A “spicy” announcement was just hurled out by Team NINJA for all ninja-heads. In the home stretch of launching Ninja Gaiden Ragebound this month followed by Ninja Gaiden 4 in October, they almost threw up in our mouths with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black going for sale through the PlayStation and Xbox platforms as of now. To that, I say: The replies to the tweet have been an absolute riot in the best way possible.
On to the sale itself: Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is that action game, with some cult following behind it, that somehow still exists today with “conditionally ridiculous” combat and “unconditionally unfair” difficulty. If discounted now, then it’s basically Team NINJA saying, “here, suffer while you wait for the new stuff.” The links at the end of the tweet lead directly to the digital store, making this newly named buy too easy for an impulse-buy at 3 in the morning when one is feeling particularly masochistic.
Another wild thing: the replies-section is a bloodbath fiercer than anything inside the actual game. There’s Hinzoto1 wanting an original Xbox 360 release for PC instead of these “downgrades,” whilst Alektric fires back with “they’re just different experiences, objectively.” JapanHatesXbox (yes, that is the username) has the audacity to say: “Please do not support Xbox with any future games.” I don’t know if this is a wild move, given the Ninja Gaiden’s past on Microsoft platforms. KINGRHOG responds to this with, “Japan and Asia are not the only place where consoles and games are sold,” which… honestly, I guess it is.
Through all that madness, Binger157841 stays afloat, commenting on how much they love the spider boss and some samurai dude they can’t remember the name of (mood). masterbkb034, meanwhile, drops a “Love Ninja Gaiden” with a ninja emoji. That was short, sweet, and to the point. While all of that was happening, DefiledGod finally shows off his platinum status of the game like a madlad should.
The ones for physical purchase are definitely not having a happy time. TheLunarTears points out how there’s no physical Xbox version, and leeraym10 pines for a physical collection of the first three games. And can we just talk about Kaikan4 for a moment, incessantly demanding “Show us Ayane!!!” without any context? Epic.
The most curious element is seeing how divided the community is about these versions. Some swear on the original Xbox 360 release, others on the Sigma/Black editions, and I’m just more of the I-push-those-buttons type. All these technical arguments on UE5 performance against the original engine are completely swimming over my head, but hey, I respect that passion.
If we could just appreciate the fact that a big bunch of these people straight-up ignores the sale announcement to ask for completely unrelated stuff? kitkatkittier comes sliding in with: “we want dead or alive 7 :),” as if this is some sort of universal suggestion box. Binger157841 (again) goes, “Give us a Nioh 3 demo,” like Team NINJA is gonna be like, “oh yeah good point” upon seeing that. Meanwhile, Otoko660995 is requesting remakes of FC versions like they’re orders at a drive-thru.
But then the hype for Ragebound and NG4 exists. SinistralJay2 is sold on NG4 with Ragebound as a nice little bonus, and yeah, so am I. Getting two new Ninja Gaiden experiences this year after such a long wait is insane enough, let alone all the drama going on in the replies.
So yeah, if you’ve been sleeping on Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, now’s your chance to grab it cheap and see what all the fuss is about. Just maybe keep away from the replies section unless you’re down for some heavy gaming discussion with at least three people throwing down about water combat mechanics. As for me? I’ll just be over here practicing those dragon sword combos and pretending I’m good at these games.
