Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Unreal Engine 5 Remaster “Definitive” Version Isn’t So Definitive
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Just yesterday, KOEI Tecmo announced that Ninja Gaiden 4 was finally happening after over a decade since the last mainline entry in the series. The announcement included a full-reveal trailer showcasing plenty of gameplay before revealing its fall target release.
However, this wasn’t the only Ninja Gaiden surprise the team had. Immediately after Ninja Gaiden 4’s reveal, the publisher revealed Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 2, remastered in Unreal Engine 5.
Additionally, it was surprise-released today on all major platforms, allowing players to enjoy Ninja Gaiden 2 the way it was intended. However, the so-called “definitive” version of Ninja Gaiden 2 is more in line with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 rather than the original.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Features Better Graphics, But Feels More Like Sigma 2
Long-time Ninja Gaiden fans who jumped onto Ninja Gaiden 2 Black probably have taken notice that the game isn’t really a remaster of the original Ninja Gaiden 2. Despite KOEI Tecmo listing it on Steam as the “definitive” version of Ninja Gaiden 2, players have quickly noticed that the Black version is more based on Sigma 2, which many consider an inferior version of the original sequel. However, unlike Sigma 2, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black does feature gore and has readded some of the bosses that were missing in Sigma, though beyond a few other things and the visual upgrade, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black appears to be Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 with some elements of the original added to it.
To make matters worse, because it’s based more on Sigma, the game seems to lack much of the content of the Sigma games. KOEI Tecmo confirms the missing content, listing a comparison on their website between all game versions.
They also confirmed the changes and absence of the following things:
- Combat balance such as damage and enemy placements has been adjusted from previous entries in the series.
- Bosses like the “Giant Buddha Statue: Hatensoku” and the “The Statue of Liberty” do not appear in this title.
- Online features such as ranking and co-op play, which were included in NINJA GAIDEN 2 and NINJA GAIDEN Σ2, are not available in this title.
- The “NINJA RACE Mode,” featured in NINJA GAIDEN Σ2 PLUS, is not included in this title.
- Blood and dismemberment effects in this title are based on NINJA GAIDEN 2.
- However, you can switch the settings to match the effects in NINJA GAIDEN Σ2 via the options menu.
What makes things even more stranger is that, Fumihiko Yasuda, Head of Team NINJA and NINJA GAIDEN 4 producer had this to share about the remaster “This version is crafted to satisfy both those who played the original and newcomers discovering it as a current-generation action game. We’ve meticulously incorporated some of the NINJA GAIDEN Sigma 2 additions while staying true to the challenge and feel of the original 360 version, including its signature gore and violence. We’ve also adjusted the weapon upgrade system to more align with the original release.”
From our hands-on with the title so far, the gameplay is still dialed back in terms of speed from the original, only being a bit faster than Sigma 2’s gameplay. On top of that, in the original Sigma 2 release, the studio had to scale back the enemy count in order to get the game to run smoothly due to hardware hassles at the time. That change looks to remain in the remaster, as it clearly has fewer enemies, though their spawning looks to be based on the original than Sigma 2.
Of course, this isn’t to say that Ninja Gaiden 2 Black isn’t fun. I find it odd that it would be called the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 2 while being more based on Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and having less content than that version despite adding some of it.
We’re certain someone like Fiend Busa, a modder who created a Ninja Gaiden 2 Black mod for the original Sigma 2, will likely work on a mod for this. If not them, then hopefully someone else as this definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 2 is better described as a blending of the original and Sigma, which might not be what fans of the original were expecting.
This isn’t all that surprising, honestly, considering the studio said they lost the source code to the original two games. As such, they only really had the Sigma games to work around. I assume this is more of a port wrapped around Unreal Engine 5 instead of being built from the ground up, it makes sense why so many elements are from Sigma 2. Hopefully the studio sees the feedback and starts addressing some of the things people are noticing, but for now, we’ll just have to make due with the version we got.
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Gamers are some of the whiniest people on Earth. I’m sure the company was excited to shadow release this title and the very first thing to do is take a big crap on it. Nice. Real nice.
That’s fine and all but if you’re charging money for a product and market it as the definitive version but are missing content and features from it then you deserve the backlash.
Exactly what Mr. Man said…
It’s like any other product you buy and games are expensive nowadays not to mention that we don’t really own our games anymore unless u buy a physical copy for a console but I’m a PC gamer.
How would you feel if u bought an expensive item and it wasn’t what they said it was?