After a 10-year silence, Ninja Gaiden 4 "continues the legacy" of an arcade classic while revitalizing it for the modern world: "It's not a Ninja Gaiden game without Ryu"

If you've read my five-star Ninja Gaiden 4 review, you'll already know this game means serious business. As the first new entry in the action franchise since 2014 spin-off Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, made in partnership between developer Team Ninja and NieR:Automata studio Platinum Games, it's the return to form I'd been waiting for.

It's also the most unique iteration of the action franchise to-date. With a brand new protagonist, setting, and a complete overhaul of classic Ninja Gaiden action mechanics courtesy of Platinum's expertise, Ninja Gaiden 4 brings the series in line with modern expectations while holding true to its core DNA.

I spoke to director Masakazu Hirayama of Team Ninja, joined by Platinum Games producer and game director Yuji Nako, about the intentions behind some of Ninja Gaiden 4's biggest changes to the formula – and where the upcoming DLC will take Yakumo's journey next.

Q: How have you found the Ninja Gaiden 4 launch and reception?

A (Hirayama): From a developer's perspective, we spent so many years developing this game, so more than anything, I'm really happy to see that the game is out and that so many people are enjoying this. From seeing a lot of different users playing the game and just kind of seeing their comments, I've been noticing that there have been some requests that are being made for the game. We've already announced that we are making DLC for the game as well.

Right now we, Team Ninja, and Platinum Games are working together towards releasing this DLC for the game, and to be able to also ensure that a lot of this feedback and a lot of these requests that are being made are reflected in that DLC as well. So we plan to have content that hopefully everyone will enjoy and be satisfied with.

A (Nako): For us, Platinum Games being the one to create the most recent [Ninj Gaiden] entry, it was a brand new challenge. There were a lot of challenging things that came up [in production], but seeing all of the reactions from everyone who has played the game, and that there's a lot of positive reactions towards the action in particular, has made us really happy to see that.

We really focused on the action element of the game, so just hearing all of this positive feedback really lifts a big weight off of my chest.

Q: I've always thought of Ninja Gaiden as a calling card for Team Ninja, so it's interesting that you're collaborating with Platinum Games in the first place. How did that partnership come about?

A (H): The presidents of both our companies, Koei Tecmo and Platinum Games, happen to be good friends. They were talking one day and just saying, you know, maybe there's something that we can do together, work together on, and it seems that Phil Spencer caught wind of this discussion and came in to put his support behind it.

[..] When we thought about [the possibility of] someone else making a Ninja Gaiden game, we definitely wanted to make sure that the action would be very solid, and we wanted to be able to entrust it to a studio that we trust as well. So for us, Platinum Games really fit that bill. It was a great opportunity to be able to work with them – the best choice for us – and we don't have that level of trust in any other company as we do in Platinum Games in terms of action.

Q: It's obviously been a long time since the last Ninja Gaiden. Why was now the right time to make Ninja Gaiden 4 happen?

A (H): We've always wanted to make another Ninja Gaiden game, but just haven't had the chance to do so. In the last couple years, we've been working on other titles such as Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty as well as Rise of the Ronin and the Nioh games as well, so we just haven't had the right timing.

Then there was that opportunity to work with Platinum Games, so the idea came about and we thought that it was a great opportunity to release a new Ninja Gaiden game.

Q: There have been fewer character action games like Ninja Gaiden being released in recent years. Would you say it's been easier to prioritize those more "masocore" or Soulslike games like Nioh and Wo Long because that's where the market's been?

A (H): It really wasn't because of the market. I think the first Nioh game was actually announced many, many years ago by Koei, and was something that really wasn't able to progress for quite a long time. [...] When we made Nioh, since we wanted to make something new, we decided that we wanted to take this action RPG approach to it.

Since we were able to gain all of this knowledge and experience creating an action RPG game like that, we thought it was such a waste to just kind of let it go to waste. So with Wo Long, we thought we would be able to directly use that experience into our next project. So it just happened – that was how the flow of things happened. It wasn't anything intentional of not doing Ninja Gaiden. It just kind of all kind of fell into place.

Q: So Ninja Gaiden 4 brings the ninja series back, and in Nioh 3, which is upcoming, you can also become a ninja with the touch of a button. Is that a coincidence, or is Team Ninja just loving ninjas right now?

A (H): No. As much as I'd love to say yes and that it was part of our full plan for the 'Year of the Ninja', as we're calling it, it was actually quite coincidental that it happened.

Q: It was mentioned that, from Platinum Games, there were some challenging things about development. Retroactively, what was considered the trickiest thing to do?

A (N): There's probably two major challenges that come to mind. The first one is coming up with the brand new protagonist, Yakumo. So this is a completely brand new character we're not only introducing in the game, but is the protagonist of the game. So that was one of the biggest challenges. And the second one is connected to that – the new action approach that we took with having the blood raven form introduced into the game.

Both of these [work off the intention to] make sure that we had the core elements of what makes Ninja Gaiden exciting, but also be able to evolve it or advance it in a way that it was modern and enjoyable. [...] We were concerned what the long-time fans would think and how they would accept it – if they would accept these changes. But while we worried about that, we were pretty confident that taking on this challenge, incorporating these new elements, would be something good for the game, and something that we could make a great game out of.

Q: It was quite a bold decision to switch perspective to Yakumo. Why was that decision taken?

A (N): We, Platinum Games, first made the suggestion to Team Ninja. The Ninja Gaiden series is something that has been carrying on for a long time, from even the earliest arcade games [up until now]. Like I mentioned in the start, there's been a long gap between Ninja Gaiden 4 in the previous Ninja Gaiden games. There's probably a lot of people who have played the [past] games, but there are also those who have never played the game before that.

We want to be able to provide both sides with a brand new experience with brand new gameplay as well. That's something we proposed to Team Ninja. But at the same time, we do know that Ryu Hayabusa is a very important character in the series. It's not a Ninja Gaiden game without Ryu. We always knew he would be in the game. He and Yakumo, you can see how they interact with each other, and how they both fit into the game well. That was something that we always thought about, and had that in mind from the very start.

Q: From Team Ninja's perspective, what was the reaction to the suggestion that Ryu would be replaced?

A (H): Ryu is a very important character for us, and kind of represents Team Ninja itself. So when we did first hear that suggestion, there were a lot of different opinions. But when we got to thinking about how this is the first new game in about 10 years, and thinking about approaching brand new action game fans who have never played the Ninja Gaiden games before, you [have to] have a new approach to the game as well.

We thought that if we're going to be working with Platinum Games, it'd be really neat to see what kind of new ideas they could bring about with the new protagonist. Ryu Hayabusa is pretty much a complete character. He's already this super ninja, so there's not much more that you can really add to him. So from that perspective, it would be quite a challenge to try and do something new with Ryu Hayabusa as well, whereas having the new protagonist, Yakumo, gives an opportunity to do something brand new [entirely] – new action, new essence.

Q: Was there ever a discussion in calling it Ninja Gaiden 4, given how some might assume that they need to play the other instalments in the series first?

A (H): We knew it would be a numbered entry from the very start. We do recognize there are a lot of challenges as Nako-san mentioned, but I think even though some of the action feels different to Ryu's, there is something there in the controls that feels like a Ninja Gaiden game.

We wanted to make sure that regardless of whether the character you're playing is Ryu, or whether it is Yakumo, it feels like a Ninja Gaiden game. [...] It kind of also sort of continues the legacy of the series within the game.

Q: When playing as Ryu in the game, some players say that because he has fewer weapons, he feels a lot simpler to play – which kind of makes you miss playing as Yakumo. Was that intentional?

A (H): It is true that we want to make the focus on Yakumo, but it wasn't such a way that we wanted to many any simplistic adjustments [to Ryu]. It just kind of happened that our focus was on Yakumo, and made sure that it made him fit into the game. But, you know, we have heard those comments from players as well.

With the DLC that we're working on for next year, we will be including a new weapon type specifically for Ryu. So we hope that everyone who wants to have more weapons for Ryu will look forward to that, and you'll be able to do more moves other than just having the Dragon Sword.

Q: Do you think we'll be seeing more of Ayane as well?

A (H): Ayane is an important character in this series. But I think right now, with the DLC, it is called the two masters, so we are focusing primarily on Ryu and Yakumo. So I think the focus will be on those two for that.

Q: Previous games have felt very globetrotting in terms of setting and location, but this one feels quite focused on Tokyo in comparison. How did that decision come about?

A (N): When we first came up with the idea for this game, we hadn't yet come up with the concept of actually just focusing on Tokyo as one place. But it's just that happened that when we proposed the scenario to Team Ninja, we wanted [the game] to have something to do with the Dark Dragon, which has appeared in the Ninja Gaiden series from the very first game, and also signify that this is the start of a new [chapter in] Ninja Gaiden as well.

So when we were thinking of the Dark Dragon and how we would incorporate it into the storyline, the first thing we thought of was the best match for it would be putting Tokyo as the stage. [...] As you mentioned, there are a lot of players who enjoy globetrotting in previous games. And even though we know that globetrotting has been an enjoyable feature of Ninja Gaiden games, and even though we're now in the one stage of Tokyo, we wanted to make sure that there were also a lot of variety within that stage – for example, we have parts that are forested – so there's many things that you can encounter and experience in various areas, even in just one location.

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