Ninja Gaiden 4

[Maf]

I’ve beat the first 2 NG games and don’t remember problems with the camera?

 

Regardless, this looks much better and clearer than other hack slash games I played recently 

[mfnick]

The camera is the hardest enemy in those games! How the Hell did you not have a problem with it?  

[Maf]

I haven't played them since the 2000's. I might just not remember 

[one-armed dwarf]

Strong impressions from IGN, Platinum saying the are trying to find a spot between Team Ninja's take and their own style of action, and going against the trend (I guess of deliberate Soulslike games)

 

The guy talking sounds like an AI robot but I think he's reading the script written by whoever actually played the game maybe

 

 

Definitely one game I wish MS wasn't publishing, but I suppose otherwise it wouldn't exist at all

[Maf]

Just shy of 20 minutes of gameplay here. 
 

 

Looks good. Kind of just looks like how I remember NG looking to me. The moves seem to cover more distance and the finishers are more cinematic, maybe? People in the comments seem to hate it. Not sure why

 

My only thing is the footsteps seem very loud. Unnecessary. My review is 6/10

[one-armed dwarf]

Looks fine but one of the comments there says the enemies look a bit passive, which is true. Enemy aggression is sort of NG's thing really, even on the first level. 

[Maryokutai]

I thought it looked like easy difficulty maybe. Or it's because the enemies use firearms instead of melee weapons that makes them look so helpless (I only watched the first couple of minutes).

 

Movement looks a bit heavier than the old games but otherwise I don't see why you wouldn't like this as a fan. 

[Maf]

I thought it was easy difficulty as well because the few times he gets hit it doesn’t do much damage. 
 

Maybe they’re just trying to show the game looking cool. But for some it might be better with enemies that fight back more. 
 

I still like what I see. Looks fun 

[Nag]

 

[Maf]

The moves and stuff look great but I’m starting to be concerned by the level design and aesthetic. It just looks really boring 

[Maryokutai]

 

This has some smart difficulty modifiers, like auto-dodge or auto-parry when you're on low health. They're all disabled on the highest setting so you can't cheese it but I think this is a good idea – or at least significantly better than just wiping the touchscreen of the WiiU gamepad to pull off combos in Bayo 2.

 

Regarding the visuals it does indeed look rather bland but what that also means is that it's very clear and readable. A lot of these recently released/announced Chinese action games I find look like a mess visually (look no further than Lost Soul) so it's neat they didn't overdo it here. To an extent it also fits into the series, NG has never really been about jaw-dropping decor. 

[one-armed dwarf]

Yeah, the footage at the end does a pretty good job of keeping track of the action and making it readable I feel

 

I'll also say you hardly ever see trailers for these types of action games show off actual skilled gameplay, so it's interesting to see that here. There's a kind of enemy step mechanic there that seems interesting 

[Nag]

I'm glad they've been accommodating with the difficulties... I'd like to play this but I also know I'm crap at this type of game so being able to tailor the experience somewhat sounds good to me.

[Maf]

In some of the videos I posted in this thread, in the comments people were quite negative about how passive the enemies were. Which is why I think you have this expert level trailer. 
 

I hope the environments get better, though, and it’s not a sci-fi rooms. Old NG games had some cool settings 

[DANGERMAN]

Metro seem to like this 

 

Ninja Gaiden 4 review - the revengeance of PlatinumGames | Metro News https://share.google/vmkflxqEXJaaG2ZWz

 

 

 

Considering everyone moved out of the way of what they thought was a GTA release date, looking at the release calendar, there's some decent looking games on the way before the end of the year 

[one-armed dwarf]

The only review I've read so far is PCGamer, where the reviewer is a long time fan and seemed a bit down on the Platinum-ification of Ninja Gaiden. I've never actually seen a NG through so I don't have a strong view on that one way or the other, I'm barely sensitive to what makes NG NG other than it being much more exacting/no-frills than DMC/Bayonetta. I'd usually read EG and RPS as well but they don't seem to have reviews yet

 

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/ninja-gaiden-4-review/

 

More positive review coming from the opposite perspective, someone who hasn't played one of the games before

 

https://www.theverge.com/games/802755/ninja-gaiden-4-review-xbox-series-x-s-ps5-pc

[Maryokutai]

A lot of old fans' displeasure will get thrown at Platinum for this, but people need to remember that not only was this overseen by Team Ninja, but also that Team Ninja itself isn't even remotely the same studio anymore as they were when they did the last good NG (in 2008). Not saying there's no legitimacy to the criticism if someone prefers the old style, of course. But it's on of those catch 22 situations where the classic template would likely never have gotten made and the only NG4 that could ever exist is the one that's coming out now.

 

But I get it, it can feel deflating when a beloved series just slips through your fingers as it gets decorated with modern design principles you actively dislike. I've been very vocal in the past about how much I dislike modern Fire Emblem, too. I guess in this case it's a bit regrettable because there never really were other action games like 3D Ninja Gaiden, so it's not like there's ample amounts of alternatives to pick from.

 

On the plus side, it seems it turned out to be a good game at least. That's all I was really hoping for after the recent Platinum turmoil (though what happens now to them is still in the air I guess).

[one-armed dwarf]

I think Team Ninja have turned into such an interesting developer over the years though, that even if a NG5 by them also wouldn't be Itagaki-esque that it still be coming from a superb pedigree. Their games are still very technical and exacting, they just push into a different direction, but I think they could bounce between genres pretty well. Some people just call Nioh 2 a character action game cause it's so deep and expressive.

 

I like Platinum a lot, but they do sort of have a 'style' you get used to seeing. It's why I liked them doing that summoner combat stuff in Bayonetta 3, cause at least that was a more of a unique style.

[Maf]

I’m so intimidated by this game lol. I just can’t do these things anymore 

[one-armed dwarf]

Well, it has an easy mode that auto guards and things like that, and platinum don't really go for the Itagaki approach of 'the QA team complained it was too difficult so I made it more difficult'. That's never been them.

 

This eurogamer guy says its easy going

https://www.eurogamer.net/dont-let-anyone-tell-you-youre-not-skilled-enough-to-enjoy-ninja-gaiden-4-im-near-incompetent-yet-having-an-absolute-blast-with-xboxs-hack-n-slash