Unreal Engine 5 is one of the most resource-intensive game engines out there: just reaching 60 frames per second while utilising Lumen global illumination and Nanite micro-geometry is a serious challenge for developers. With that in mind, it perhaps comes as no surprise to see that Team Ninja opted for ‘master ninja difficulty’ in remaking Ninja Gaiden 2. Not only are UE5’s cutting-edge features deployed in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, the developers are choosing to target 120fps on a console. Did the studio achieve its target or is it just a step too far for current generation hardware?
This is just one facet of Team Ninja’s latest project. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black marks the return of the second modern entry in the Ninja Gaiden franchise. As the final Team Ninja game helmed by Tomonobu Itagaki, the original Xbox 360 version kicked players in the teeth and left them begging for more. It’s a beloved yet tough-as-nails action game that just happened to be riddled with technical and balance issues. Even so, with its insane enemy counts, extreme dismemberment system and intense speed, it rewards those who stick with it. However, things got weird with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Released initially for PlayStation 3, Sigma 2 would serve as the basis for each new release going forward. It’s a more polished game with more content but at the same time, it has its own issues: enemy numbers are reduced, damage and HP values are tweaked and the glorious showers of blood removed.
Which brings us to Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, shadow dropped after the Xbox Developer Direct. Let’s just say that it’s a curious release. Fundamentally, this is a release like Bluepoint’s work on games such as Demon’s Souls and Shadow of the Colossus: a visual remake that combines the original engine running original gameplay, working within Unreal Engine 5. But even that’s a somewhat simplistic view of the situation.This isn’t just a prettier version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Instead, it feels as if the development team went in and pulled elements from all versions of Ninja Gaiden 2 to create a completely new version of the game. One change is the return of the limb severing system and the litres of blood that went missing in Sigma. The new system is extremely over the top with every slice of the Dragon Sword filling the air with showers of blood that then pool on the floor and, eventually, dry up.
The original iteration of this system tied into the combat – enemies in the Xbox 360 game appear in larger numbers but can be killed faster or at least their limbs chopped off creating a different type of threat. In Sigma, enemies all take more damage but there are fewer of them at any given point. It’s difficult to say for sure but it seems like the new release walks somewhere in between the two: overall, there are fewer enemies than Ninja Gaiden 2 on Xbox 360, but somewhat more than the body count in Sigma on PS3.