Ninja Gaiden II Black Reviews

Earlier this year, the announcement of a brand new game in the Ninja Gaiden franchise, the long-awaited Ninja Gaiden 4, was met with a lot of excitement from us fans of the franchise. Even if I don’t think that Ninja Gaiden 3 is that terrible (it’s underwhelming, sure, but I’ve played worse), I’m glad we’re finally going to get an actual Ninja Gaiden sequel to take advantage of the many technical improvements seen in gaming over the past 13 years. That wasn’t the only announcement...

In our NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black review, we’ll explore how Team Ninja’s remastered classic slices its way into the modern era, bringing its notorious challenging combat and ninja action to a new generation with enhanced visuals and refined gameplay mechanics. After a 15-year hiatus, Ryu Hayabusa’s intense journey returns with updated graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5, promising to satisfy both veterans and newcomers alike. This remaster not only modernizes the visual aspects of the game bu...

Ninja Gaiden II Black is an impressive remaster in terms of sheer visual fidelity, but the gameplay and design haven’t aged quite so gracefully. It’s an important relic of the past, but just that.

Being a remaster that primarily just makes a classic a hell of a lot prettier, there are some issues here that remain unaddressed. If you can tolerate a camera that sometimes feels like it's working against you, however, then chances are you'll have a very good time with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black overall.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is like a time machine back to the halcyon days of PS3, featuring over-the-top violence, ridiculous action, and a globe-trotting campaign. Black sparkles up those graphics for PS5, and while fun, it isn’t quite enough to counter how much this hack-and-slash experience has aged.

Every so often you finally get to a game on your backlog that truly surprises you. “Where have you been my whole life?” I caught myself saying as I played Ninja Gaiden II via the recently shadow-dropped Ninja Gaiden II Black. The short answer is that it was there all along, waiting for me to experience its tense, tough and fast-paced action glory. With every delightfully bloody dismemberment or over-the-top set piece, Ninja Gaiden II has shaped me, quickly becoming one of my favourite a...

Ninja Gaiden 2: Black is the definitive way to play Ninja Gaiden 2. It's a reminder that the Ninja Gaiden series was ahead of its time when it first hit the shelves, with it still having some of the best combat of any game in the genre. The adrenaline one can get from pulling off lengthy combos and dismembering groups of enemies is something that is rarely matched in the industry these days. After playing through the game, it's hard not to want to travel back in time to a period when games pu...

The first two entries in the modern Ninja Gaiden series are still considered decades after their original release as two of the best action games ever released and for very good reasons. With the depth of their combat mechanics, their high-speed action, and solid level design, the two games have aged rather well and still play great to this day. With the departure of Team Ninja's founder and series creator Tomonobu Itagaki, however, the franchise kind of lost itself, with a third entry in the series that required a revamped version to steer the course and provide an experience that, while improved, still failed to be on par with that of its predecessors. The glory days of the early 2000s, however, seem to be back, with the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 and the surprise launch of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an Unreal Engine 5-powered remaster of the second entry in the series that attempts to bridge the gap between the hardcore experience of the original and the tweaked gameplay of the Sigma release while offering enhanced visual, and generally succeeds at providing a solid entry point for those who never had the chance to play the game.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is an excellent game and is not a remaster but a remake. Using the power of the Unreal Engine 5, this game was brought back to life with better 4k graphics and high-paced combat, the amount of challenges to explore is limitless.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black isn't the most definitive version of the classic but it will remind you why it's so well-regarded in the first place.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a surprisingly beautiful remake that rights many of Sigma’s wrongs to become the next best thing to the original release.

Closing Thoughts: Thanks to the return of the infamously poor camera system, it's not the "definitive edition" Team Ninja was hoping for. And yes, there's still a reduced number of enemies compared to the original, but I find that inconsequential. At the end of the day, despite its somewhat dated gameplay, I was still impressed by the time the credits rolled. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black reminds us why the franchise was formerly the gold standard for 3D action. It's fast, furious, and a bloody good time. I can't think of a better way to prepare for Ninja Gaiden 4.

NINJA GAIDEN 2 Black is for those who love fast action and tough gameplay. For all of its blemishes, the game is a wild ride that's tough to forget, with plenty for both new players and returning fans to adore.