I did not have the resurgence of Ninja Gaiden on my 2025 bingo card but in one night, this franchise has come alive again.

Following Xbox Developer Direct, not only did we get confirmation of a long awaited Ninja Gaiden 4 later this year, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black got shadow-dropped on modern platforms.

Doubly surprising considering we got the Master Collection just a few years ago where the game already got the remaster treatment alongside 1 and 3. But Black has been rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal Engine 5 and looks better than ever.

Still, it’s difficult to know where to categorise this one, technically a remaster but also very much a remake. Sitting somewhere in the middle, Team Ninja have rebuilt the game with improved visuals, lighting, stages and characters. They’ve even updated the gore and blood system to make this more visceral and in the wheel house of a Mortal Kombat. Truly, there’s some brutal executions in here.

The description has this down as the definitive way to play Ninja Gaiden 2 and it’s certainly hard to argue as you also have a host of new extras, such as updates to the visuals and upgrade systems. The game even borrows from more recent spinoffs in the series, letting you play a Hero Play Style which is an easier alternative to the action.

You can also play as three additional characters – Momiji, Ayane and Rachel, meaning there’s incentive to replay the game and try the story from different perspectives. Aesthetically, at least.

The Hero Play Style definitely helps soften the game’s hard-hitting blows, though. Before Dark Souls, the Ninja Gaiden series was widely regarded as the toughest games on the market and you’re reminded of that in short order with the player being thrust right into battle, swarmed by an army of ninjas attacking up close and from range. Coupled with some brutal bosses, Ninja Gaiden 2 definitely is unrelenting.

Fortunately, there’s some awesome weapons at your disposal to suit all playstyles, from the traditional Dragon Sword to a fantastic bo-staff and even Kursari-gamas. Each weapon has its own attack options and combo possibilities and you’ll need to master one or find one you’re most comfortable with while also navigating your way through 17 varied levels.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a fantastic game in its own right, not often getting the praise of its predecessor, but equally offering variety and challenge in equal measure and a compelling tale told through cutscenes and scattered documents, making this more than just a mindless, hack and slasher. In it, players once again take on the role of Ryu Hayabusa as you travel the world, following the events of the first game.

It all begins with Sonia, a CIA agent, begins asking for the whereabouts of the elusive ninja as she has a proposition for him, but in the midst of her investigation she’s captured by the engimatic Black Spider Ninja Clan. Ryu, of course, helps out but finds himself going in deep with this clan when he leans they’ve staged an attack on the Hayabusa village. And as we learned from the first game, no one lays siege to that village and gets away with it.

It really is great to dive into this game again and unquestionably the visual upgrades and gameplay tweaks really help this feel like a modern day reinvention of a classic, getting rid of some of the ‘old school style’ gameplay and really whetting our appetites for the full blown sequel later this year. The combat is as good as it gets, with the dismemberment really adding a satisfying layer of brutality to the proceedings.

That said, the controls do sometimes feel a little bit frustrating, meaning you to have to time jumps just right to scale walls or climb mountain summits. You’ll also find yourself getting stun-locked a bit by enemies and finding hard to get out of the blocks when you’re swarmed by about 3-4 enemies, really having to force your way to safety, though rarely to catch a breather.

It’s also worth pointing out that this remaster/remake doesn’t include all the content that was found in Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, which is a little bit baffling. For instance, the DLC missions / Tests of Valor are gone, there’s no NG+ or Survival mode and even the Ninja Run mode. I feel like if you’re aiming to have the definitive version of the game, it should at least include all the available content.

And for the price, you really feel like Team Ninja should have bundled it all together. It does sadly mean that this is a game that doesn’t know exactly what it’s supposed to be. It’s neither a remaster nor a full remake nor a definitive edition, but it’s also all of those things and a damn solid good reminder of how compelling this action series really is.

Regardless, this is a great way to reintroduce Ninja Gaiden to the world and there is hope that we’ll get that additional content in an update down the road, and maybe even a full blown remake of the original. This series has some of the best action of any game out there and it still holds up incredibly well, even when compared to titles like Ghost of Tsushima and Yakuza.

There’s a level of polish here that truly helps the game come alive as never before and there are few games that keep you quite on your toes as the NG series, one minute using bow and arrow, the next your sword. Every time you turn a corner, you worry about what you’re going to walk into. And you have to be fully aware of your surroundings, all while using your expert platforming skills in all manner of fancy ways.

If Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is any indication, Ninja Gaiden 4 is going to be a very special, stunningly realised game indeed. This franchise has just got a well-deserved, welcome and unexpected shot in the arm and fans new and old are going to love getting back into this world and spending time with its characters.

Verdict

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a welcome return for Hyabusa and the perfect introduction to the hard-hitting, fast-paced action series with its accessible hero mode options, gameplay tweaks, and stunningly brutal visuals. It opens the door to new fans where the Master Collection previously didn’t, but it is also confused in its identity as neither a true remake or definitive edition, especially since it’s missing a bunch of content. However, for players looking for a new challenge that’s not a Souls-like and series veterans who’ve been desperate for a shuriken sized crumbs in years, Black is the perfect appetitser ahead of the highly anticipated Ninja Gaiden 4.

Pros

+ Unreal Engine 5 means the game shines and shocks as never before
+ New content, characters and gameplay difficulty opens game up to old and new players
+ Action still holds up incredibly well all these years later.