After more than a decade of hiding in the shadows, Ryu Hayabusa is officially back with Ninja Gaiden 4. Announced unexpectedly during the January Xbox Developer Direct, the series revival promises to honor the franchise’s roots while introducing fresh twists. However, Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja weren’t facing this challenge alone. Ninja Gaiden 4 got the green light all thanks to a collaboration between Koei Tecmo, PlatinumGames, and Microsoft.
“[Team Ninja] has been considering whether it is possible to make a new game [for Ninja Gaiden],” revealed the studio producer Fumihiko Yasuda when talking to Japanese media 4Gamer and GameWatch. “During that time, Koei Tecmo’s president [Hisashi Koinuma] and PlatinumGames’ president [Atsushi Inaba] are good friends and were talking about, ‘Let’s make something together.'”
The idea for Ninja Gaiden 4 finally gained traction when Microsoft’s Phil Spencer joined the conversation. According to Yasuda, Spencer was the one who pitched a new numbered entry for the iconic series. This collaboration between all three then began five years ago, culminating in the Developer Direct announcement.
While making a direct sequel to the previous game seems like an easy decision, developing a new game can still be seen as a risk. After all, Ninja Gaiden 4 was not the only revival attempt they tried since launching the Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge update. In 2014, Spark Unlimited released the Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden spinoff that fans would rather memory-hole. Interestingly, both 4 and Yaiba both featured new protagonists; Yakumo and Yaiba, respectively.
Regarding the addition of a new main protagonist, Yasuda stated that creative control remains with Team Ninja and PlatinumGames. The dream team is dead set on making parts of the game more approachable to newcomers and not because of a push from Microsoft.
“We are in charge of the creative aspects to a certain extent,” explains Yasuda from Koei Tecmo’s point of view. “Basically, we came up with the initial plan, and we conducted worldwide user research […] We received qualitative feedback and survey results to find out what people wanted from a Ninja Gaiden [game], and we proceeded with that to the development.”
Yasuda then added that designs and assets for Ninja Gaiden 4 are handled by the partner studio. Meanwhile, the Xbox company lends its global reach and presence only to market the game.
“Obviously, we make full use of Platinum’s designs and 3D models, but Microsoft is taking the lead in marketing and advertising by determining in terms of how to best communicate the game to Ninja Gaiden fans.”
Producer and director at PlatinumGames Yuji Nakao added that they’re targeting new audiences with Yakumo’s design. Given a modern, brash, and edgy look, he’s supposed to contrast with Ryu Hayabusa’s stoic nature and ‘peak ninja’ aesthetic.
“What I want to emphasize is that the game is not replacing Ryu with Yakumo, but rather it allows you to control both the great super ninja Ryu Hayabusa and the new protagonist Yakumo and experience fierce battles against enemy ninjas,” said Nakao.
“The game is designed to be enjoyable not only for newcomers, but also for existing fans of the series.”
