Ninja Gaiden Master Collection
NINJA GAIDEN Master Collection brings the definitive editions of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Sigma 2 and Ninja Gaiden 2 Razor’s Edge, featuring all the fast-paced Ninja action you would expect from a Ninja Gaiden game along with a lot of gore and decapitation like the previous PS3 releases.
For the uninitiated, The Ninja Gaiden series stretches way back to the NES as 2D platformers and were mainly known for their punishing difficulty and tight gameplay. The Master Collection is based on the three 3D action games released for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii U and PS3. In each game, you take control of Ryu, a complete badass Ninja, the first game is essentially a story of revenge with Ryu seeking revenge for the death of a shine maiden and the retrieval of a stolen sword. Sigma 2 is a globe-trotting adventure revolving around retrieving a sacred Statue and Razor’s Edge’s story is a little more out-there but is essentially another case of going from country to country and killing the bad guys.
Gameplay
The story in each game is nothing to write home about but that is no bad thing as it leaves much more room for what the games excel in, their gameplay. In each game Ryu slices, cuts and stabs his way through almost endless enemies and it feels great to be in control, you can definitely make comparisons with games such as Devil May Cry or Bayonetta in terms of how the combat feels and handles, except with a somewhat stronger emphasis on blocking.
Controls are intuitive and you will collect various weapons, all with unique attacks, combos etc. On top of your standard swords, staffs and claw type weapons, Ryu also has access to a wealth of sub-weapons including shuriken’s, Smoke Bombs and a bow.
Each game is divided into missions, which usually play out with Ryu needing to reach a certain part of the map or collect a certain item. While traversing each level you will encounter hordes of enemies who need to be taken care of to progress. Enemies vary from your fairly weak, run of the mill Ninja types all the way to massive supernatural fiends and everything in between.
The level design of each game is pretty good, however, you can definitely tell Sigma is a product of its time, certain parts of the game feel somewhat archaic, with areas being inaccessible by invisible walls etc and the cutscenes really don’t hold up well by today’s standards but that is to be expected. To be honest, I found the more straightforward design very appealing, even somewhat nostalgic, these days a modern developer would probably try their best to make the game an open-world adventure with a heavy focus on RPG mechanics and it feels really good to be playing games that lead you in a direction, instead of getting burdened with side quests etc. I want more modern games to take this approach!
Throughout each game, you will stumble across scrolls with need abilities and combos for your weapons, with the exception of Razor’s Edge that uses a more modern skill progression board. Further upgrades can be made via the blacksmith, these upgrades will allow you to increase the power and damage output of each weapon you collect. These are important to do as the difficulty in these games is no joke.
I found the collection overall to be pretty difficult and I like difficult games, I tend to start most games in ‘hard’ mode, but this Master Collection was so relentlessly difficult I turned the difficulty down immediately. There were sections in each game where I had numerous retries and it was usually down to me either not blocking correctly or just to the sheer number of enemies on screen at any time. The games Bosses were not particularly hard, but often I was killed by just your standard enemy type ganging up on me, however, I did get better over time!
Now, it’s worth mentioning that Sigma and Sigma 2 have a few light puzzle elements to them, such as shooting switches and collection keys, however, Razor’s Edge does away with that and has less emphasis on backtracking. While the first two games almost felt like a light version of the original Resident Evil games at times, Razor’s Edge is a massive departure and feels a little more arcade-like, focusing more on set-piece action sequences along with plenty of quick-time events, which I usually despise but I find them tolerable here.
Performance
So, how do they run on the Switch? I am happy to say, very well! The first game runs at a pretty silky-smooth framerate with hardly any noticeable frame drops and all games feel great in both handheld and docked. The second and third games, although looking fantastic did suffer a little with the resolution. In motion, this looks fine and there’s so much happening on screen that you notice but, in some areas, if you stand still the game can look a little pixelated at time. I’m pretty sure this was implemented to keep the game running a smooth framerate which all three titles manage, with a few minor drops in very dense areas in the second and third game. Here’s a couple of examples of what I mean by the resolution looking a little block at times, the below captures are from Sigma 2 and you can see some of the compromises made to keep the game running so smooth.
The sound design and music of each game are very good, it made your attacks felt like they had extra weight behind them and the dialogue is pretty campy at times, but luckily each game allows you to set the game to Japanese with English subtitles, a personal preference of mine.
One last gripe I have is with Razor’s Edge, the block button has been mapped to ZL instead of L like in Sigma and Sigma 2 and after playing all three games back-to-back it was quite the task relearning the buttons and muscle memory did land me in trouble on numerous occasions.
Conclusion
Overall, I would highly recommend the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection. Each game is well worth the price and will take you around 12 – 15 hours to beat so there’s quite a lot of gameplay to be had here. I find the ability to have these games on the go very appealing but I almost wish I went with one of the different versions to experience the trilogy in higher fidelity but that is the sacrifice we have to make these days to play these games portably. While I like the combat and pacing of Razor’s Edge, it was the first two games that make this package and essential for anyone remotely interested in action games!
7.5
Nintendo Switch review code kindly provided by Koei Tecmo