As has been proven many times over, there’s an art to recreating nostalgia.

Let me be real with you, games from the 80s were often brutal. Unforgiving. Challenging for the most unfair of reasons and yet some of my fondest gaming memories come from them.

It’s because I would spend hours and hours with the same game, repeating patterns, traversing the same levels, killing the same enemies, trying to find a stabilised rhythm in order to try and get past that one section that eluded me.

And it’s a funny feeling because, sure, modern games have lost some of that edge through the way they’ve been designed. But equally, it’s a finite balance between time and attention and patience and skill deterioating over the years. I’m not a 8 year old kid with no responsibilities in my bedroom anymore, I’ve got schedules now and deadlines to hit.

So what is the best and honest way to recreate that nostalgia? How do we celebrate that era of gaming in a way that reflects the lessons we’ve learned since, while catering to the same audience who will fully resonate with its retro vibe. And my answer is look at Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound as your template.

The Game Kitchen have completely and utterly smashed the assignment here. And it’s an even more challenging road for them because the Ninja Gaiden series of today is very different from the one that first appeared on the NES – so one could say the audience for this game is even more niche than most. But here’s the beautiful thing about Ragebound, this isn’t just a game that should be celebrated by gamers who grew up with a different version of Ryu Hyabusa.

This is a triumph in the action platforming genre as a whole. With all the nostalgic takes we’ve seen in recent years – recreating the vintage Turtles Arcade game, games like Dead Cells which lean into that OG Castlevania vibe and even games like Animal Well and Shovel Knight, I would put Ragebound right up there with them. Potentially even above.

There’s something about the flow and feel achieved here that immediately flicks that nostalgic switch in your brain but presented more carefully so as not to annoy players and give them a fair, fighting chance. The pixel art certainly plays a role in that, it’s absolutely stunning, fluid, sharp and distinct. Environments look absolutely gorgeous, demons look suitably menacing and the stylised effects at times, are jaw-dropping.

The way the game seamlessly bounces between traditional side-scrolling action, to stunning cinematic sequences and epic boss battles is hugely commendable. There’s no break up or disruption, everything pieces together naturally and manages to keep the game feeling fresh.

It could also be the music, a blend of chip-tune with a bassy beat. Heavy metal feel with a soft rock vibe, combined with the clinging and clanging sound effects, the satisfying power up like whirs, grunts and growls and all the noises you’d associate with a game of the times. Helped by the fact it feels authentic coming from the creators of the original soundtrack.

Maybe it’s just the gameplay itself, on the one hand, steadying players in with sidescrolling action as you swipe swords, crawl along walls, and use double bounce jumps to cross ledges. But gradually evolving and developing with each level that sees you take on motorbike rides, using combined demon powers, checking out secret levels and even the boss battles. This is a game that wants to keep challenging you but equally surprise you as well.

It’s probably a combination of all of them and more, since this is what it takes, in my eyes, to bring back that classic arcade feel and modernise it. As in Ragebound, you’ll also be equipping items to improve your abilities in a loadout fashion, you also do get more of a narrative focus than before and can alternate character perspectives. There’s also the fast-paced flow to combat which works just delightfully on Steam Deck.

The game remains a good challenge, still adopting traits that would be difficult for any gamer, but sort of presenting them in a style that feels like it would have played in the 80s. Even the visual style has been overhauled so you can play the game with a more rounded screen and CRT filter. It looks glorious.

In Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, you’ll be playing as Kenji Mozu, a young ninja from Ryu’s village, who is staying behind to protect against demon forces as Ryu ventures outward to save the world. But where you start out using those basic ninja traits, Kenji eventually finds himself connecting to Kumori, a Kunoichi from the Black Spider Clan and soon both combine their abilities to incredible effect.

This both bleeds into the platforming element of the game but also the combat as you’ll have to measure your approach, consider the strikes you’ll want to make and even pay attention to the order of enemies presented on screen, as often times it’s better to kill one before another. This might be because of ranged attacks, but also killing certain enemies embues you with a one-shot power that can be used to killer bigger, tougher enemies in one hit.

And later on, you’ll also learn that Kenji’s powers work better on some monsters and Kumori’s better on others. It’s a fascinating hybrid and makes the game infinitely more interesting and enjoyable.

Levels are also ranked and have individual challenges for you to complete, as well as the aforementioned secret levels to unlock and complete, so there’s a nice dose of replayability here as well to better and improve yourself while also blitzing through the campaign to get to the finish.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound has this incredible attention to detail that prioritises the source material, leans into The Game Kitchen’s distinct layer of style as we saw so wonderfully in Blasphemous, and presents us with a true retro hit for retro platform fans, but also fans of Ninja Gaiden who are eager for the series to return to its roots.

With the combined powers, you unlock new ways to play and have to rethink about everything you’ve learned about the game up to a point to try and master everything. And it all plays out in such a fast paced, vibrant way that you’ll often just sit there dazzled and delighted.

This is, without doubt, one of the best retro-remade platformers I’ve ever played. In fact, it might just be one of my favourite platformers that isn’t made by Nintendo. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is something very special indeed, and considering we’re also getting another dose of nostalgia later this month with a similar return for Shinobi, and an all new entry into the Ninja Gaiden series in just a few short months, it feels like it’s never been a better time to appreciate this style of gaming.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is a very special video game indeed and has the right blend of everything to make sure it’s a must-play.

Verdict

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is one of the most visually impressive, mechanically solid and competent retro-re-styled platformers I’ve ever played. It not only nails the tone and authenticity of the classic Ninja Gaiden games, as well as maintains the style set in the modern games, it encapsulates the feeling of a classic 80s platformer and successfully modernises it in a way that anyone can and will find a way to enjoy it. With gorgeous pixel art, a banging soundtrack and a strong variety of gameplay with some epic boss battles, Ragebound is a truly remarkable return to the franchise to its roots and a delightful challenge that keeps you entertained throughout. Sensational!

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is out now on PC, PS, Switch and Xbox.

Played on PC / Steam Deck

Code kindly provided by DotEmu for review purposes