Koei Tecmo has finally announced a Ninja Gaiden Collection, a title that fans of the series have been asking for, for quite some time.
The Ninja Gaiden Master Collection will include Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2 and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge. The collection will be released on June 10th, 2021, and will be available for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be supported via backward compatibility.
The NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection brings the renowned action games to PC and consoles, allowing fans and newcomers alike to experience the tale of “super ninja” Ryu Hayabusa as he battles deadly fiends causing chaos around the world. NINJA GAIDEN Sigma, originally released in 2007, set the standard of high-speed action for the series – introducing dual-wielding weapons, and a Mission Mode alongside its gripping Story Mode. NINJA GAIDEN Sigma 2, originally released in 2009, continued Hayabusa’s journey alongside characters Ayane, Rachel, and Momiji, with four difficulty levels testing player’s battle techniques with every heart-stopping fight. The latest entry, NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor’s Edge, originally released in 2012, upped the challenge with powerful new enemies and fiercely violent depictions, as well as bringing Kasumi into the action, making it the series’ most alluring white-knuckle experience to date.
The nostalgic yet timeless action of the three games offers a highly responsive and challenging experience – with battles that require defensive and offensive moves similar to fighting games. Players can enjoy playing as the fan-favorite ninja, Ryu Hayabusa, alongside the additional characters such as Ayane, Rachel, Momiji and Kasumi as they appeared in the original version of the games. Master your favorite characters in intense action-packed battles like only the NINJA GAIDEN series can deliver.
This is great news for Ninja Gaiden heads or those who never played the series in the past. That said, I do have some frustration regarding this announcement. Mainly due to the Sigma versions of the games being included instead of the Ninja Gaiden Black versions. While the games are similar, there are several differences, including the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden being included in Black. There are also several Blacks to the Sigma games, such as removing certain encounters, changes to puzzles, and changing blood to some weird purple mist. Basically, the decision was made to make Sigma easier and took away many of the good bits. The upside is that the Sigma games got a visual bump. I suppose if you haven’t played the original or Black, it’s fine; otherwise, you may not be happy with this collection.
Still, it is Ninja Gaiden, so there’s that. Now, Koei Tecmo, can we discuss possibly porting the NES Ninja Gaiden games, the SNES Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, or maybe even the arcade game?
