10 Things You Must Know Before Buying Ninja Gaiden 4

Ninja Gaiden 4 brings back the legendary Ryu Hayabusa into the fray in a next-generation hack-and-slash action-adventure experience. Before you jump into the bloodbath tomorrow, you have to be prepared to tackle the brutal path that lies ahead.

Here are 10 things you should know before buying Ninja Gaiden 4.

1 A Dark Sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3

Ninja Gaiden 4 is confirmed to be the true sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3, and Team Ninja is taking a darker route with the story. Ryu Hayabusa takes the driver’s seat after nearly two decades in a mainline title, along with the Dark Dragon, the main antagonist of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. The story is set in a futuristic Tokyo left in shambles and utter chaos by the Dark Dragon.

Despite the Dragon’s physical death, his remains result in a supernatural weather phenomenon that’s causing an endless, cursed downpour called the Rain of Darkrot in Tokyo. This proves that even though the Dark Dragon might be physically dead, his remains all but confirm a return, and Ryu Hayabusa is here to finish the job once and for all in Ninja Gaiden 4.

2 Dual Rival Protagonists – Ryu & Yakumo

Ninja Gaiden 4 features dual protagonists: the iconic Ryu Hayabusa from the Hayabusa clan, and a brand new character, Yakumo, a young ninja from the Raven clan who’s established to be a rival of the Hayabusa clan. Both playable characters have a significant role in the story and sport different playstyles that make the game more dynamic.

Ryu Hayabusa’s blend of swords and martial arts remains intact, with Ninja Gaiden 4 expanding more on his established over-the-top combat style, while Yakumo possesses a new technique, called the Blood Raven form, which allows him to manipulate blood and attack opponents with it. Ryu and Yakumo’s story is connected, but how deep their connection goes is a question that the game’s release will answer tomorrow.

3 A New Hero Mode

A brand new mode, called the Hero Mode, is being introduced in Ninja Gaiden 4, which lowers the challenge for players who want to experience the story. It’s the easiest difficulty you can pick, and it makes the game more accessible for players who might shy away from the over-the-top brutal and difficult hack-and-slash combat that’s been a staple in the Ninja Gaiden series.

The Hero Mode will lower the combat difficulty and perform defensive moves such as dodging and blocking at critical moments automatically. It is designed to make players learn how the combat flows in the game by warming them up, and once they’re trained, they can switch to a different mode that doesn’t do as much handholding as the Hero Mode. It’s recommended for first-timers of the series.

4 The Return of Master Ninja Difficulty

Hard and brutal gameplay has always been a core part of the Ninja Gaiden series, and Ninja Gaiden 4 carries that tradition forward with the return of the Master Ninja difficulty. While Hero Mode offers new players to train themselves in the path of the ninja, Master Ninja difficulty is strictly for veteran players who have been with Ryu Hayabusa through thick and thin.

However, players can now change difficulties on the fly between Hero, Normal and Hard. On the other hand, once you start in Master Ninja difficulty, there’s no turning back. So, you can begin playing at a lower difficulty and train yourself, then crank everything up once you feel like you’re ready to tackle the brutality of the higher difficulties in Ninja Gaiden 4.

5 New Highly Requested Training Mode

The Ninja Gaiden series has always excelled in gory, bloody hack-and-slash combat, and Ninja Gaiden 4 aims to raise the standards, but what it didn’t excel at was having a training mode. Fortunately, Ninja Gaiden 4 is finally introducing a new mode where you can train and hone your skills by performing every move in the combat book.

This is a welcome change for players who want to train themselves, learn everything the combat system has to offer, and perfect their timing on dodges as well as perfect parries, which is also a new feature in this game. Dodging and perfect parrying at the correct timing will take a minute to get used to, so players can try out their skills in the training mode before pulling up to the real challenge with either Ryu or Yakumo.

6 Dynamic New Features

New features in Ninja Gaiden 4 include dynamic AI scaling rather than static AI patterns, which were prevalent in the previous Ninja Gaiden titles. Now, the enemies will constantly react to how you play, strategize their movement, look for new ways to attack, and become more aggressive the more you dominate, and test your skill level at every turn, making them very unpredictable.

Another new feature that’s worthy of mention is the Photo Mode. Ninja Gaiden 4 offers a way for players to capture their most stylish, brutally cinematic kills or breathe in the atmosphere of the neon-riddled Tokyo under the downpour of a dead god with Ryu or Yakumo taking the spotlight. It’s a great new feature for players who want to share their excellent hack-and-slash and photography skills in the Ninja Gaiden community.

7 Adversity, Cruelty & Change Shaped the Game

PlatinumGames, on their Dev Blog, expanded on the three pillars of design philosophy that shaped Ninja Gaiden 4 – adversity, cruelty, and constant change. Adversity is found in every combat encounter in the game, and the new dynamic AI scaling only aims to test your skills even harder than before. Cruelty refers to the conditions that Ryu and Yakumo will go through in the story.

The atmosphere and the world are cruel, drenched in the Rain of Darkrot from the Dark Dragon, with little to no hope for Tokyo. Lastly, the constant change refers to how you evolve with each combat encounter, from switching weapons to dealing with new enemy types. You’ll constantly change how you play the more you progress through Ninja Gaiden 4.

8 Ryu Hayabusa’s Trial Mode

Since the story has dual protagonists, Ryu will get a different mode known as the Trials Mode, which lets you replay campaign levels with Ryu, take on multiple story bosses and earn unique rewards. To match Yakumo’s Blood Raven technique, Ryu has some tricks up his sleeve with the Dragon Gleam technique.

Not just that, Ryu will also get new weapons along with Yakumo in future DLCs, so if you think Yakumo will take the entire spotlight from the Super Ninja, think again. Ryu is back and more deadlier than ever, and Ninja Gaiden fans should be excited to play a brand new campaign with new modes as both Hayabusa and Yakumo.

9 Next-Generation Hack-and-Slash Action

Ninja Gaiden 4 promises to usher in a new era for hack-and-slash action adventure with not just its gameplay, but also with its performance. As mentioned in PlatinumGames’ Dev Blog, the game goes beyond the conventional 60 FPS to offer an exceptional 120 FPS on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and compatible PCs.

The Xbox Series S will run the game at 60 FPS, but the gameplay will still feel buttery smooth. Three graphical modes have been confirmed for release: 120 FPS Mode, Frame Rate Priority Mode, and Graphics Priority Mode. This is done to ensure that all players can experience smooth next-generation hack-and-slash combat and action in whichever mode their setup allows them to play on, offering more flexibility.

10 Day One on Game Pass Ultimate & PC

Xbox players who own the Game Pass Ultimate tier or PC players who own a Game Pass subscription will be able to play Ninja Gaiden 4 as soon as it releases tomorrow. Preorder the Standard Edition or the Digital Deluxe Edition for other players, based on your preference. Those who pre-order the Standard Edition today will receive the “Dark Dragon Descendant Yakumo Skin”.

On the other hand, players who pre-order or purchase the Digital Deluxe Edition will receive new skins, weapons, in-game items, bonus NinjaCoins, and additional story DLC, Two Masters, which is set to release sometime next year. For those who already own Game Pass Ultimate, you’re already prepared to play Ninja Gaiden 4. It’s only a matter of hours now.

Are you excited to hack-and-slash into Ninja Gaiden 4 tomorrow? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.