Is Ninja Gaiden 2 Black just as good the second time around?

Well, well, well, after the release of the master collection, which included Ninja Gaiden 1-3 back in 2021, I thought that was all but the end for our stylish and deadly hero Ryo Hayabusa. But I am more than happy to say that is not the case, as recently fans were elated to hear that Ninja Gaiden 4 is finally going to exist!

Now you might be thinking. That’s great and all Pengy, but this article says Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. And right you are correct, Dear Reader, as Team Ninja not only announced Ninja Gaiden 4, they also shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden 2 Black on PS5, XBOX SX and PC in the same announcement.

For those unfamiliar with Ninja Gaiden, (firstly how? I wrote an article on the master collection when it was released as well) these are fast-paced and Brutal character action games, with combos so stylish Dante would be proud. They are packed with enough gore to make your mother concerned about the content you’re consuming, alongside a healthy dose of fan service and a range of enemy types and bosses from ninjas to grotesque fiends.

The story of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is set one year after the first game where master blacksmith Muramasa is setting up shop in Tokyo. Sonia enters the place and begins inquiring about Ryu’s whereabouts, during this interaction the Black Spider Ninja Clan attack the shop and kidnap her. Enter the Dragon Ninja Ryu Hayabusa. It is his job to save Sonia, but as he is doing this, his village is attacked by the Black Spider clan who wish to steal the Demon Statue for nefarious purposes.

As for the gameplay, returning fans already know what they’re signing up for. For newcomers, however, Ninja Gaiden is a fast-paced and often quite brutal affair where you will be tested, and I don’t just mean the bosses being a gruelling duel. Even the standard enemies will be quick in their attempts to overwhelm you with numbers and ferocity.

But fear not, as you will unlock weapons with different attack styles all with their own combos to learn and master (or button mash and hope for the best). Alongside the weapons, you will also learn new Ninpo attacks (magic okay, it’s Ninja magic) which can help you turn the tide of battle.

The game is structured in a level/mission-based style, with your goal being to get to the end and beat the boss. This may sound linear and to a degree it is, but the environments are big enough to allow you to explore and search for secret collectables and chests that may hold a health item or Ninpo regen item.

Aesthetically Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is absolutely gorgeous with environments that appeared to have been rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5, while also using the code from Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. All the character models look extremely beautiful and grotesque in the areas that they are meant to, coupled with a nice stable high frame rate. The high-paced action appeared to remain nice and fluid while keeping the game looking great.

As for the areas you will be exploring and maining in, again they are all a treat to see and in a strange nostalgia fuelled way, feels like the seeing the game for the first time back when it first released.

Ninja Gaiden’s sound design is still top-tier listening, with Eastern strings and plenty of high-octane tracks to boot. Of course, they could not leave out the sounds of dismemberment and the splash of organic fluids being violently thrown from an enemy during a kill. Personally, it feels like all the sounds have also been touched up to bring it all in line with a general re-master which is perfect, or the sound design was just that good they didn’t need to do much to bring them over.

Since they have rebuilt the game, they have (like every release of Ninja Gaiden 2 has had in the past) changed a bunch of features in an attempt to bring it to the feel of the Xbox 360 version of the game. On the whole, it has kept most things that Sigma brought such as playing as Ayane, Rachel and Momiji, various costumes to unlock, Tag Missions, revised enemy placement and the Black dragon boss. Sadly, speaking of bosses, they did remove the Great Buddha and Statue of Liberty bosses along with the game modes Ninja Race, Test of Valor, Mission Mode and New Game Plus (which was the weirdest removal for me).

I adore Ninja Gaiden despite its Brutal combat, because hoo boy did I forget that normal mode doesn’t mess around! That’s not to say I don’t have gripes with it, however, the main one being in a constant battle with the camera. This is something they absolutely could’ve fixed since they rebuilt things, it feels like it never wants to be where you want it.

Another issue I have is the block and counter. Now, this is possibly me just being bad at pulling it off but it seldom seems to work consistently for me, and yet the enemy appears to have laser focus in that department. Aside from these minor things, overall it has the feel of the original release, which was clearly their end goal.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a fantastic re-master (despite the odd choice of omissions from previous versions) and one any fan of Ninja Gaiden should absolutely check out. As of writing, there have been rumblings from the devs that upcoming updates will make changes to the game as well as bring back certain things. Maybe we will see some of the missing features return during these updates, but who to say?

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and the series in general is an experience I will never get bored of, and will always recommend it to people. Even if you struggle with the game, there is an easier difficulty to allow newcomers an entry point to this brutal world while they find their footing and build their confidence before hitting up the harder challenges.