'It's about feeling like a super ninja' – Ninja Gaiden 4 directors talk making 2025's coolest game

In advance of its launch early next week, we delved into the minds behind Ninja Gaiden 4 to discover more about bringing such a classic style of character game back.

2025 needs more games like Ninja Gaiden 4. What with its incredibly slick action, neon-hued visuals, and dual ninja protagonists at the centre of it all, rarely do action games come along that are as blazingly stylish and confident as this.

It’s why, after playing through the game’s first few chapters for my initial preview, I dubbed it ‘a bold, bloody and brutal return’ for the classic character action series. It’s also a game that comes with its own heavy expectations, however, which co-developers Team Ninja and Platinum Games is acutely aware of.

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All signs so far point towards Ninja Gaiden 4 being 2025’s coolest games, and a great way to cap off the so-called ‘year of the ninja’ that also includes the franchise’s own Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. To learn more about how both studios went about reviving Ninja Gaiden’s 3D incarnation a decade after the previous game, I spoke to Team Ninja’s Masakazu Hirayama and Platinum’s Yuji Nakao ahead of the game’s release.

First of all, when would you say discussions to bring Ninja Gaiden back with a fourth entry first began and why is 2025 the perfect time to do it?

Masakazu Hirayama (Team Ninja): Team Ninja had wanted to make a new entry in the Ninja Gaiden series for quite a long time, and when this opportunity started to present itself, there was a conversation that took place between the presidents of Koei Tecmo and Platinum Games, who are actually friends. They were talking about, ‘wouldn't it be great if we could work together on a project someday?’

It was probably around five years ago that the initial discussions happen, but full-scale production and development was more around three years ago or so. Thanks to the partnerships and the collaborations we had in place we were able to make this happen.

Ninja Gaiden 4 seems perfect newcomers, largely thanks to the new hero Yakumo. Was this a conscious decision?

Yuji Nakao (Platinum Games): It’s been more than 10 years since the last mainline Ninja Gaiden game and the idea to make a game that had high-level playability not just for returning players, but for new players as well, that’s something that we had decided on incorporating from the beginning.

At the same time, we also wanted to make sure that we retained the core aspects of what makes a Ninja Gaiden game. This comes in the form of the plethora of options and assists that will help new players. It’s also something we had in mind with Yakumo, because we wanted to create a new entry point for players and introduce a character that they could grow together with.

In terms of Yakumo, introducing a new character was initially a proposal from Platinum Games. He's designed in a way to contrast with Ryu Hayabusa, who's a hardcore stoic ninja. But whereas Ryu is this absolute ninja, Yakumo is climbing the ranks and he's developing as a as a character as he makes his way towards master ninja status. We contrast them with each other and further embellish and emphasize the distinct appealing characteristics of each character.

Both characters have multiple loadouts and weapon types. Do you have a personal favourite and how fun were they to come up with?

MH: My favourite is the starting weapon for Yakumo; those dual blades in base form. Then, when you go into Bloodraven form, it transforms into this large Tachi blade. When you're using the dual blades in base form it gives you that grounded, basic combat experience.

[In] Bloodraven form you transform into that Tachi blade, but it's not your normal Tachi blade. It's one that’s over-the-top, which changes the scope of battle because it allows you to unleash these more long-range attacks. I picked this weapon because I feel like it really captures that distinction between the base and Bloodraven form.

YN: I have a connection to the Assassin’s Tool, which was first revealed in our Opening Night Live trailer. It’s a very tricky weapon, capable of doing various different things and has long-range weapon options as well as close-range options. It opens up this just immense amount of depth when you really dig into the weapon and start wrapping your head around it, especially when you start learning to master the differences between the base form and the Bloodraven form.

Not only that, within the Assassin's Tool’s kit, it's a box that contains a wide array of ninja-like weapons, which makes it quite cool. From a developer's perspective, there's a fine balance you have to find, because if you give it so many options, you'll make it so powerful and overpowered that you can really just dominate the game. But at the same time, if you make it too difficult to use, it won't be enjoyable to use. Trying to find that balance was definitely a challenge.

Ninja Gaiden 4 is on track to be the coolest action game of the year. Is such a vibe hard one to capture? It feels like we’re seeing it less and less.

MH: I think your question gets to one of the quintessential attributes of Ninja Gaiden as a series, which is having this sense of complete control as a super ninja that's able to overcome any type of insurmountable situation. In order to accomplish that, the game has to have a rich, robust set of tools that allows you to perform the actions, moves, and strategies that you have in your head.

Ninja Gaiden is a pure action game. It's not an RPG. It's an action RPG where you can level up and get stronger. So really, it comes down to you being able to perform certain manoeuvres and engage with the action gameplay to overcome the scenarios that you’re put up against. That sense of wanting to get better and improve as a player I feel like is what makes action games special.

One aspect where I feel like the Platinum influence can be most felt is in the rail grinding sequences. Can we expect these to crop up often?

YN: With Ninja Gaiden 4 being a new mainline entry, we really wanted to emphasize the sense of speed in this game. The rail sections that you mentioned were one of the ways where we wanted to really emphasize that sense of propulsion that you get throughout the stages and as you're going from one combat encounter to the next. The rail sections specifically are performed utilizing part of the Raven gear. And the Raven gear includes other traversal mechanics as well that you'll be able to experience in the full release. So please enjoy when you get to them.

In tandem with the Ninja Gaiden 4 reveal at the beginning of the year, you also shadow dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. Why drop the remake as a surprise in this way?

MH: Of course we did have the Ninja Gaiden Master collection that came out. But with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black it providde an opportunity for us to familiarize ourselves with Unreal Engine 5 because that's the engine we used to remaster the game. It also provided an opportunity for new players to experience Ninja Gaiden 2 in this way.

There were a lot of players that were interacting with Ninja Gaiden as a series for the first time through this visual remaster, so it was a good opportunity to allow players to first familiarize themselves and get to learn about what makes Ninja Gaiden so special as they prepare themselves for Ninja Gaiden 4.

Have either of you had a chance to play Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound yet and if so, what are your thoughts?

YN: When the game released, there was a group of media that was visiting our studio for a media tour for Ninja Gaiden 4 so I couldn't play it right on release day. But once that was over, that was the first thing I did. And I really loved it. There was one boss in particular that really gave me a hard time. I also really enjoyed with how they opened the game and the respect they paid to the series. It was just a really great, challenging 2D action experience.

MH: It being a Ninja Guiding game, of course, Team Ninja had some involvement with the game. But personally, I didn't. I had been seeing builds along the way, developments, but I wasn't the main person looking and giving feedback in terms of the state of the game. So, when the game released, I was able to experience it as a player, and I was amazed what the game had become.

While it is a 2D action game, it really incorporates elements of all the mechanics and sensibilities throughout the Ninja Gaiden series as a whole. There was a lot of love put into that game and a lot of respect for the series, whether it's the guillotine boost that allows you to bounce on enemies as well as the Hypercharge ability that allows you to defeat one enemy who has an aura and then use that to unleash a more powerful attack. A lot of that really taps into that quintessential essence of what makes Ninja Gaiden special, and I had a lot of fun playing.

Wrapping up, is the hope to continue the franchise’s 3D incarnation following Ninja Gaiden 4?

MH: Yeah, of course, if the situation presents itself, it allows us to make the next. We definitely want to. Of course, it will come down to how players react to the game and the reception of the game. But that's why we're burning the midnight oil and not sleeping this last week to get the game as high quality as possible at the release.

YN: Yes, if the opportunity presents itself. Sure.

What’s one aspect you hope truly surprises people about Ninja Gaiden 4 when it finally launches next week?

MH: With Ninja Gaiden, it's all about feeling what it's like to be a super ninja. I know there's a lot of people who are worried that they won't be able to enjoy it because there’s this challenge hurdle. But I really want to invite players to just pick up the controller, press the buttons, and really feel how good it feels to play and get that response. That immediate feedback and just experience what it's like to be a ninja.

Of course, this goes for the story as well. It is a continuation of the Ninja Gaiden storyline, but it's a self-contained storyline. You can just jump in and enjoy what's on offer regardless of whether you played the prior games. So really, the main thing is I want all players to just jump into the game and experience the joys of being a ninja and controlling a ninja.

YN:

I'm really excited for players to interact with the Bloodraven form because it builds upon the Ninja Gaiden foundations in terms of that sense of precision and elegance but also incorporating that sense of expression. These really expressive and unique attacks. There's so much depth to it. With the Bloodraven form, specifically, you'll be discovering more deeper layers the more you play the game. [I’m] really looking forward to players interacting with the Bloodraven form.