2025 is shaping up to be the year of Ninja Gaiden. NG2 Black was released in January, the highly anticipated Gaiden 4 is due out in October, and now we have the return to the series’ 2D roots, Ragebound. While the 3D series focuses mainly on extreme difficulty and punishing gameplay, Dotemu have opted for an approach that takes clear influence from the NES games but benefits from much greater fluidity and quality of life improvements. The extreme difficulty is there if you want it, but here it’s an unlockable extra rather than the default.
As I laid out in my preview of Ragebound, this game takes a departure from the usual protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, and instead features Kenji Mozu – a redheaded protégé. Chronologically the game takes place during the events of the NES games when Ryu heads to America to follow the will of his dead father. As soon as Ryu sets out his village is attacked by demons and it is up to Kenji to fight them off. Along the way, Kenji finds out the origins of the attack but also has to team up with a member of the notorious Black Spider clan in order to defeat the Demon Lord.
Ragebound looks fantastic, with beautiful pixel graphics and smooth animation throughout. Layers of depth are added through the backgrounds whilst visual effects such as flames and lasers look how I remember 16-bit graphics looked – as opposed to how they actually look when you replay them. Enemies are varied and new forms of demon atrocities are introduced steadily throughout the game from possessed soldiers to eldritch monstrosities. Speaking of monstrosities the bosses are fantastically designed both visually and mechanically with each really challenging you to master the full range of your abilities.
Kenji himself has a small but effective range of skills with his katana being a powerful attack for most foes. Along with simply slashing enemies you can use a guillotine attack to bounce on enemies or obstacles to do damage but more crucially to navigate larger gaps and make more difficult jumps. This works surprisingly similar to the classic pogo attack in Duck Tales which is a NES influence I wasn’t expecting heading into the game. Later in the game you’ll also have access to a ranged attack as well as secondary weapons and powerful magic. To do so, however, requires a pact to be made with a long-time enemy.
A short while into the game, Kenji will track the enemy down to a demonic gate through which the mighty Demon Lord is hoping to emerge. To enable this, the Demons are collecting crystals which power the gate and Kenji must track down and destroy the powerful lieutenants holding each of these. At the same time Kumori, a Spider Clan assassin is sent to forge a deal with the Demon Lord. The two ninjas’ stories collide as each is mortally wounded and so they must link their souls in a magical rite in order to fend off the demon invasion. This narrative twist is neat but also unlocks a range of new abilities for Kenji.
Kumori exists as a spirit within Kenji and can be called upon to offer ranged attacks, the aforementioned secondary weapons which range from axes to umbrella shields, and, perhaps most importantly, powerful magical abilities which can prove the difference in boss battles. The first of these is the titular Ragebound attack and this does high damage to enemies across the screen. You can unlock further abilities through collecting items and successfully completing missions in each level, with new unlocks being blocked by specific ratings in a given level. I opted for a handy healing ability and this saw me through some of the more challenging encounters but a more offensive approach may suit you better.
As well as offering Kenji new abilities, Kumori can be controlled directly whenever Kenji interacts with demonic alters that release her spirit. These areas play out as timed platforming puzzles since Kumori’s energy is constantly depleting. Finding the optimal route through these areas whilst also shooting energy crystals to recover health provides some of the most memorable platforming parts of the game and the final boss requires you to have mastered this aspect to triumph.
Every level has hidden skulls and scarabs – the latter being the currency for buying new equippables from the merchant – as well as set objectives to complete as missions. These range from killing a certain number of a specific enemy to finishing the level without dying. Completing these and collecting all of the hidden items goes towards your ninja rank for each level and there is a great deal of replayability to be found in aiming for the best ranks – some of which can only be obtained through equipping items that offer severe disadvantages such as removing health pickups or even checkpoints entirely. Alternatively, there are accessibility options that enable you to tweak things if certain parts prove too frustrating
