What we have here is an incredible action game with a high skill ceiling. Would be a shame if someone added worms to it...

First things first: Ninja Gaiden Black looks incredible running on a Series X. There is a level of clarity and sharpness here that you just won't see in most other backwards compatible Xbox games - not unless it's also developed by Team Ninja - and even some 360 games upscaled to 4k don't look nearly as good. You can see every pixel on Rachel, and I know because I've spent hours in the lab analyzing her model. I have access to high-end Digital Foundry tools, and you will not believe the frame graph I've generated for Ryu's crotch-- this technology was NOT intended for these purposes!

Now this is where I out myself as a hack, because I did not beat this game on Ultra Lord-God Ninja mode or whatever the hell Ninja Gaiden Black's most powerful warriors insist is the one true way to enjoy the game. I'm a Centrist Ninja, I think any way you enjoy a game is the best way to enjoy it, even if you're a dog. A ninja dog, as some might be.

Even though I lack the requisite amount of skill to play Black on its highest difficulty, I'm more than capable of seeing what the game is going for and respect how technical it is. Look up any boss tutorial and you'll get a sense for how layered and complex Ninja Gaiden's combat can be. It's worth noting that none of the strategies therein actually helped me overcome some of Black's nastiest bosses when applied directly, but they did give me insight into the game's underlying mechanics which allowed me to develop tactics that worked for me. Brute force is seldom the answer, and Black rewards experimentation and thoughtful play, which is appreciable on any level of difficulty.

Unfortunately, I don't think I can jump onboard with the sentiment that this is the best action game ever. The rote reuse of certain bosses on normal difficulties and below can get tiresome, and though you can mitigate this by playing at higher levels, the trade comes at the cost of adding more mobs to boss battles. The few tastes I had of this during my playthrough didn't leave a positive impression, as the increased number of enemies didn't pay nice with the camera. An egregious case of this comes early with the second boss fight, where you have to manage an enemy on horseback running between the two edges of the arena while contending with wizards sniping at you and vanishing.

As the game crept on and abandoned interesting traversal for intense combat challenges in its last two levels, I found my investment waning. In a way, this is true to Ninja Gaiden's NES lineage, because like those games I found myself nearing the end and thinking "yeah I've had enough, I'm good." I understand clawing your way through several small rooms of meaty and tenacious enemies and rolling right into a boss rush is meant to be a true test of your skills, but I personally didn't find the attrition nearly as enjoyable as others. This shouldn't be taken as a full-throated dismissal of the game's combat, which I do like overall, but I did find myself waxing between disengagement and frustration towards the end.

Maybe some of my issues stem from a real bad case of Resident Evil brain for which I'm entering the terminal stages, because I found the parts of Black where you're roaming around and solving puzzles to be the most enjoyable. Yeah, I know, I'm a freak for thinking the combat is secondary to platforming and picking up weird totems to trek back to locked doors a level-and-a-half away. I have to live with myself every day of my life.

It's easy to get lost in the minutia of Ninja Gaiden Black's combat and difficulties, and if you really want to trip headfirst down the rabbit hole, you should check out all the subtle and big differences in Ninja Gaiden's many releases. I actually own a copy of 2004's Ninja Gaiden, which I mistakenly bought thinking it was a totally different game. It was only when I was a breath away from grabbing Sigma under the same assumption that I realized what I'd done, so I just have a spare lying around if anyone wants it. Just post your full address in the comments (DO NOT DO THIS, I WILL DELETE YOUR COMMENT AND SEND YOU A COPY OF AMERICA'S AMY INSTEAD AND IT WILL BE ON YOU FOR TRUSTING ME.)

Some problems inherent to the game and more still that amount to personal taste keep Ninja Gaiden Black from leaving the same impression on me that it does others, but I certainly see why people feel so passionately about it. I eagerly await them telling me how I played the game wrong and am a bastard for it, which is always the best way to get people to enjoy things the same way you do.

I don't mean to come off like a hater, but for The Greatest Action Game of All Time there sure is a lot of shit that sucks in here lmao. I know you're already fuming so keep in mind, I didn't play on Master Ninja and my opinion is not valid. Okay? Cool.

So what do I mean? The occasionally finicky platforming, the tedious (but graciously easy) water level, and especially the part where the game goes DMC2 mode and makes you fight tanks and a helicopter with ranged weapons. C'mon man, how can you directly invite that kind of comparison and not think "what are we doing here?" If the idea was "we can do it better," well sure, you did, but not by much.

Frankly most of the bosses weren't great; the first fight with Murai sets you up to expect a bunch of sick duels and then most of the fights are just giant stationary creatures with three attacks and a nasty grab. I mean you fight four of those worms, man. Is that really making the most of the killer combat system? I understand that higher difficulties mix things up with adds, etc. but to me that kinda illustrates how weak the boss designs were in the first place...

As negative as that came off, when the game is cooking, it is absolutely sick and overall, I had a very good time with it. But given its monstrous reputation I was really surprised how just much of the mid-game felt like a slog.

One of the hardest games I've ever played.

Ninja Gaiden Black is a remaster of the previous version with more content added which is a remake of the NES version and man is this game difficult. It’s a game I love and hate because its fun and bad ass, but it was the first extremely hard game I had ever played at the time and man did this game break me.

Gameplay: NG Black is a fixed camera angle hack and slash game, think of Devil May Cry 1 but with the difficulty of the original release of DMC 3 and that's basically what this game is. It's absolutely one of the hardest video games out there. Up there in hardness like the dark soul’s franchise or cup head. You are a Ninja with a decent arsenal of deadly and gory weapons that dismember enemies. Just like dmc you do combos and have to dodge other enemies’ attacks. You have a sort of devil trigger ability that does crazy damage and projectile weapons like a bow and arrow. The game is hard because of the camera angles, controls, and enemy ai and honestly no matter how strong you get throughout the story you can pretty much get destroyed by a basic enemy if you screw up. It's satisfying to get though levels but it's excruciating sometimes, especially towards the end. Each area seems to have some platforming which you can run up and along walls, but it feels like I’m playing ps1 tomb raider with how clunky it can be. Most of the levels have some sort of puzzle solving to do and I remember certain levels I had to ask a friend who had beaten it to help me understand where I needed to go because of how complicated the puzzles got and I couldn't figure out where to bring stuff and at that point I was a seasoned resident evil puzzle solver and I still couldn't figure out the map too well. The check points in this game are basically the level starts and ends more or less and man a lot of them are in crazy spots I remember at the end of the game you have to platform up a volcano like structure level that's timed and you have to also kill a boss all in the same checkpoint and just getting past the platforming was almost impossible for me, maybe I just suck but God damn. I think I cried tears of joy when I beat the final boss and I remember I was genuinely one step away from straight up quitting and just looking up the ending.

Graphics, voice acting & music: honestly the graphics are okay for what they are at the time which wasn’t too amazing but not terrible either. It's what you'd expect from an early Xbox game. The voice acting also isn't amazing but again for its time not the worst either and pretty much the same can be said about the sound design. It has that old nostalgic feeling to it and for the most part I liked it and found a lot of it spooky but also some moments where it felt out of place.

Story/ No spoilers: The story for this game is weird and the full lore to Ninja Gaiden is a bit all over the place with the story starting and ending on the original arcade games that came before this one. There is also Gameboy games and other spin off franchises that are canon like Dead Or Alive if you really wanna follow Ryus full story. Basically, he's like Dante but instead of being half human and half demon he's a human with a sword that has demon powers and a lot of the enemies you fight are demon monsters known as fiends but there is human military too. So basically, Ryu lives in a Ninja clan somewhere in Japan and is one of the best. His clan gets attacked by an Emperor and his forces. There are a lot of wacky characters in this game like Rachel (who is basically a stereotypical American over sexualized S&M semi-stripper that also can fight demons... lol yeah not really but you'll know what I mean when you see her) and the whole game revolves around trying to stop the bad guys and get back this powerful demon sword that was taken by the main villains. There is a fun twist at the end I didn't see coming and you don't have to play the previous games to understand this one. Overall, this game is pretty great, but the story isn't the most compelling and is like the typical Japanese ninja story from the Era of the early 2000s, if that makes sense but I still really enjoyed this game. I guess the reason I haven't gone back to it is because I no longer own it and it's such a difficult game in general but I want to reply these games sometime again and refresh my memory of them. If you like Japanese games, DMC, hack and slash games or just old or really hard games, you'll love this game but if you don't like any of those things you might not find this game enjoyable. I have been holding out hope these games would get modern remasters or another remake but at this point I think we'd be lucky to see a Ninja Gaiden 4 so who knows. If you are looking to pick up this franchise this is definitely a good spot to start in just be warned about the controls and difficulty.

8.5/10

This was a journey. I think it's possibly my new favorite action game. The combat relies more on reflexes than memorizing combos. Playing it was invigorating, but I was also reminded that games like this were a dying breed.by 2005. Having a simple story of revenge was quickly becoming passe'. Contemporary to Ninja Gaiden Black were games like Devil May Cry 3 and Shadow of the Colossus, both of which released in 2005, as well Half-Life 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, which released a year prior to Black (The base game Ninja Gaiden released the same year as Half-Life 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3). All of them were doing more interesting things with how stories could be told in games. Ninja Gaiden's story isn't bad, mind. It's just simple, with plenty of worldbuilding, llore, ambient music, and atmosphere to soak in if one is so inclined.

And the game gives you plenty of time to take in the sights. The map is sprawling, with lots of collectibles to find, secrets to uncover, and puzzles to solve. It reminds me of a Resident Evil game or a Zelda game from the Nintendo 64 era in terms of level design, while also having a foot firmly planted in the glories of the NES. You have a Ninja that travels to an evil empire by airship, fights, using primarily a sword, bad guys with guns, other ninjas, zombies, demons, and dinosaurs, with the help of a beautiful woman. It's all stuff you would have seen in the 8-bit days. The aesthetics, plot, and gameplay would fit right in with that era, especially given how hard the game is to finish.

i won't try to sugarcoat it, folks: this game is hard. To the point where it might seem unfair. It has mobs, enemies that respawn, and even classic NES knockback into lava pits. This version of the game does have an easy mode, and it makes fun of you for using it. So naturally, I played on Normal, learned the moveset, got better, and had the time of my life doing so. Every weapon in the game has a use (except for the nunchuks, which are basically a worse version of the flail). In addition, the game is very generous with healing items, so make sure to stock up if you get stuck, and don't be afraid to use your magic. This game does have a ranking system, but the rankings don't seem to do much. Which is a good thing, as that means all the bonuses, costumes, and extra missions can be unlocked and earned simply by playing the game at your own pace.

In summary, this is a perfect reboot of an old franchise. Fun story, immaculate level design, a combat system that will really put a player's reflexes to the test, an interesting world to explore, and lots of bonuses to unlock make this an amazing game that could potentially keep a player busy for months. Probably the best Xbox exclusive not published by Microsoft themselves. Don't miss it. But ignore the remake of this game, Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Sigma eliminates a lot of the puzzle elements that made this game so interesting to explore, in my opinion. Sigma is a fine game on its own, but it is not a substitute for Black. There is no other game like Ninja Gaiden Black. And given the nature of video games now, there never will be.

One of the best action games ever created. Ridiculously satisfying weapons and combat with a mostly fair high difficulty. I really appreciate how quickly you can die while having enemies be very squishy themselves, keeping it tense but satisfying. There is the occasional bullshit thrown in that at least keeps you on your toes well after getting used to the mechanics and it can usually be avoided by playing carefully.

Rarely was I genuinely fucking annoyed, namely at having shoot arrows at the radio tower, spending a million years spamming the flail at ghost fish, or screaming at Alma's fucking projectiles that hit me every single time!! FUCK!!!!!!!

A lot of the levels outside of the city are not as fun since this game is best when it's more explorative but there are still plenty of varied challenges to keep each area feeling distinct, a huge plus that makes for a hugely replayable game when combined with the multitude of differences between difficulty levels. A fair bit to unlock too!

So good, so smooth, so fun, I love this game to pieces.

Brutal in every sense, one of the most unique takes of the action genre. Nothing feels quite like this one, a game that shines when you fight multiple enemies at once. You are forced to learn how to use your tools properly and the enviroment in your favor, otherwise you will be severely punished for every mistake you make and yet, for the most part, it feels kinda fair. There is a sense of thrill after you come victorious in any battle you fight that most of these type of games wish to replicate.

Its a shame they put the hall of fame of shittiest bosses, you'll find yourself running around and dodging their attacks until you find an opening to attack, it is just boring and doesn't suits well the combat system, they try to solve it in higher difficulties by putting some extra enemies but I find it a cheap patch instead of a real solution, to be honest I would rather not have this many bosses and even any boss. Aside from that, there is not any other big flaw that I can think of, couldnt recomend it enough.

esse jogo exala um certo tipo de sexualidade que não é comumente explorada: ela exige certos rituais, atenção, até beleza, mas é completamente desprovida de ego. nada é performativo. percebi que eu não tenho muita afinidade com os grandes jogos de ação dos nossos tempos (bayonetta, dmc) em partes justamente porque eles são extremamente performáticos, os personagens se comportam de forma titilante, confiante, e sabem que há uma câmera ali os assistindo — suas frases são ditas para alguém ler, seus movimentos são feitos para alguém assistir, e até mais: para alguém controlar. é nossa responsabilidade ou afirmar o dante ou fazer ele ser um mentiroso, mas todos os comandos são expressões de ideias dos personagens, toda virada é auto-consciente; um espelho de teto no motel, a gravação de celular, o culto à própria performance.

o ryu não atribui uma moral aos seus movimentos: se você não fizer o que o jogo quer, você não passa, e se você passou, é porque fez o que o jogo quer. não importa quantos itens de cura usou, quantas flechas de fogo, quantas vezes a Alma te matou com uma coluna de mármore (e a igreja ainda se manteve em pé): se foi, foi. ele te tranquiliza mostrando que nem toda vez vai ser tão boa assim, mas que o ato de se despir já é coragem o suficiente e comunica infinitas passagens. não acredito que seja uma eficiência clínica, mas confiante. é impressionante intrínsecamente conseguir jogar, sem a parte extrínseca do rank e dos combos; seja greater ninja ou ninja dog, a parte importante é ninja.

aquela citação da phillys diller do "never go to bed angry; stay up and fight" alcança outros significados aqui, demonstrando certa intimidade com o processo que permite tornar o que é sexy em algo rotineiro, menos preocupado em impressionar e mais preocupado em comunicar que mesmo que dessa vez não dê certo é só tentar de novo.

em 2015 eu argumentei que o ninja gaiden original era o primeiro jogo que poderíamos usar para impressionar um interesse amoroso, e agora consigo dizer que o ninja gaiden black é casar com ela.

I hope you understand how much I genuinely adore punishingly hard character action games, but this is just annoying as shit to me.

The worm boss was bad enough, but when they did it again but added another I rolled my eyes so hard that I wanted to izuna drop myself.

And yeah, "skill issue" or whatever. But the design felt deliberately made to be the most cheap, bullshit thing imaginable. I still prefer it over Razor's edge because it is far more accomplished at what it set out to be, but NG2 is the only entry that I'll consistently be coming back to.

I am happy that it's a classic within the character action community though, it's not terrible I just don't get much out of it is all.

One of the best of its kind and easily the best in the series. This game is brutal, unfair, frustrating and magnificent. The satisfaction this game brings you from pulling off a combo with a new weapon, or killing a new boss or taking on dozens of enemies in style as a ninja is unmatched. Even to this day, the graphics and controls still hold up. Sadly this version has yet to have been rereleased and we have the inferior Sigma versions instead. Nevertheless, I still recommend anyone who enjoys Devil May Cry or the classic God of War games to check this series out, especially this version of the first game. An absolute must play.