Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, along with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, are among some of the biggest surprises for me in 2025. And just like 2 Black, I’m happy to report that the latest game from DotEmu and The Game Kitchen is an excellent addition to the beloved franchise created by Koei Tecmo, feeling like a renaissance for the Ninja Gaiden property.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound marries the classic NES-era Ninja Gaiden games with some of the conventions found in the Xbox and modern Ninja Gaiden titles, successfully creating a new entry that fits comfortably into the legacy of the original trilogy. Akin to the theme of bridging old and new elements, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound features a story that sees the Hayabusa clan come together with their nemesis, the Black Spider Clan.
The story in Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound takes place concurrently with the events of Ninja Gaiden on the NES, with Ryu predisposed in America, leaving Hayabusa Village vulnerable to attack from an influx of demon activity. Players take on the role of a newcomer, Kenji Mozu, whose fate becomes inexplicably tied to Kumori, a kunoichi from the Black Spider Clan. Emboldened by Kumori’s fiend powers, which, in-game, give players access to range-based attacks and the option to take on special platforming sections, Ragebound creates a dynamic action platforming system that is easy to pick up but hard to master.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound features 18 main stages and eight secret ops, or challenge levels, with the game taking around 9-10 hours to complete. One of the best aspects of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is its pacing, which does an excellent job of gradually ramping up the difficulty as players come to terms with and learn the nuances of its gameplay. Stages feature a wide gamut of locations and enemy types that require mastery of both platforming and combat, particularly if you care about score, something directly tied to additional unlocks that become purchasable from the Muramasa shop.
“One of the best aspects of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is its pacing, which does an excellent job of gradually ramping up the difficulty as players come to terms with and learn the nuances of its gameplay.”
Levels emphasise speed and efficiency, which encourages players to learn the Guillotine Boost and Hypercharge mechanics, respectively. Guillotine Boost, in essence, feels similar to the Screw Attack found in the Metroid series, allowing Kenji to bounce off enemies, which is excellent for not only quickly getting through waves of enemies, but also an essential mechanic for platforming and crossing pitfalls by jumping from enemy to enemy. The boost mechanic works on most projectiles, too, making it invaluable when taking on bosses or ranged-focused enemies that pollute the screen with incoming attacks.
Hypercharge, on the other hand, is an interesting fold in the otherwise familiar action-platforming game, where enemies and incoming projectiles often give off a specific aura, blue and pink, denoting either a slice from Kenji’s sword or a ranged kunai from Kumori’s arsenal, which imbues your next attack as a instant kill, or in the case of a boss encounter, a mighty blow that can stun bigger threats momentairly. It takes a true ninja to effectively gain the reflexes of knowing when to dish out the right attack, which in later levels, can mean the difference between life and death.
Like modern Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound features a healthy amount of crystal skulls, gold scarabs, and scrolls to collect, which can be turned into Muramasa’s shop for tailismans and secret arts that imbue Kenji and Kumori with bonus status effects and Ragebound attacks. Talismans include everything from getting your full health back from stage checkpoints to extended AoE attacks when using Hypercharge attacks, to increasing the difficulty of the base experience, with adverse effects, such as being forced to restart from the start of the level, while increasing your overall score.
Ragebound attacks are similar to screen-clearing moves found in older titles, and essentially act as one-time special moves that can be used in a pinch, such as being able to freeze enemies in place. In other words, Ragebound attacks shouldn’t be heavily relied upon, but instead used in dire situations to get out of trouble, or get that final extra hit in, when taking on a particularly challenging boss.
“Just like the excellent Blasphemous games, The Game Kitchen has cooked an excellent throwback title and a must-play action adventure game for Ninja Gaiden fans.”
Just like the excellent Blasphemous games, The Game Kitchen has cooked an excellent throwback title and a must-play action adventure game for Ninja Gaiden fans. And like Blashemous, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound features some fantastic sprite work that feels reminiscent of the Sega Saturn’s heyday with its stellar 2D design, evocative of games like Elevator Action Returns, combined with the spirit of the 8-bit NES Ninja Gaiden titles.
On the topic of retro gaming, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound features one of the better implementations I’ve seen of an optional CRT-like filter, with the game utilizing a curved filter with distinct scanlines that don’t overly darken the image, making it my preferred way to experience the game.
Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is not only a fun game to play, but one that ties old school with modern in such a way that I can’t help but want more, such as the potential for remakes of the original NES trilogy in the same style as Ragebound.
