NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is an old-school arcade-inspired side-scrolling hack ‘n slash that mixes some gorgeous pixel art with modern power. You are Kenji of the Hayabusa clan and Kumori of the Black Spider clan. Together, you’ll fight demons, Americans, and more through a roughly 5-hour or so campaign. It’s pretty, plays decently enough, and has just enough variety to not overstay its welcome.
A Comprehensible NINJA GAIDEN Story
The game begins with a flashback to the night that Jô Hayabusa, father to series legend Ryu, lost his final duel. After this defeat, Ryu honors his father’s wishes and heads off to America to help quell the demonic forces there. He leaves his young pupil, Kenji Mozu, who is quickly faced with a demonic invasion as the barrier between Earth and the Demon Realm is at risk.
Early on, you’ll meet Kumori, a member of the Black Spider clan. Through mystical means, you’ll end up controlling both characters at once as you attempt to stop demons, CIA agents, and more from getting in your way. For a NINJA GAIDEN game, the story is easy to follow and makes logical sense. There are five main acts, with branches and choices in the final one, adding to the game’s replayability.
Arcade Action
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is a 2D, fast-paced hack and slash title. Kenji has a sword that can quickly attack left or right, while Kumori offers ranged weaponry that can go in any of the four cardinal directions. Muramasa’s shop is back, and each level has golden scarab currency to find for it. He’ll sell you trinkets, of which you can have two equipped to make the game easier or harder, and new super moves, which we’ll get into in a bit.
Ragebound is fast, with a non-stop pace during each level. Most are focused on running in one direction and using your ninja skills to climb up walls. X is your sword attack, A jumps, B is Kumori’s throwing daggers, and Y is her currently equipped special move. While you can slash with Kenji at any time, you’ll need energy from your pink meter to use Kumori’s ranged weaponry.
One of the main mechanics in the game is your guillotine kick. By pressing A mid-jump, you can attack/parry off of any projectile or enemy. This is used constantly in platforming and combat segments. A press of the right bumper is a dodge roll with a decent amount of invincibility frames to it, as well. Finally, when your meter is full, you can press B and Y together for a super move. There’s a small variety of moves to choose from, and replaying levels to get the various currencies hidden about them is enticing.
The last main mechanic is your charged attacks, which are the easiest way to slice through armored or shielded enemies. A blue or pink circle will surround enemies placed in particular spots. Use your sword on blue or a ranged attack on pink, and you’ll have a charged sword attack or dagger throw for a few seconds. You’ll need to use these as often as possible to get through levels unscathed, as damage comes often. There are blue orbs around each level that can heal Kenji a certain amount when broken.
Ragebound’s combat is solid, if unspectacular. Where it shines the brightest is in its graphical presentation. The game looks like what we used to think 16-bit graphics were. Featuring a vibrant color palette and excellent animations, it’s an old-school style of cool that few games can match. The pixel look has been back in a big way for a while. Ragebound’s use of it is one of the best, thanks to the fantastically smooth animations and hit boxes.
Whether you are climbing up walls, guillotine double jumping, or wall hanging, it rarely feels like being hit was not your fault. There are sections where Kumori takes over as Kenji is wrapped in a demonic ‘prison’ of sorts. These are short time trials where you try to reach an end goal before running out of time to gain collectables or advance the level. There’s a slight shift to the environment, and platforms appear out of thin air, and it looks rad.
The music in NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound is exactly what the game needs. It’s peppy, feels like an old arcade title, and gets the blood pumping during the difficult boss fights. There are accessibility options to keep people like our own Nick Baker happy. You can lower damage taken among other options, and some may need to, as Ragebound isn’t playing around. It’s not that hard until you reach a few bosses, including the final one, who can kick your ass and have large health bars.
There’s no voice acting to speak of, either. Everything will either be a 2D portrait conversation or the occasional 3D perspective cutscenes. While I primarily played on Steam for review, as the code was available early, I also got to play a lot on Xbox, and it ran smoothly on the platform. Ragebound is not a demanding title, and could most likely run on your smart fridge.
My main gameplay gripe is a classic one for this type of game. The segments where the camera pans slowly as part of a ‘chase’ sequence can feel cheap as enemies appear quickly from off-screen, giving you little time to react as you fall into a pit that results in sending you back to the last checkpoint. Most of the time, the game feels fair, except in a few scenarios and during a few boss fights.
Wrapping Things Up
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound does exactly what it aims to do. It isn’t trying to be a large, 25-hour, big-budget experience. You’ll get a solid 4 to 5 hours of fun combat and platforming the first time through. It’s full of gore, has a decent story, and the graphical splendor on offer, if you’re into pixels, makes it that much easier to recommend if the $40 price tag doesn’t turn you off..
*Update: the $40 price appears to be for the physical edition only (which has some goodies), the base game is $25, which feels more appropriate. Also, the price did not change the overall score. I stand by the 7.5 – Jesse
NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound
Played on
Xbox Series X & PC
PROS
- Looks Great
- Plays Well
- Branching Paths
CONS
- Boss difficulty spikes will turn off some
- A few areas that feel unfairly balanced
