Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Hands-On Preview – Channeling 2D Rage
It’s been a good year for Ninja Gaiden fans. First, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was released, followed by the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4, the long-awaited next entry in the franchise. It’s set to release later this year, but before that happens, there’s actually another Ninja Gaiden game coming out.
I’m talking Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a whole new adventure in the Ninja Gaiden universe that sees the franchise return to its classic 2D roots. With the help of Dotemu (TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge), the creators of the Blasphemous series, The Game Kitchen, set their eyes on delivering an experience much like the original games did, though with some modernized twists.
With its release due next month, we had the opportunity to go hands-on with an early access demo, and let’s just say this is one entry in the franchise you won’t want to miss.
Ninja Gaiden Returns to Its 2D Roots
The tale of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound sees us taking on the role of Kenji Mozu, a disciple in training under Ryu Hayabusa, the main protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden franchise. As Ryu travels to America, Hayabusa Village is under siege by a demonic army after the barrier between our world and the demon world breaks. Thus, it’s up to Kenji to protect the village, though he’s not alone as he’s accompanied by Kumori, a member of the Black Spider Clan who comes in the form of a spirit since her physical body is trapped within the demon world. Though their clans’ past suggests they should be enemies, the two put their differences aside to stop the demonic forces threatening the village and the entire world.
I’ll keep the story details at that, but surprisingly, despite the demo being short, there appears to be a substantial amount of story in this smaller-scale adventure. Most of it did seem to be the dynamic and bond that is forming between our protagonists, Kenji and Kumori, both of whom are playable, but not in a character selection sense, but rather on the fly, dynamically shifting between the two and even combining attacks and combos.
Undoubtedly, the big focus will be on the gameplay, and for fans of the original 2D Ninja Gaidens or any classic 2D hack-and-slash games, you’ll love what The Game Kitchen has done with Ragebound.
First off, the game’s challenging. Fans of the franchise aren’t strangers to that, but it’s still nice to see that another studio understands the importance of keeping these games fairly challenging. There’s a ton of platforming that tests out your skills, with timing being everything, and the studio isn’t shy about throwing enemies and puzzles into the mix of it all.
The combat itself, though, is fast-paced, with Kenji playing like you would expect, jumping around and sword slashing like a bad ass ninja. Kumori is more on the range side, throwing daggers and such, though she’s pretty deadly when she has to get close and personal with enemies.
Because she is a spirit, though, this also presents some unique gameplay opportunities that allow the combat of both characters to blend. Ki energy can be gathered from defeated enemies, which Kenji can use to perform an ultimate attack. Kumori can also shoot through walls and such, which helps out when solving puzzles.
Sometimes you can summon Kumori into the world to play as her, though only temporarily, and in most instances tied to a puzzle that requires speed and precision to overcome. However, returning to the combat, it’s fast and superbly fluid. With the number of enemies thrown on the screen, it’s very challenging too. But most of all, it’s fun. The controls feel just right, and I love how Kenji’s and Kumori’s fighting styles are blended in seamlessly, allowing you to combine their powers during combat. It adds a layer of depth that will likely continue to expand throughout the game, keeping things fresh and exciting.
For those who may eventually outgrow the game’s difficulty, there is some good news: a hard mode is included that ups the challenge. From what I saw, it seems not only to make enemies more difficult to kill, but there also appears to be more of them, and obstacles to deal with. A much-welcomed addition, as the hardcore Ninja Gaiden fans will absolutely love the heightened challenge.
Boss fights seem pretty brutal too, on regular or hardcore difficulty, though that’s also the norm in the Ninja Gaiden franchise. They do have movesets that are learnable, as in, if you’re finding yourself having a hard time, you should pay close attention to what move the boss performs, as there’s always a way to counter them, be that dodging through them, jumping over them, or getting some distance between them. The demo sadly only had a single boss, with a second one teased for the full game, though they do seem like they’re going to be some very interesting and unique bosses to face that I cannot wait to see.
Overall, I’m left pretty impressed by Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. It may not be a full 3D experience like Ninja Gaiden 4 is going to be, but as a callback to the series’ roots, it’s pretty good, which is no surprise considering the studio and publisher behind it. Personally, I can’t wait for the full release, which is right around the corner as Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound launches on July 31 on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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