Well, 16 years after Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and 17 years after the original release, Ninja Gaiden II returns to modern consoles with the stealth release of Ninja Gaiden II Black.
Ryu Hayabusa is back on our screens in 2025, and there must have been something in my mind telling me this was coming as I recently replayed the original release on the Xbox 360, so I think I’m best placed to say whether this remaster lives up to the original.
Gameplay and Graphics
You are not really reading a review of a nearly two-decade-old game to read about the story. Just know you will travel to a varied group of locations to slaughter tonnes of other ninjas and creatures. That’s it. There’s the story. Suppose that leaves me even more space to talk about how amazing this game looks and plays.
This is as pure a hack-and-slash game as you will ever remember from the golden age of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Ninja Gaiden II Black continues the brutal tradition outlined in the original. Almost from minute one, you are slicing and dicing your way through an almost never-ending number of enemies.
You will get to use several weapons throughout the game that can be upgraded to level 3, which will help you battle your way through the hordes. It is as fun as ever to hit those incredible combos, and some of the moves you pull off are just so satisfying to complete. The combat is perfection. Anyone who says this gets boring needs their head checked. If you sit and play this game in one sitting, it could get tiresome, which is how I Imagine some review games.
The only thing I would say is a little annoying is the camera. When there are a lot of enemies on-screen, it can be tricky to keep track of Ryu in all the chaos. They include a button to refocus the camera, but this can be tricky to use in the midst of battle.
The other minor gripe I had, and this may very well be a skill issue, as some say, but I played on Acolyte difficulty, and at various points when I thought I had mastered this game, the difficulty just spiked, and this did annoy me.
Ryu gets four ninja arts to use throughout the game, and they do help you out when you get into a tricky situation. When you play as either Ayane, Momiji, or Rachel, you will still get one ninja art to use for each. I don’t remember if there were additional characters in the original release, but apparently, they were added to the Sigma release, so I can’t compare how they play to that version.
Regarding the graphics and audio, Ninja Gaiden II Black does superb justice to the original. The audio is crisp and sharp, and the textures of each world are brilliant. The lighting was very well done; I didn’t have to squint and see what was happening. The environments are gorgeous and varied, and in the calm moments, it is worth stopping to smell the roses.
The gore and visceral nature of the game is also very well done and brings this game into 2025.
Ninja Gaiden II Black Changes
Now, onto what is exactly different from the original Xbox 360 release that I played last month, and what is here are few but noticeable.
The biggest difference is that a couple of boss battles have been removed, namely the giant Buddha and the Statue of Liberty. These boss battles were not amazing, in my opinion, so I am happy to see the back of them.
The other slight difference is down to the modern era of autosaving and checkpoints. This means that the save points scattered throughout the different stages in the original game have been replaced by supplies for either health or ninja arts, which is disappointing as those save point statues were beautiful.
Conclusion
Ninja Gaiden II Black still plays amazingly well nearly two decades on from the original release.
Stealthily sneaking onto modern consoles is the perfect way for the developers to bring us back into Ryu Hayabusa’s world and set up the excitement for the new release, which is expected to be this year.
The game is visually stunning, and you need to see the upgrade the visuals have had to truly understand what has been done. Every strike of your blade is a treat for the ear and definitely one for a good pair of headphones.
If you haven’t picked up a Ninja Gaiden game since the days of the Xbox 360, then this remaster is the perfect way to jump back into that world before the release of Ninja Gaiden 4. Especially at the price point of under £40, I can’t think of a better way to beat those winter blues.
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Koei Tecmo Games
Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release Date: 23rd January 2025
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Ninja Gaiden II Black was provided by the publisher.
