Article: Legacy Of The Ninja - Slicing Through Ninja Gaiden’s Video Game History by Matt Miller

In today’s understanding of difficult games, Soulslike action games dominate the gamer consciousness. But way back in 2004, Ninja Gaiden was one of the defining projects that first established the potential for 3D action with such precision and difficulty. Furthering the continuity established within Dead or Alive, this new direction of the franchise saw Ryu Hayabusa fighting to avenge his murdered clan and retrieve the powerful Dragon Sword. The new third-person perspective leveraged much of the combat move sophistication present in Dead or Alive, now translated over into battles against dangerous demonic foes.

The very successful Xbox release was a rarity in its time. High production values and visuals caught the eye, but only the most devoted player was able to surmount the game’s many obstacles and battles. Echoing the difficulty of the original platforming trilogy, but now in 3D action, Ninja Gaiden offered incredibly fluid movement and demanded player mastery of skills like wall-running. Combat was sophisticated and nuanced, with new abilities gained over time, and a critical need for careful timing, since attacks couldn’t be canceled once begun. It’s not an overstatement to cite the 2004 release as an early precursor to the precision-focused challenge that defines many action games now, more than 20 years later.