ninja Gaiden That’s About More Than Just Action
Somewhat controversially,considering Ninja Gaiden 4 is doing the same thing while reviving the series, Ragebound takes the focus away from Ryu and stars two brand new characters - Kenji and Kumori. Kenji is a member of the Hayabusa clan and Ryu’s student, while Kumori is one of the Black Spider Clan’s best kunoichi.
After Ryu is sent off to take part in the very first game’s plot, Kenji and Kumori end up crossing paths and having their fates (and souls) intertwined while trying to stop demons from taking over the world. What follows is mostly standard Ninja Gaiden fare, but one of Ragebound’s greatest strengths is that it actually made me care about a Ninja Gaiden story for the very first time.
Outside of the original games, Ninja Gaiden has never really been about telling a story. Ryu is epic, sure,but he’s not got much to him other than that. The same can’t be said for Kenji and Kumori, who are both more playful and human than any other character in the series, from their somewhat flirty banter with one another to Kenji’s cute interest in pirates of all things.
It’s just a cherry on top that Ragebound looks and sounds as good as it does. The stunning pixel art is the clear winner, but I was surprised at just how rocking the OST was.
Their relationship of sworn enemies to forced allies isn’t groundbreaking, but itisinteresting, and that’s frankly new territory for a Ninja Gaiden narrative. The rest of the game is mostly what you’d expect from the series, with a corrupt government and demons aplenty, but Kenji and Kumori stand out as something new for the series that I really hope continues in the future. Trust me, you won’t miss Ryu much.
But Don’t Worry, The Action Is Amazing Too
While it’s great that Kenji and Kumori are such solid leads, whatreallymatters in a Ninja Gaiden game is how it plays, and Ragebound absolutely nails that, too. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound takes the series back to its roots with 2D side-scrolling levels that have you constantly swapping between fast-paced combat that’s usually over in a few swings and even faster platforming that, while tricky at first, eventually results in an effortless ballet of wall jumps, rolls, and bounces off enemies using the new Guillotine Boost move. Once Ragebound clicks,it’s just as satisfying as any of the 3D Ninja Gaiden games.
Kenji and Kumori both feel excellent to play thanks to their slim but versatile movesets, and you eventually get the best of both worlds when the two get stuck together, giving you access to Kumori’s moves while controlling Kenji. This is also where Ragebound’s key mechanic, Hypercharge attacks, really comes to life. Hypercharge is built up by killing specific enemies with either Kenji’s or Kumori’s abilities, and they give you an instant one-shot kill against bigger foes that otherwise take some whittling down.
These one-shot attacks only last for a short while, giving Ragebound’s combat an almost rhythmic feel as you build up Hypercharge hits, decide which enemies need to be taken down first, whether to use Kumori’s long-range kunai or Kenji’s sword, and then move on to the next mob as the cycle repeats itself. Ragebound’s core movement and combat is 2D Ninja Gaiden at its very best, but Hypercharge makes it feel like an evolution alongside that perfection.
Ragebound isn’tquiteas hard as the rest of the series, but it still takes a lot of practice and skill. The excellent bosses and challenging Special Ops missions are where you’ll truly be tested on your abilities.
Kenji and Kumori are at their best when you’ve got access to both of their abilities, but it’s a bit of a shame that Kumori didn’t get more solo levels. Some fun vehicle sections add a bit of variety to the game’s structure, but I would have rather seen Kumori get the spotlight a little more outside of being tied to Kenji and occasionally helping unlock doors with demon altars.
A Flash Of Rage
As cliché as it sounds, the only real downside to Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is that it ends. To be serious for a moment, the main campaign clocks in at around six hours, which is on the short side. There are plenty of challenges and collectibles to find throughout the levels (including series staple Crystal Skulls and Golden Scarabs), as well as special ops side missions, but you could easily beat Ragebound in one sitting.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’s score system makes it feel like it’s meant to be played and replayed to perfection, and there are some very tough challenges for people like me whoreallyget into it, which does add more value than just completing the main missions. If you’re not one of those people, though, Ragebound might not have enough content to maintain your interest for too long.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is so damn good that I would have been sad when it ended, no matter how long that took. The Game Kitchen has done an incredible job mixing the best elements of both generations of Ninja Gaiden, while adding enough new to make it stand out as its own take on the series. It’s easily one of the best games in the series, and Ninja Gaiden 4 (as well as Shinobi: Art of Vengeance) is going to have a hell of a challenge surpassing it.
