Ninja Gaiden 2 Black review

pcgamer.com:

There aren't enough stylish action games like Ninja Gaiden in the world. Nothing draws me in as instantly as a great one: I relish struggling through punishing combat in games that give me the tools to move and battle in a way that’s typically reserved for flashy cutscenes, and demand I use them or die. Intense enemy encounters and rhythmic timing mixed with Tony Hawk-style experimentation just hits that sweet spot—and I don’t think any game mixes both of these in their most extreme forms more than Ninja Gaiden 2.

What is it? A UE5 remaster of Ninja Gaiden 2 taking elements of previous versions
Release date: January 23, 2025
Expect to pay: £40 / $50
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Reviewed on: RTX 3060Ti, AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 16GB RAM
Multiplayer? No
Link: Steam

Team Ninja’s trilogy of Ninja Gaiden games is a frustrating endeavour. Not because of the overwhelming difficulty, but because each game has multiple versions available, and all are not created equal. For 16 years a singular, «perfect» version of the Xbox 360's Ninja Gaiden 2 has remained elusive. Its first remaster, Sigma 2, changed things up by reducing the overwhelming enemy count, cutting back on the gore, and adding new playable characters, bosses and missions. Some of its essence was lost.

Generally the community prefers the relentlessly vicious original version despite some dire flaws, so when the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection version was based on Sigma, it was a letdown (I never bought it for that very reason). Which is why the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black was so exciting: 2005's Ninja Gaiden Black is a «director's cut» and the undisputed best version of an all-timer. The implication was, clearly, this is the one you've been waiting for.

In reality, the Black subtitle is somewhat misleading; this remake lands somewhere in the middle of the original Ninja Gaiden 2 and Sigma. But I forgot about all that when I started playing Black. I was entranced again, just like I was back on the