Platform(s): PC (version reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch
Genre: 2D, action, ninja

As if 2025 isn’t waylaid enough by Nintendo gorillas and French JRPG archetypes, we now have video game ninjas to contend with. See, back in the 80s and 90s, ninjas were all the rage in the gaming landscape.

Fast forward to now, and after a few rereleases and remasters, Koei Tecmo felt it was time to go back to the ninja ways that got them in the business in the first place. Their first attempt? A new 2D Ninja Gaiden hack-and-slash action title that really encapsulates the arcade-style run-and-slash gameplay era but with a few much-needed modernized tools and upgraded game design sensibilities. But I’m getting ahead of myself, mostly because I’m just excited to tell you about why Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is worth your attention.

Real Ultimate Power

For starters, look at the game in action. Thanks to the artistic know-how of The Game Kitchen (of Blasphemous fame), Ninja Gaiden has never looked better and crisp in 2D form. From main characters Kenji and Kumori’s drip and attacks to the demons and military folks they face, details and animation frames are not spared. It’s also worth noting that the controls are spot-on. Kenji has his jump, his regular attacks, and his dodges. Kumori? Well, she’s part of you. In the story, she ends up being a wraith that help fire shurikens and perform Ragebound attacks on a full spirit meter.

Our duo has to work together to combat the demon threat. Kenji does most of the legwork with the platforming and killing, while Kumori helps support and also helps out in certain sections using demon “coffins”. When Kenji gets encased in said coffin, Kumori will have to do a platforming trial that’s timed (she runs out of spirit eventually) meaning you’ll have to be quick on your feet, kill enemies quick with your shurikens, and reach the end ASAP.

What entails are a dozen of levels filled with traps, hazards, tricky enemy placements, and platforming segments that require you to use your new tools. One of them exclusive to this Ninja Gaiden game is the Guillotine Jump, where pressing the jump button a second time after the initial leap will make either Kenji or Kumori do a spin kick that lifts you up higher if it hits enemies. It grants you a second of invulnerable, and serves as the game’s main mobility tool ala a double jump; only you can do this on enemies AND projectiles. Your sword/kunai can also nullify most projectiles, meaning you can just slice willy-nilly to get rid of oncoming bullets.

But you shouldn’t spam your attacks because of this game’s noteworthy feature: Hypercharge Attacks. When you kill an enemy that has green or purple aura, you’ll be in a Hypercharge state where your next melee or kunai attack will be a large and damaging one. The catch? It’ll wear off after a few seconds and the moment you use it once, it’s gone. Hence, you have to be disciplined with your attacks and be precise with them if you want to store charges. This one mechanic is pretty important as there will be large enemies that take a while to kill, requiring Hypercharging to dispose of quickly.

Also, you gain Hypercharge depending on the type of attack you use on the aura enemy: green aura enemies with melee, purple aura enemies with kunai. If you use a different attack, you don’t get the Hypercharge. Loads of obstacles require you to switch between melee and ranged so that you can use Hypercharge proper to kill off swats of enemies in one fell swoop. Mess up, and you’ll have to get out of the hairy situation or just power through it, losing time. Alternatively, you can manually Hypercharge yourself by sacrificing a bit of your life; a handy tool in case you’re out of aura enemies to farm from.

Coupled with scarab collectibles so that you can buy passive-granting Talismans (like Hypercharge from Guillotine Strikes and kill-streak healing) and additional special weapons (and new Ragebound Arts) so that your fights can get manageable, and you end up with tons of options to play the game the way you want. And they’re all fun to pull off and experience; I haven’t had this much fun playing through a well-animated action title that dishes out the hurt since, well, Hollow Knight. Deaths are frequent, but memorization and patience will get you further and further. And once you mastered Normal mode, there’s another challenge in store for you hardcore 2D ninja fans.

Beating the whole game unlocks a Hard difficulty where the levels get mixed up and feature more hazards that require precision and timing to get through unscathed. Bosses too get revved up, though most of them are about the same as their Normal counterparts. You do get a secret level to play through once you complete Hard mode, so that’s 10+ hours total to get the most out of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’s action and challenges; all of them fun, fair, and worth going through to sate your 2D action platforming jollies.

Having said that, the right combination of Talismans for Kenji can break the game and make a good number of the Hard mode challenges bearable. But that’s on you: you can opt to purchase deadly Talismans that grant you high completion ranks at the cost of no healing, or even the penalty of making you start the stage all over again if you die or fall in a pit. Oh, and there are a few bugs like particular enemies not attacking the way they should, and the occasional game crash when you start a stage, but nothing a quick restart can’t fix.

Slice And Dice, All So Nice

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is one the best 2D action game throwbacks that’s long overdue, given the last Ninja Gaiden game was back in 2014, a 3D action title, and utter dogs***. It’s beautiful, has an awesome soundtrack that mixes old with the new, plays great and has spot-on controls, it’s accommodating yet challenging, has a Hard mode that will test your mettle; there’s a lot to love for old-school ninja fans out there.

In short, the whole 2D pixel-savvy action-heavy package that utterly delights. Even with some odd bugs here and there, as well as some Talismans built to make your game easy, Sega’s ninja efforts may have their work cut out for them thanks to this pseudo-indie effort.

Final Score: 90/100

Review code provided by publisher.