Being bad at video games is sad. Being bad at good video games is tragic. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound will bring out the best in you in spite of your potential ineptitude. We know it did for us.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is the newest entry in the legendary controller-busting series of games that’s been wall-jumping across platforms since 1988. Koei Tecmo (formerly Tecmo) have wisely given the reins over Ninja Gaiden franchise (at least for this installment) to publisher “DotEmu” (a subsidiary of “Focus Entertainment”) and developer “The Game Kitchen”.
The former has been responsible for publishing a number of retro reboots like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Streets of Rage 4 and Metal Slug Tactics among others. While the latter has blessed us with the miracle that are the Blasphemous games, known for their strong imagery and brutal pixel animations. And difficulty.
This combination of talent and true dedication to all things retro should be able to produce an all out assault on our endorphin receptors, but will this banking on our nostalgia pay off? Find out in our review of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound!
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
Developer: The Game Kitchen
Publisher: Dotemu
Platforms: PC (reviewed), NSX, PS5|4, XBOX
Release Date: July 31, 2025
Price: $24.99
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound takes place alongside the events of the original Ninja Gaiden on NES. Ryu Hayabusa receives the letter from his father, which sends him on his quest across the United States, literally the moment Hayabusa clan’s home village is invaded by fiends.
So while Ryu follows fathers will across the ocean, it’s up to Kenji, a fresh face to the Gaiden series, to fight the demons.
Despite his bravado and easy-going attitude, Kenji is in over his head, that much is especially clear when the weakest of demonic general takes him out in one fatal blow. It is during these death throes that Kenji meets the condescending Kumori – a ninja from the rival Black Spider Clan. But near-death misery loves company and so through some unsavory ninjutsu the two join forces to repel the demonic invasion.
Before they commit the aforementioned sudoku, however, we are given a chance to play through a couple of stages as Kumori. Unlike Kenji, she uses thrown kunai instead of a katana sword, and looks like Juri Han from Street Fighter 4 with Lucy’s haircut from Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. After this Kumori will be relegated to throwing ranged attacks and navigating unique platforming challenges for unlocking collectibles.
The game looks great, you can expect nothing less from the artists behind Blasphemous. Landscapes are numerous and rich with detail, you’ll be fighting your way through firefly-illuminated forests, rain-soaked rooftops and top-secret [REDACTED]. Just as impressive as the levels are enemies and especially their death animations. They’re quite varied with unique move-sets and more importantly: multiple death animations.
Most enemies have at least a couple of different death animations, depending on which body part was struck as the death blow. So you’ll be chopping off limbs and painting the town red red (or green or yellow, depends on the enemy). And all enemies have a separate death animations when killed by a regular melee strike, an empowered katana or a charged kunai.
The pixel count is lower than in Blasphemous (about 2/3rds by our estimates), so instead of a PSX game it looks more like a GameBoy Advance title instead. The bright color palette kept reminding me of Metroid Fusion for some reason. We only found only a couple of instances of rixels and we really had to look for them, so props to the art department at The Games Kitchen, they took no shortcuts.
But while the art is comprised of beautiful pixels, the game world is not bound by the same restrictions. Your movement is not limited by a grid, so you can inch your way into a perfect position for that jump or sneak up on an enemy from a low platform.The world can also get quite repetitive. By the end of a level you may become all too familiar with particular platform formations simply because you’ve seen a few of them on your way there.
A lot of elements from the original Ninja Gaiden have been streamlined for a smoother (read: easier) experience. For instance, after getting in mid-air, you have a chance to recover by pressing the Jump key. Extra verticality and a 360° area of attack can also be achieved by pressing the Jump key in mid-air and hitting at enemy. This can be done ad infinitum, so long as there is an enemy to bounce off of. No more one-hit deaths due to an ill-placed bottomless pit, if you’re quick on your feet.
You are also no longer limited by lanterns or other miscellaneous floating objects to refill your sub-weapon ammo. All sub-weapons are now fueled by Ki, which can be recharged by hitting enemies with melee strikes. Thus a ranged solution is readily available nearly at any moment.
Now we know some of the purists in the audience are already groaning at the idea of a game franchise renowned for its difficulty getting a casualized entry. Fear not, old man Muramasa at the store has you covered. Between missions you can buy weapons and game-altering talismans at the humble, yet mysteriously resourceful, old man’s shop. You can get rid of health power-ups, checkpoints, healing, etc… Anything your masochistic heart may desire.
There are also talismans and weapons available to make your life easier instead. The game isn’t exactly a cake walk. Even the tutorial drills into you that patience is a virtue. “Find your inner peace” is the first lesson Ryu Hayabusa teaches you. There is a certain deliberate flow to the combat, simply swinging your (just a smidge too short) katana won’t get you too far. You have to be mindful of your surroundings and pick targets accordingly. Kenji is all too happy to stick to a wall at the least opportune moment.
After beating a level, you are graded based on your performance. Time taken, enemies killed, stage-specific challenges beaten, collectibles collected, etc… All of these unlock extra items at the shop allowing for a number of different play-styles. You can replay earlier levels from the map screen as well as “Secret Ops” – concentrated remixes of beaten levels with shorter duration and bigger enemy population.
As forgiving as the difficulty may be with the aforementioned streamlining, you will hit a stone wall in the form of bosses. These guys don’t play around. They may take you as long as their level to beat (15-20 minutes). Their patterns change based on the amount of life they have and they can be unforgiving with wide areas of attack and numerous projectiles. Remember: inner peace. Don’t get baited into harvesting Hypercharges, sometimes it’s better to take your time and whittle the boss down with basic attacks.
After conquering the game, Hard Mode is unlocked and you are introduced to redesigned levels and a novel game concept called “recolored enemies”. They are faster and have more ferocious attack patterns. Those flying skulls can now fly at Mach 7. Shuriken ninjas? Realized they can hold 3 throwing stars in one hand.
Players are given 9 save slots, so you can always go back to your original save and search all the nook and crannies there if you’re a completionist type. And we would recommend Hard Mode for those seeking even more challenge than those 1-hit death talismans could provide.
The game has a higher skill ceiling than it would appear at first, so it can be easily recommended to both veterans of the original trilogy as well as newcomers to the series.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was reviewed on PC using a code provided by DotEmu. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is now available for Windows PC (via STEAM), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4|5, and Nintendo Switch 1|2.
