Review | Ninja Gaiden Master Collection

LifeisXbox’s Ninja Gaiden Master Collection review | While KOEI TECMO is finally deciding to bring Ryu Hayabusa back with a new installment of Ninja Gaiden, it’s not bad to be able to enjoy, Ninja Gaiden Master Collection. I have been able to play the new adaptation of the three original games on Xbox Series X and I have been wanting more, basically because the saga has been stopped since 2012 when Ninja Gaiden 3 was released until the release of this new compilation. We have a single pack in the three original remastered games and with all the extra content that was released for them, being Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 it’s Sigma versions and Ninja Gaiden 3 it’s Razor’s Edge version that was released first on Nintendo Wii-U and later on the rest of the platforms.

We played Ninja Gaiden Master Collection for about 50 Hours on Xbox Series X. This game is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows & Xbox One.

What we liked!

• A brief summary for those who don’t know this title | Ninja Gaiden is one of the pioneering sagas when it comes to melee action games. It’s first installments date from the NES era in 1988, being side-scrolling adventure titles with a clear emphasis on platforming and combat. Following the resurgence of the series in 2004, with it’s arrival on the original Xbox, Ninja Gaiden has focused more on frenetic action chaining combos, similar to Devil May Cry. However, the saga has known how to differentiate itself thanks to it’s ninja setting and it’s high level of difficulty, which has been one of it’s hallmarks. Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a graphics and performance-enhanced compilation of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge.
• A renewed technical section | The three games included in the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection offer different things in their technical section. Each of them takes advantage of it’s particularities to take advantage of the characteristics of current consoles and offer us a good facelift at all levels. To put ourselves in the situation, we must remember that Ninja Gaiden Sigma was released in 2007, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 in 2009 and Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge arrived in 2012. The first two games come directly from their previous versions, this means that the changes that were made from the original games to their Sigma versions are also implemented in the current games of this compilation. When testing the games, the Sigma versions don’t feature the gore elements like beheadings, but this will arrive the same day the game is released with an update. Viscera aside, the games have improved dramatically in terms of resolution, better textures, lighting, and extreme fluidity. The three games enjoy a brutal smoothness with 60 images per second and without frame losses, without a doubt it’s something that is appreciated in the first two games.
• Very fluid gameplay | The gameplay of the trilogy for some reason was more or less, from Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 their Sigma versions are born and later Ninja Gaiden 3. The reality is that the original versions of the first two games for Xbox and Xbox 360 were, I still consider the best games of the saga and Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge I consider it superior to the original version of Ninja Gaiden 3. A whole mess of versions, but in my opinion it is summarized in that Tecmo didn’t know or didn’t want to follow Tomonobu Itagaki’s path started and after his departure from the company he created his own vision of Ninja Gaiden. For all those who have already played the originals, the best excuse you can have to enjoy the saga again is to live it again with better graphic quality and with almost all the extra content that was launched for the three games. All playable characters, extra game modes like Ninja mode or different levels of difficulty for the most expert players. In the event that this is your first time in the saga, with this compilation you will be able to enjoy one of the best sagas of the genre and in it’s most complete versions. The gameplay and handling is exactly the same as we saw at the time, a game that seems easy to handle at first, but then becomes much more complex and satisfying when you start to learn all it’s mechanics and overcome more hordes of enemies and increasingly challenging bosses.
• A very acceptable duration | Finishing the three games will not take you more than 30 hours, but this time will depend very much on the level of difficulty in which you play them as well as what you like to complete all the scenarios, find all the golden beetles and the rest of the collectibles that hides the game. We also have the extra modes of the game where we can continue enjoying more overtime and complete different challenges, beat times and improve your way of fighting.
• An intact identity seal | The three games continue to maintain their identity and the action and fighting are constant and some memorable bosses. The rhythm of each of the games is a little different, but as is tradition in the saga there are times when you can’t even breathe from the amount of enemies you have around you and it’s difficult to dodge each and every one of the blows what they do to you, that is why I have said before that it’s a game that it’s handling is simple, but that controlling reaction time and knowing how to fight using combos wisely is much more complex.

Somewhere between

• It fulfills its objective but it doesn’t shine | If we mentioned presence of either 1080p or even 4K resolution, doesn’t hide the fact that Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection don’t wonders with the appearance of the three games. On some occasions, we can find certain instances of slight clipping, and logically, if we compare this collection with other modern exponents of hack n ‘slash, such as Devil May Cry 5, we see a significant contrast between what one achieves and the other a level of modeling, textures and general technical finish. In this sense, we could say that Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection ‘delivers’ but not shining.

What we disliked

• Problems that could be avoided | In general terms, all three games have received a good facelift that makes them look better than ever, both in terms of graphics and performance. However, there are certain issues, such as poor sharpness and the presence of recurring lag, problems with the loading screens in the first title, or the lack of Quick Resume that make it feel that the minimum possible resources have been invested in this collection, which is disappointing. In addition, we have also missed that this occasion was used to fix issues such as the control and input lag issues in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, but it was not the case either.

How long to beat the story | 30+ Hours
How long to achieve 3000G | 150+ Hours
Similar with | Devil May Cry

CONCLUSION

LifeisXbox.eu is the largest Belgian Xbox centered website, your reading time is greatly appreciated! Please consider sharing this review with your friends on social media, that means a lot for us! If you are Dutch speaking also consider joining our Dutch exclusive Facebook group Xbox Gamers Belgium. Feel free to use quotes for PR purposes.