Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection
Three tricksy ninja brothers – but which one to trust?
Confusion is the tool of a ninja, so it’s only fitting that this remaster is stranger than it seems. All three of Ryu Hayabusa’s modern-day escapades are here in one form or another but, unlike a swift death, what you’re getting is not clear-cut.
Each of the three games has already been released in multiple editions. What you get here are newer versions of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. The Sigmas were once the only way to play the games on PlayStation, though they saw big changes over the Xbox versions that weren’t always for the best.
Whether Ninja Gaiden Sigma’s differences from 2005’s Ninja Gaiden Black make it better or worse is a subject of hot fan debate, but most would agree that, despite some benefits, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 – a port of 2008’s Ninja Gaiden II – suffered odd alterations that made it worse.
In an attempt to remedy things, Sigma 2’s gore has been patched back in, but you can still feel that the game is emptier than intended, as enemies were removed. The remaining bad guys have more health to make up for it, but this undermines the original’s core principle of requiring Ryu to cut down legions of foes.
The change was originally made to enable Ninja Gaiden 2 to run properly on PS3. But as all editions now run effortlessly on PS4, it’s needless. Given these are such important character-action games, it’s disappointing that there’s no option to choose between Ninja Gaiden Black or the original Ninja
Gaiden, especially as Team Ninja undoubtedly knows how the games’ fanbase feels.
CUTTING CLOSE
Ninja Gaiden Sigma, at least, is a great version of a very hard game. It’s also very dated, with not-quite-responsive-enough controls, and a terrible camera – particularly in boss battles. But its challenge is moreish. It’s less polished than its sequel, but still a classic.
Conversely, Ninja Gaiden 3 is simply not very good at all, despite Razor’s Edge’s attempt to retrofit itself back into the classic Ninja Gaiden template (which was more button-mashy, and locked you exclusively to the sword). But it feels retrofitted, with mechanics in a game not designed to have them – just a chain of fight arenas surrounded by annoying enemies with rocket launchers.
That said, you do get features previously exclusive to Vita, such as the easier ‘Hero’ difficulty. Plus, all three games include the extra stages and characters from their original releases (not new to this version), though they’re lacklustre compared to Ryu’s, and the female characters remain embarrassing – presumably sponsored by water balloon manufacturers.
Neither masterful or definitive, this is an awkward trilogy of at least two great action games, only one of which is really worth bothering with here.
All three games include the extra stages and characters from their original releases.