Character action single-player games are something of a dying breed or rather only something a handful of developers excel at, often feeling at odds with contemporary expectations of features or content. That's why the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 is such welcome news, but it's the surprise shadow drop of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a current-gen remaster of Team Ninja's 2008 Xbox 360 title, that makes you truly realize that they truly don't make them like this anymore.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Release date: January 23, 2025
It's not just here to whet your appetite for the upcoming sequel that's being co-developed by action game extraordinaire PlatinumGames, but goes some way to addressing criticisms over the game's previous remaster in 2021's Ninja Gaiden Master Collection, which was based on the PlayStation 3 Sigma 2 port that purists consider to be inferior.
Arguably, the original 360 game was also unbalanced and a bit broken with an absurd enemy count that would infamously have the frame rate dipping into single digits, so Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is more like the best of both worlds, with Team Ninja doing its best to stay close to the original's vision of gushing, dismembering ultra-violence while still retaining features introduced in Sigma 2. In other words, it's as close to a definitive edition of the game as you can get today.
Old school of hard knocks
There is, however, a difference between a definitive and modernised experience. The most modern thing you can say about Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is however its stunning visuals updated in Unreal Engine 5.
Yet despite the impressive modern lighting and effects, there's something uncanny about how stubbornly old-school everything else remains, from its linear level design to Team Ninja's obsession with cleavage, a reminder that this is the team that gave us the Dead or Alive series. You often hear how a new game is described as being like a PlayStation 2 game, but it really puts things into perspective when playing a brand spanking new-looking game that controls exactly like one from the Xbox 360 era.
Quite honestly, I suspect it may turn players who have been accustomed to the smoother controls of Bayonetta (incidentally also a 360-era game, albeit released a year after Ninja Gaiden 2). There are times Ryu Hayabusa seems annoyingly sluggish just trying to get him to turn to face the correct enemy while dodging also requires holding block while shifting the control stick. Or the way your attacks can get easily interrupted by a relentless mob of enemies with the same nuisance of being out-jabbed in a fighting game.
The worst thing is a camera that you're supposed to be able to freely move with the right stick, only until it doesn't. Sometimes you're being ambushed from all sides but unable to correctly get the camera behind you while there's no option to target enemies, which you take for granted these days.
Best bit
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black relies on intricate combos and no quicktime events but the coolest most powerful attack you can pull off is the Ultimate Technique, which simply requires holding down Y/Triangle and then releasing to unleash a deadly flurry of moves that requires no further input. It's also difficult to pull off mostly because enemies come at you faster than you can charge it up. The best part then is that this can also be executed by jumping in the air and then pressing Y/Triangle just as you land.
Playing Ninja Gaiden 2 Black then requires a bit of mental rewiring. Yet once you push through it, there's plenty to appreciate. Already a hardcore game, it's not actually as overwhelming as its reputation gives off.
The absence of a scoring and ranking system in the normal campaign offsets any performance anxiety, while you'll also automatically regain health outside of combat, with the exception of red damage that affects your maximum health. Then there are the deliciously gory cinematic finishers you can perform on any enemy that's already had one of its limbs lopped off, requiring nothing more than a single input.
There's still depth in the different weapons you can unlock and the different combos you can execute, though once I remembered how to pull off the Izuna Drop that just became my go-to. But there's also something so pure to its action – no quick time button-mashing, no parry or stagger mechanics, no indulgently lengthy cinematics, no bosses with multiple health bars and phases – it actually feels refreshing.
Ninja unlocked
Like other comparable character action games, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black's campaign only takes around 10-12 hours to complete but it's the additional challenges that add to its appeal, and that doesn't necessarily mean only for those who want to finish on the most punishing Path of the Master Ninja difficulty.
Sigma 2's Tag Missions make a welcome return here, which in the absence of the original's online co-op functionality simply allows you to pick two characters and then switch between them on the fly with a button press. Better yet, the mode's roster of female characters you can pick besides Ryu are all unlocked at the start, while completing the story once unlocks all the missions so you can jump ahead to the toughest challenges if you desire.
Players who do care about how well they play are also catered for with Chapter Challenge, which acts like an equivalent of New Game Plus where you can play any mission with all weapons and spells fully upgraded and where you will receive a rank, with UI flashing up to let you know what high-scoring techniques you've just executed.
Nitpickers may bemoan that not every element cut in the Sigma 2 port is restored but if you're an Xbox owner that original is at least still available to you. For everyone else, this is nonetheless the best way to play a classic action game either on Game Pass or at a reasonable price point. As an action game, I don't think it's a cut above Bayonetta, but it's also so uncompromisingly singular that it's in a class of its own. Bring on Ninja Gaiden 4.
Should you play Ninja Gaiden 2 Black?
Play it if...
You like fast-paced action demanding reflexes and combos
Forget stamina bars, this is just about rinsing enemies in as fast and as bloody a fashion as you can.
You don't want to stress about scoring or progression systems
While it offers different playstyles, switching between weapons is flexible and you already have a suite of moves without upgrading. The game is already challenging enough without grading you, which is instead available after completing the story once.
Don't play it if...
You're expecting the remaster to also offer modern gameplay changes
Despite the Unreal 5 glow-up, the game still controls like it did 17 years ago, which will likely cause a level of friction that some players might find too frustrating to get past.
Accessibility features
Although the original game has a reputation for being one of the most difficult games ever made, subsequent releases have provided easier difficulty options. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black adds to this with a 'Hero play style' option that activates the Hero Gauge when your health bar is extremely low. In this state, you'll automatically block or avoid enemy attacks until the gauge runs out or your health is restored.
Elsewhere, you can turn off blood and dismemberment effects, subtitles can be turned on and off, and their size can be adjusted between large, standard, and small with a slider. The game's audio options are English or Japanese, and there are, sadly, no colorblind options.
How I reviewed Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
I played Ninja Gaiden 2 Black for 15 hours on my PS5 Pro, completing the game once on the default difficulty setting, as well as spending some time replaying some missions in the ranked Chapter Challenge mode and playing as different characters in some of the Tag Missions.
I played on an LG C2 OLED TV, which allowed me to play the game in 120 frames per second, with the default TV speakers and a DualSense Edge controller.
First reviewed February 2025
English (US) ·