Reviving older games for modern audiences can lead to mixed results. Sometimes those games recapture the spirit of the originals and inspire further life in a bygone franchise, like 2017's Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Other times these ventures may fall flat, like the 2020 reboot of Ubisoft's XIII. A game succeeding or failing can be the result of any number of factors, but Team Ninja's apparent passion going into its Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection bodes well for how it will appease both developers and long-time fans.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection will make Ninja Gaiden: Sigma (2007), Ninja Gaiden: Sigma 2 (2009), and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (2012) available in one place on modern hardware later this year, including all the games' DLC, new features such as playable female characters, and bonuses like a 70-page art book in the Digital Deluxe Edition. Team Ninja Producer Fumihiko Yasuda said the Ninja Gaiden series can be considered the foundation of the studio's action style, and it has been "on our minds for a long time" that this trilogy is not available for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One. Game ZXC spoke to Yasuda about Ninja Gaiden's legacy, and how Master Collection was affected by what the video game industry has popularized in the years since its games released.
Ninja Gaiden: Sigma is a PS3 port of a game first released on Xbox in 2004, itself a reboot of Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden series on the NES that began in 1988. Team Ninja's timing could seemingly not be any more apt given Sony announced this week it is shutting down the PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP, and PS Vita, which means Master Collection will arguably become the best way to access this game and its sequels; preserving them for new audiences to experience.
However, Master Collection has been in development for about one-and-a-half years now, according to Yasuda, and a big part of Team Ninja's push was to bring one of its "signature franchises"Â back for the modern generation of consoles after it finished work on Nioh 2. Yasuda said there are an increasing number of developers at the studio who grew up playing its Ninja Gaiden trilogy in the 2000s, so "for our development team we wanted this to be an opportunity to get involved once again with the Ninja Gaiden franchise."
The process of bringing these games back has not been particularly easy for Team Ninja, as Yasuda said the original titles were not designed with much thought toward being remastered. The team worked backwards, first remastering Razor's Edge, then Sigma 2, and finally Sigma - the latter games based on their PS Vita "Plus" versions that had well-organized source code to work with. While Master Collection will be backward compatible with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, there are "currently no plans" to make proper next-gen versions, as that would require complete remakes. Team Ninja felt it would be better to get the games into players' hands sooner rather than later. According to Yasuda,
"If we had the time and resources for a remake, we felt it would be a better served opportunity to create a new game...That's why we decided to go with this collection at this time."
Online features from the original games were also removed, as recreating them would lead to bigger development times and expenses while making Master Collection inaccessible on certain platforms - though it will have a "ranking system for competitive scoring." Beyond that there are not many major changes outside of things like improving graphics and framerate across the games, and Yasuda feels the high-speed action doesn't feel dated today, which should make it as fun and challenging as ever.
Yet the industry has evolved since the original trilogy of Ninja Gaiden reboot titles was fresh on the market. The series has been infamously "difficult" since the days of the NES, but Yasuda said video games have become more multifaceted in the nearly 20 years since Ninja Gaiden's reboot. He talks about hardware advancements alongside changing gameplay environments like more online and smartphone support, and how FromSoftware's 2011 hit Dark Souls inspired a whole genre of "Souls-like" games with options beyond combat for players to "redeem themselves" after dying.
Amid that crop of support for Souls-like titles came Team Ninja's Nioh in 2017, which Yasuda said would help influence any future Ninja Gaiden release that could come out following Master Collection - he leaves the door open to the idea based on fan support and encouragement. The trilogy featured in this collection takes a "stoic approach" to requiring players improve their skills to advance, which he believes may feel fresh for newer audiences that have become used to the brand of difficult games inspired by Dark Souls. However, if Team Ninja had the opportunity to work on the next Ninja Gaiden game, Yasuda said it would incorporate RPG elements, modern online functions, and more into its pure action elements.
"But at the same time, simply making games difficult isn't our primary goal, as much as it is to create an immersive game that players can enjoy navigating and overcoming...Therefore, we'd like to retain the essence of Ninja Gaiden -like aspects, but create a new game that can hold its own when compared to the latest action titles."
With regards to the legacy of Ninja Gaiden dating back to its days on the NES, as well as calls for protagonist Ryu Hayabusa to be included in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Yasuda said Team Ninja would love to take part, but is "still waiting for our invite." Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection was announced during the February 17, 2021 Nintendo Direct because Team Ninja was approached by Nintendo and "the timing was right." Of the 3D-action reboot series, only Razor's Edge was released on a Nintendo platform (the poorly performing Wii U), so the developer also felt an announcement with the company would create a significant impact.
Yasuda seems most interested with ensuring fans can enjoy its games to the fullest; experiencing them to learn all the intricacies of the action. He said precise control response is a hallmark of Team Ninja's signature franchise, in which "Ryu Hayabusa is your formidable weapon to command each battle as you master the controls," taking on enemies at every junction. If a new Ninja Gaiden game becomes a reality after Master Collection he said the studio will let everyone know, but in the meantime it will continue dedicating itself to every project with fans' support.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection launches June 10 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with backward compatibility on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
