Retro Platformer Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Skillfully Combines Old And New
To be honest, when it was announced that the studio behind Blasphemous was working on a new Ninja Gaiden instead of another all-original work, I was a tad disappointed. It’s nothing against Ryu Hayabusa, as he’s been the star of some of the most celebrated action games ever made (particularly Ninja Gaiden Black), but considering how The Game Kitchen’s previous work was deeply steeped in the specific religious touchstones of a historically self-flagellating Catholic Spain, it was a bit of a bummer to see that the developer’s next outing would be part of a well-established series instead of something else drawing from an ultra-particular cultural context.
However, after around an hour and a half with Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and its twitchy 2D platforming, these preconceived notions largely melted away; sometimes it’s simply fun to cut through an uncountable number of minions in a tightly designed retro-throwback. The central action here is precise and pure while mixing in enough modern complexities to distinguish itself from its predecessors and the countless other nostalgia-oriented platformers aiming to scratch a particular itch. While I’m still looking forward to The Game Kitchen’s next entirely original vision, what I’ve seen of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, which should be out this summer for all modern systems, justifies this wait.
Ragebound’s gameplay loop begins simple enough: at first, you can basically only jump and perform a slash attack. In the introductory level (this is a level-based game and not a Metroid-styled experience like The Game Kitchen’s previous work), you play as Jô Hayabusa (Ryu’s dad) immediately after the opening of the original Ninja Gaiden, navigating a jungle by climbing trees and performing wall jumps. It sounds fairly standard, but if something immediately stands out, it’s just how instantaneous these actions are, which contrasts with Blasphemous’ more Dark Souls-inspired emphasis on animation priority. Most standard enemies go down in a single slash, which matters because they tend to swarm the screen from both sides, forcing you to contend with kunai and multiple flavors of swordfighter in rapid succession. Thankfully, the zippy movement combines with gratifying details like the ability to deflect incoming projectiles by timing your slash, giving everything a frenetic feel that lets you stay in control. But while this baseline speed is much more in keeping with the Ninja Gaiden series rather than in Blasphemous, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound’s pixel art is just as striking and detailed as The Game Kitchen’s previous work, looking particularly great in motion as smooth animations sell hacking and slashing through these stages.
However, that is all just the baseline of mechanical complexity because more layers are introduced as perspective switches to one of the game’s actual protagonists, Kenji Mozu. After Ryu Hayabusa gives Kenji a run-down of his moves in the training level, we’re pushed past the two-button controls of the original games. Specifically, you learn how to use an invincible roll to get past specific hazards, like big wooden traps, which probably only exist in videogames, martial arts movies, and obstacle course gameshows. Beyond clearing these hazards, the roll was also a godsend for the second level’s boss, a flying gargoyle demon with leaping strikes. I-framing through these well-telegraphed attacks was when this demo reminded me the most of Blasphemous and its FromSoftware-ish battles, making clear how it combines retro simplicity with dodge-rolling good times.
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