Ninja Gaiden Ragebound tells the story of Kenji Mozu as he teams up with Kumori to defend Hayabusa Village from demonic forces. Kenji is Ryu Hayabusa’s disciple and together with Kumori, help rid the village and the surrounding area from the demonic threat that’s descended upon them. The story is a great story that is told with character dialogue and beautiful animated cutscenes. With the story running parallel to the events of the first Ninja Gaiden, paired with the animated cutscenes, makes for a fun and engaging story.
Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (NGR as I am going to refer to it going forward) is a game that goes back to the roots of the original in a fantastic way. Each stage is played from a side scrolling perspective and has you running and jumping around while you take out enemies and solve generally simple environmental puzzles. While the game stays true to its roots, it does bring something new to the table. In addition to the environmental puzzles which weren’t in the original 2D games, you have a second character you play as, which introduces some new elements.
The game has you playing as Kenji Mozu who has a sword as the main weapon but then introduces the ability to play as Kumori. Kumori has a projectile that she throws at enemies as well as a sword for close range attacks. Eventually these characters are fused together and you have Kenji able to use Kumoris projectile weapon in addition to both of their other abilities.
While initially playing as Kumori changes up the game’s feel and the way you play, having both Kenji and Kumori fused, feels more natural than having two characters to swap between.
Stages in the game are rather long but at the same time it’s not something you really notice. The reason for this is how fast paced the game is. You’re constantly moving, constantly taking out enemies, and you really don’t notice that you’re playing a single stage for five, maybe ten minutes straight. The only time the game really takes a break from the fast action is when it comes to the boss battles, occasional puzzles, and the map screen when choosing a new stage.
That’s not to say that the boss battles are a walk in the park, because those are also very fast flowing, but it seems slower because you aren’t constantly bouncing around a stage trying to take out enemies and dodging projectiles. As mentioned, you do have some simple environmental puzzles. These generally are solved by dispatching a set number of enemies and/or hitting a set of switches with your projectile weapon.
The map screen is rather interesting. It’s very colorful and gives you some good information about the stages that you’ve beaten and those that you have yet to conquer. You have the ability to take on stages in any order in the event you have multiple stages to choose from on a given path. The idea the game gives you a bit of freedom is kind of nice in an otherwise typically linear franchise when it comes to the original three side scrolling titles.
One more really neat thing about NGR is that it brings the amulet system of the 3D Ninja Gaiden games to the side-scrolling experience. You have a vendor you can visit to purchase amulets that can help to enhance your abilities or gain new ones. You can manage the amulets at the checkpoint altars that you come across during a stage or at the map screen before a stage. I think this was a nice way to kind of blend the 2D side scrolling games and the newer generation of 3D platformers together.
Graphically speaking, NGR is breathtaking. I mean this is the first time we have seen a 2D side scrolling Ninja Gaiden since Ninja Gaiden III on the NES. That is a long time to wait for the series to come back to its roots. At the same time though, I can see why we had to wait so long.
Every stage, character and enemy have so much detail, that it’s kind of hard to believe that the game didn’t take a more 3D approach. Aside from the amount of detail, the game offers a CRT filter effect that really looks nice and I have found it is my preferred way to play this game.
The animated cutscenes in this game feel more like an animated film than a cutscene and really just goes to show you how far the series has come from it’s first game. As cinematic as the scenes are, it still has a low poly feel to it that’s rather charming instead of being looked at as a downgrade in quality. A way to stay true to the roots of the series while at the same time, looking stunning.
With the amazing animated cutscenes and all of the fast paced platforming, how does NGR perform? Well being a 2D side scrolling platformer, the game runs like a dream. If I had to take a guess, the game is running at a solid 60FPS or maybe even higher while playing on my mini PC. Now I know that it might not sound like much, but given how much this game has to offer, I wasn’t expecting that kind of performance.
I half expected the game to stutter or slow down, or maybe even force me to set it at a specific resolution or FPS limit using Steam or Windows. This is due to there being no options in the game to do so. But then again, this is just a testament to how well the game is optimized, I mean it runs so well that you don’t need to make any adjustments. Just sit down and start playing after installation. Almost as easy as popping an NES cart into an NES, pressing power, and you’re off and running.
I understand that the example isn’t at all how it generally goes with an NES game, but you get what I mean. You don’t have to adjust settings or troubleshoot, you just install and play, that’s it.
NGR is just as impressive in the sound department as it is in graphics and performance. I mean the music in this game really gets you pumped up and into the action. The sound track is hard hitting, techno sounding, and is nothing short of perfection! Each stage has a different sound track that varies in tempo and arrangement slightly depending on what’s going on. The boss music is nothing short of an orchestrated epic and makes each fight seem like it’s the fight of your life.
As good as the music is, I wanted there to be more to the rest of it. What I mean by that is that I would have liked to have sound effects of projectiles flying through the air, the sound of footsteps on the ground for the larger enemies you encounter. Maybe even the rustle of trees as you jump through them.
I know I am asking too much here, but a little of that I think would have been great. The sound effects that are here, sound really good but are sometimes drowned out by the music. Truth be told, I would rather listen to the music, but I feel it should have been balanced better than it was.
NGR is an interactive art piece. I mean there is nothing to not like about this game, especially if you’re a fan of the original Ninja Gaiden on the NES. NGR to me feels like this is the first 2D side scrolling game we’ve gotten in the series. Obviously that’s not the case, but it’s THAT good. There aren’t really enough words I could use to describe just how beautiful and awe inspiring it is to play this 2D side scrolling Ninja Gaiden game after so many long years.
NGR simply put, has it all. Every gamer out there reading this needs to play Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. I don’t care if you’re a fan or not. If you call yourself a gamer, you have to play this game!
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
In addition to writing articles, Ryan Byers also creates content for his YouTube channel called "Obscure Games and Consoles", collects video games, and dabbles in video game development.