Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

It’s funny to see how far platformers have gotten over the years. As cheesy as it sounds, we went from pixelated sprites moving left and right on a screen to 3D characters running around along a vast plane. Things only got crazier from there. A lot of people tend to doubt platformers. Despite how much the genre has innovated over the years people think more about how games innovated as a whole. The many genres surrounding us, and the complexity that came with them. Things have evolved a lot and it leads to folks looking down on the titles that started them all.  That they have failed to ‘evolve’, but their definition of evolution is more different than mine. Platformers have grown a lot since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System or the Sega Master Drive. The platforming genre is still evolving to this day with titles like Psychonauts 2, Astro Bot, and the plethora of spiritual successors that came in the form of indie titles. Not a lot of old school series are still kicking today, but it’s thanks to indie developers that their legacy lives on.

I love platformers. I may not talk about the genre as much as the many others I’ve covered in the past, but it’s one I’m always happy to hop back into. They’re just damn simplistic fun, and in the age where things just seem to be more complicated than they should be nothing beats damn good fun. As much as I love platformers, especially the ones made by modern day indie devs, a part of me wonders one thing. How many modern gamers would be capable of finishing the platformers that came out back then? When I refer to ‘back then’ I don’t mean the Nintendo Wii era or a time along those lines. No, go back even further than that. All the way to the 1980s where developers were pumping out as many sidescrolling titles as they could. Nintendo released the NES and not only was a big hit but they paved the way forward with the original Super Mario Bros. What then came afterwards was the slew of companies not only trying to capitalize on the resurrection of the gaming market, but also the success of Super Mario Bros. You got Castlevania, Ducktales, Kirby, Shatterhand, Contra, Ghouls and Ghosts, and my beloved Mega Man. All of these titles were not just trying to chase the big boom the NES brought, but forge an identity of their own. 

Going back to our main question a few seconds ago: How many modern gamers would be able to beat these games? Honestly, not a lot and there’s a good reason. These games are really difficult. I may agree with a lot of his opinions, but videogamedunkey had a decent short explanation as to why a majority of NES platformers were absurdly difficult. Compared to games now, titles from back then had short runtime and content to what was technically capable. You could only fit so much on a cartridge compared to a disc. The highest storage size for an NES game was 1 MB, so the games were made to be small. However, a new question arises on how you keep your folks playing when the games are an hour each in content. Either make the game difficult, or have a design philosophy that challenges them to think. Design philosophies we strayed away from now that games can have built in tutorials or ways to ease a player better into an experience. It’s hard to get into a game when you’re thrown into the fire immediately, but the want to see what lies at the end is what drives you. To overcome those hurdles and have a moment of exhilaration when you reach that ending. Of course back then not every game was like this. The majority of NES titles were arcade games. You play to see the highest score you can get, but the ones that weren’t built like that were special. They were memorable. 

One such legend was Ninja Gaiden. Known by many for being not only one of the hardest games of the NES library, but also one of the hardest games of all time. Heck, it is the precursor to one of the hardest game series of all time. I’ve always heard about Ninja Gaiden over the years. The players who overcome it are deemed true gamers, but I don’t buy into that talk. Still, fascinating to see how a ninja game became one of the trickiest platformers of all time, and it made sense to me. Martial arts, swordsmanship, and the likes are known for requiring time and practice to turn into a true master. I’ve always had an eye on Ninja Gaiden and eventually I learned it rebooted during the Xbox/PS2 era. Going from a platformer to a hack ‘n slash title similar to that of the Devil May Cry series. This is the Ninja Gaiden more people are familiar with. Flashy, visceral, punishing, and a deep dark storyline that rewards those who are truly invested. This reboot series has a diehard fanbase to this day, and for a while nobody heard anything from it. The third entry was released in 2012, and Team Ninja originally planned for it to be the end of the series. None shall be heard from Ninja Gaiden, but enough people begged so they decided why not.

Ninja Gaiden 4 was announced earlier this year alongside a remake of Ninja Gaiden 2, and blew a majority of people’s socks off. I’m happy Ninja Gaiden is receiving all this love after being on the sidelines this long. However, this is gonna sound crazy coming from me. When I think of Ninja Gaiden my mind doesn’t envision the reboot series. It thinks of the original platformer, and it’s weird because like many of you I don’t have nostalgia for this game. I know it because of its infamy, but that’s what makes it so special. During the 2024 Game Awards, a surprise trailer was shown of a new Ninja Gaiden game. One that was aiming to recapture the feel of the older titles, and was being developed by The Game Kitchen. The same team behind the Blasphemous series, which I’m a huge fan of. That title was Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and I was more excited for this than the other two projects Team Ninja had planned. I knew Ragebound would be a hit, and thankfully I was correct. Ragebound does exactly what it wants to. Not only be a throwback, but introduce a bunch of fun mechanics that keeps the action engaging and refreshing. It’s another tremendous feat from The Game Kitchen, and proves they can handle anything outside of what they’re used to. Today we’ll be discussing Rabebound and why it deserves your attention.

Story

One night Ken Hayabusa, father of Ryu Hayabusa, ventures out from his clan village to face off against an unknown warrior. Before he left he wrote a message for his son Ryu. Instructing him to journey to America and locate an archaeologist named Walter Smith if he were to be slain in this encounter. He does and we cut to current events. This is where you may be expecting us to now take control of Ryu Hayabusa seeing how he’s the main protagonist of this series. No, that is not what happens. In fact, what I’ve stated thus far is the events of the original Ninja Gaiden and the story continues from there. Instead we follow one of Ryu’s friends, Kenji Mozu. A ninja in training who hopes to one day be as strong as Ryu if not surpass him. The two clash and Kenji loses, but Ryu teaches him with enough time and practice he may stand alongside him. A true ninja who’ll use all the power they have to protect those they care for, and  maintain balance in the world. A clan woman bursts through the door handing the message Ken left behind for Ryu, but during this a horde of demons come to attack the village. Ryu hesitates on what to do, but Kenji tells him to leave now. He will stay behind and protect the clan from the attackers. Kenji manages to slay every demon in his wake with the skills Ryu taught him, and learns that a higher demon is behind all of this. Sending his stronger combatants to terrorize the land.

Kenji believes the demon activities might be connected to the Black Spider Clan. An enemy of his village for years, and he sets out to stop them. Only to be captured by a demon he fought only moments earlier, and left bleeding in a cave. He could’ve died alone on a stone cold floor, but a woman speaks to him saying to get up. Her name is Kumori and she is a Black Spider. Another ninja who has mastered kunai throwing and the shadow arts. She was sent out by her leader to try and strike a deal with the demons. Harness their power so the corporation the Black Spiders have operated for years can thrive. Things go horribly wrong and she is left dying in the same cave in which Kenji is stuck in. She instructs Kenji to stab her in the heart with one of her knives, and upon doing so she is absorbed into Kenji’s body. He is restored to tip top condition and fights his way out to safety. Kumori is now a soul bound to Kenji’s body and will do whatever she can to help either one of them reach their goals. They learn the demons are after three crystals, and if they manage to get their hands on it they’ll open a rift to the demon world. Summon their great king who will try to take over the world. They can’t let this happen, and it seems like the CIA are after it. Together our two ninjas fight onward to stop this satanic madness from arising.

Gameplay

Much like Ninja Gaiden games of the past, Ragebound plays like  a traditional action platformer. Pick a level, start at the beginning, and make your way to the end while slashing through hordes of enemies and platforming challenges. Kenji has a multitude of traversal abilities to overcome environmental obstacles. He can climb along walls and ceilings, wall jump, dodgeroll, and his most versatile move of all is his guillotine attack. It’s a midair spin attack then when timed right he can bounce off of enemies and hazards. It’s similar to that of a double jump, or if you played The Messenger it’s sorta like the cloudstep ability in that game. I’m gonna be making quite a few comparisons to The Messenger throughout this review, and while it may not be entirely fair I’ll still be judging Ragebound as it is by itself. In Ragebound you have time to guillotine attack right, because you can’t do more than once in midair and it has a small timing window. You get used to it quickly, and once you do, platforming feels elegant. As you run through areas all the while dealing with the chaos thrown at you. Standing still in Ragebound especially during any of the platforming sections is a death wish, so you always want to be on the move and aware.

Killing enemies is as simple as it gets. Just attack them once and they’ll die instantly. What you expected from a traditional 2D platformer. Halfway into chapter two Kumori fuses with you, and you gain the ability to throw kunai knives sickles. One is a small projectile thrown forward, and the other has an arch. One deals less damage and the other deals more. One consumes less mana and the other uses more. Utilize them right and enemies that are normally annoying can be dealt with much quicker. Ragebound sounds like it’s playing it safe thus far, but wait until I mention it’s best mechanic. Hypercharge, a buff that transforms Kenji’s slashes into powerful strikes. You gain hypercharges by either killing an enemy containing one, or sacrificing a bit of your health. Most efficient is killing hypercharged enemies, because oftentimes they spawn with the foes that can’t be killed in one hit. Hypercharged enemies must be killed with either melee attacks or the throwing weapons Kumori grants you, so varying your attacks is encouraged. Prioritizing who to take down first and save last is a priority, because the last thing you want is to be overwhelmed.

Many of my deaths in Ragebound were from being overwhelmed, but as long as you keep up to the rhythm pulsing action of the game you should be able to move forward. Hidden throughout each level are beetles, and these beetles can be spent at shops to unlock new skills and upgrades. Perks that grant Kenji different traits, but only two can be equipped at a time so choose carefully. At the end of each level there is usually a boss fight. A test of skills, endurance, and being able to comprehend their attack patterns. These fights are difficult, but once you pull them off you’ll be able to clear the stage. Then being ranked on how long it took for you to beat and the optional challenges you fulfilled along the way. High enough rankings granting you new stuff to purchase at the shop. It’s that hardcore Ninja Gaiden fun you know and love now with glistening visuals and crazier action. Hopefully you can stop the demon king and save the world from his wrath.

Thoughts

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is exactly what I expected when I saw that initial reveal trailer back in 2024. Despite raving about how much platformers have grown, it's not the most innovative genre  entry. In fact, I would say Ragebound plays its cards safely, but that’s all it needed to do. A real faithful homage to the days of frenetic, chaotic platforming fun. I do have few criticisms as I do with all the video games I’ve played, but overall this was a fantastic ride and can easily suggest it to those wanting a good challenging time. There is a lot to love about Ragebound. Whether it be playing it, the design of the game, or aspects such style. I’ve played a fair share of Ninja Gaiden spiritual successors in the past. Whether it is the previously mentioned The Messenger or the brutal Cyber Shadow. Both games are great with The Messenger being a masterpiece personally, but one thing I will admit is they put heavy emphasis on platforming than action. It’s why I love those games so much is how they’re able to test you with navigation, traversal, and mechanics of each level. Taking your limited toolkit and seeing the different ways it can be pushed. Here it’s a little bit of both. Ragebound has excellent controls and platforming sections that’ll keep you on your toes. Whether that’s hopping between platforms in a bamboo forest, or train cars in a fast high speed tunnel. Levels are varied enough in themes and mechanics to ever get stale.

Ragebound has great platforming, but compared to The Messenger or Cyber Shadow it has way more action. Enemies are always popping up on screen and usually in groups. Aiming towards the player or making it trickier to rush to where you need to be. There was never a moment in the game where two minutes went without enemies. Part of which is due to the great pacing. Most of the levels in Ragebound can be between 15 to 20 minutes as long as you have decent skill. It’s a fairly challenging game and we’ll get to my grievances with difficulty later, but as hard as it got going at times I wouldn’t say it’s entirely unfair. Most deaths, mainly ones with platforming, felt like they were mine, and checkpoints are plentiful enough that it never feels like you lost all too much progress. The game is rather forgiving, but the real challenge comes with level rankings. I personally never cared for level scores in video games and still don’t, but in Ragebound there is some incentive to aim for a high score. Mainly due to shop items that can only be available if you got a high enough score. These score requirements are low so they're easy to get.

I love how the hypercharge mechanic works despite it taking a bit of time to get used to. The self created hypercharge is quite useless as sometimes it doesn’t work, and other times it might be the thing that kills you as you have to stand still. The other form of getting hypercharge is genius as it makes you prioritize who to kill first in a given scenario. One enemy may specifically have it, but it’s being accompanied by a few others. Do you slash them up first, or go for the enemy with the hypercharge. Then you gotta react quickly, because hypercharge dissolves in a short period and you wanna spend it on a powerful enemy you want to kill quickly. Specifically the ones who don’t die in a single hit. Bosses giving you hypercharge opportunities are even more thrilling as you need to keep up with their attacks, find that window to strike, and get the edge. It's incredible pulling this off successfully and it never gets old. The core gameplay loop is strong overall. The game is an absolute blast, but there are some design flaws I want to bring up. Just in case they ever make a sequel to this game, which they will based on the true ending scene.

It’s fun exploring levels to find beetles and blue skulls so you can buy shop items. The problem is that a majority of these skills and upgrades you can unlock are useless. The best trinket in the game is the first one you buy. It’s the one that fully restores your health upon hitting checkpoints. All the other ones are quite useless for what they do, and some make the game harder for those who are masochists. There is no way to increase your healthbar or damage output. On one hand it’s nice because what’s carrying you forward is skill rather than stats. On the other hand you’ll start to notice you can only take a specific numbered amount of hints before death. Having the ability to increase it would help a lot especially during the later stages when things get crazier. A little too crazy in my opinion. Ragebound is a chaotic game and isn’t afraid to throw a ton of foes at you all at once. As awesome as it is to rush through these slashing enemies to pieces it does become annoying near the end. Where too much visual chaos is cluttering the screen, and it now becomes harder to tell and react accordingly to the action. It sucks that I’m saying this because Ragebound looks f*cking awesome. A wonderous Game Kitchen staple. 

Spritework, backgrounds, foregrounds, the animations are smooth as butter, and combined with the controls it all transitions so elegantly together. Cutscene artwork is really nice too. I love the design of these characters, especially Kumori. Making a female character who is beautiful and awesome without having to go heavy on nonsensical sexualization. Something I was told these games do quite a bit especially is that reboot series, but I’m glad they kept it tame here. Shocking to see when these are the same developers who made Blasphemous. The people who aren’t afraid to show nudity and macabre gores. The soundtrack is a banger. Expected typical NES throwback music, but instead it’s killer guitar riffs and soundwaves. Electric synth that’ll push you on to whoop even more ass. Whoever did the soundtrack of this game deserves a big pat on the back. Going back to the visuals complaint, just too much stuff happens at times. I’m not saying the game is choosing style over substance. The style and substance coexist in harmony together, but maybe the reason why Ragebound is hard to keep up with is simply how fast pace it is.

You’re always moving in levels, some stages have scrolling backgrounds, and combine this with the visual clutter of enemies piling up it leads to things blurring together. At times I wondered if the performance of the game was slowing down or if it was just me. A lot of the bosses are well designed. I understand their mechanics, nothing about them is unfair, and with enough attempts I nailed them down. My problem is not their attacks nor how much health they knock off. You can only get hit six to seven times from my recollection, and there’s no way to refill health. Trying to beat them near perfectly is hard enough, but what rubs me the wrong way is how big their health pool is. It feels like I’m hacking away at sponges. I understand why they did this so bosses don’t end so quickly, but it does get annoying especially once you attempt these guys enough. Now if you are having a difficult time with the game there’s assist options. Accessibility choices to aid those who struggle more than me. You can decrease enemy damage, slow the speed of the game down, reduce screenshake, etc. They’re great options and if you’re particularly good with these games and just want a good power fantasy I probably encourage utilizing them.

I beat the game without ever turning these options on. I wanted to see just how far I’d get. I beat and got a pretty good ending. A satisfying conclusion to a challenging experience. Hot take, but I think Ragebound is the hardest game I’ve played this year. I think it’s harder both Blasphemous games and even Hollow Knight: Silksong. You know that game is crazily difficult from what I’ve stated before, and somehow Ragebound cranks difficulty to a whole new level. Then you hit the hard mode and you realize this game f*cks around more than it can handle. The true ending for Ragebound is locked behind a boss rush, which you can only get to on hard mode. It is a gauntlet of all the demon bosses you faced. No throwing weapons offered by Kumori, no health refills, and all must be done in one go. That is insane from what I’ve heard of it. Then I tried playing through the first few stages of hard mode. Yeah I couldn’t do it. It’s Ragebound dialed up to 11, and now the game goes from challenging but fair to “We think you’re incapable of handling a single thing.” I had to stop playing this game before I grew to despise it. Overall I’d say this is a good recommendation in my book. Despite my complaints it’s good simplistic fun, and what is not to love about that? Platformers were kicking it back then and continue to do so to this day. In the end I am going to give Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound a 9/10 for excellence at best.

9/10, Excellence