Ninja Gaiden 2 proves the mistake most modern action games make
The release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black once again serves as an example of the degeneration of the genre in recent years.
No one saw it coming at the last Xbox presentation that Team Ninja would be the absolute protagonist. Ryu Hayabusha is back with an unreleased installment from Platinum Games and the remake of one of the most beloved installments by fans. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black reimagines a 2008 classic with the technology of 2025. Nearly two decades later, you would think the genre would have moved on to better things, but the reality is different. Itagaki’s work still feels relevant. What’s more, it shows where his younger competitors are going wrong.
It’s about movement, something as basic as it is key in a game with these characteristics. In recent times, hack and slash has become too obsessed with dedicating specific buttons to actions whose purpose is to dodge your opponent’s blows and nothing more. Muscle Memory combines (never better said) the chain of attack combos with defensive buttons as an escape route. Parries and dodges are such powerful moves that they do not require a complementary move. The skill required to progress is lower; everything is more chewed up for you to solve the fight as a mathematical solution. Larger windows, less room for error...
The opposite is true in Ninja Gaiden 2. Yes, dodge and parry are combined in the L1/LB button, but their effectiveness is low. It’s not infallible. You take a hit, you block, and you have to act quickly to move the joystick to the side to avoid getting out of the funnel. What really saves your life are Ryu’s legs. Basic things like jumping, zigzagging, performing an attack that is linked to a speed boost... in short, resources that leave the list of combos and turn an attack into the best defense.
This is where the legend of Ninja Gaiden is born. It doesn’t make you feel like a ninja because of the shurikens and the context, it makes you feel like a ninja because of the amount of moves you have to reproduce to get out of fights with flying colors. It is pure agility translated into a perfect control of the actions. There are few similar experiences on the market.
Where can I play Ninja Gaiden 2 Black?
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is available for PS5, Xbox X|S Series and PC. It is also part of the Xbox Game Pass catalog on console, PC and Ultimate mode. If you want, you can play the original version on Xbox thanks to the backward compatibility system. Also available on modern platforms (including Nintendo Switch) is the Master Collection, which includes the Sigma Edition, with new features and content different from the two above.
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