Despite a torrent of Soulslike games where dodge-rolling and i-frame abuse are king, Team Ninja plans to stick to its roots for Ninja Gaiden 4. Producer Fumihiko Yasuda and PlatinumGames’ Yuji Nakao confirmed they were considering implementing modern action game trends like ‘just guard’ and ‘just evades.’ However, the team ultimately decided to stick with the formula that fans know and love.
Yasuda admitted the studio had made games that the community could consider Soulslike before, but that wouldn’t be the case in Ninja Gaiden 4. In an interview with Japanese media 4Gamer and GameWatch, Yasuda emphasized their focus on maintaining the series’ trademark gameplay.
“Team Ninja has also created many action games that put emphasis on parrying, and have stamina,” said Yasuda, referring to Nioh and Wo Long. “However, for Ninja Gaiden 4, we did not base it on those aspects but rather, we wanted to use the proper form for the series.”
“Parry or just-guard and just-evade actions were in the original Ninja Gaiden, this time we wanted to make them more varied as part of the battle strategy.” Just-evade refers to dodging at the exact moment the enemy’s attack animation plays, using invincibility frames or windows to avoid damage. Since the last decade, said mechanic has been synonymous with FromSoftware’s games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne.
“We wanted to ensure this game stays true to the series while delivering a fast and flexible battle system,” he added.
Chiming in, Nakao said that offense and defense will ‘transition seamlessly’ and ‘attacks can collide,’ which will turn the tables during combat. He is a self-professed fan of the series, and he ensured that this latest numbered entry won’t stray from the path.
“When I joined PlatinumGames, I said, ‘The game I love most in my life is Ninja Gaiden 2,“ explained Nakao enthusiastically.
Both also confirmed that the number of special moves like Izuna Drop has been expanded, in addition to Yakumo, the new protagonist’s Bloodraven Form. Once a specific condition has been met, Yakumo will be able to turn the enemy’s blood into a wide-sweeping attack. Nakao compares this ability to screen-clearing bombs in shoot-em-up games.
While either cannot talk about the specifics, expertly combining each move will make Ninja Gaiden 4 have the ‘deepest combat’ in the series.
“The game is designed so that beginners and intermediate players can enjoy it to a certain extent,” described Nakao. “Then advanced players and fans of the series can go even deeper and enjoy the game by combining different things,”
“I think the deeper parts are designed in such a way that the more you get into it, the more you can enjoy it,” added Nakao.
