Dotemu issued a massive update for Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound-players are now throwing a tantrum over this update! The so-called “Day One” update came out on all consoles today, featuring an exhaustive list of features that players had clamored for since day one: CRT filter, performance fixes, and indeed some much-needed tweaks to the Switch version that could well crown it the definitive edition.
Now, what has changed? Well, the mighty CRT filter has been unleashed upon all platforms should anyone desire to lean back into that groovy, old-school experience. But that is not the main story: the Nintendo Switch has witnessed a few global performance upgrades. There is a good target FPS option, where a person can just switch from 30 to 60fps, producing double excitement because it can run so buttery on the Switch 2.
There was no way players could greet this with anything but thanks. “Thank you. I was just looking at the physical release of the Switch version of this game and wondering if the frame rate issue was addressed. I will be buying this now,” said Enrique Pinero. Many other comments said that they would be purchasing the Switch version now that the performance issues appear to have been resolved.
But in fact, it’s beyond that. Another option that got added is Restart from Checkpoint, which many have said is a huge quality of-life improvement. Knight Shade said, “Restart from checkpoint is great. I don’t want to have to run through the entire level again if I’m stuck at a boss, having to turn the game off from last play session.” These types of features are what separate brutally frustrating retro games from actually enjoyable ones.
If you beat the duel against Ryu, you are now able to unlock Hard Mode. Every Ninja Gaiden player knows that’s a pretty big achievement. The games are notoriously hard, so any extra challenge options are welcomed by the sadists among us.
Not everything is perfect, though. There have been problems reported by some of the player community after the recent patch. “After applying 1.02 for the PS4 version, performance has dropped significantly, and I can no longer play the game properly,” commented the user named taka_retro_g. They drilled down into more details about the slowdown issues plaguing Japanese PS4 and PS4 Pro systems, especially in stage 3-2. Dotemu support promptly responded in that they had not experienced anything like this when testing but would look into it further.
This line of questioning was also picked up and continued on by pre-ordering customers and physical copy holders alike. Several users were curious about whether or not the update would appear on physical cartridges, jojosbazaar asked outright, “I take it this update won’t be on the physical cart, right?” Defaultedname replied, “I would have delayed the physical release is a day one updated was in the works.” Fair enough; if you’re buying physical, you want the complete experience on the cartridge.
Some of the players have, of course, submitted a whole list of feature requests for the next patch. WolfDWitcher said, “Vibration support in a future update,” while Giolon wished that “Scanlines and Screen Warping were separate toggles” rather than combined into one in the CRT filter. Then, with the classic trolling, yoavdontmiss left, “Add lootboxes and a season pass”-because someone had to say it.
As for Switch owners, matt_guy1 stated, “Wow! My physical edition for Switch just showed up at my front door. Perfect timing.”
One cannot even discuss communication without darkHado69’s frustration over radio silence: “This led to a scavenger hunt to find out what was going on.” Players want to know what is being fixed about things they will already be aware of.
That CRT filter announcement was hot among the community. calcran4401 was pretty much channeling eternal love of retro gamers with scanlines when he said, “CRT filter let’s go!” One of those things that have zero effect on gameplay but really helps your immersion if you grew up playing these games on an actual tube TV.
What is most impressive is how deep in remedies this update appears. Dotemu did not confine their fixes to one or two problems only. They tackled performance on various platforms, visual options, and quality-of-life improvements, then threw in some gameplay unlocks on top. A post-launch support example for turning good into great, which denotes developers really listening to their players.
Now with the new hardware early in people’s hands, the performance boost on Switch 2 deserves a worthy mention. “Nice!! 60fps Switch 2! 😃🙏” from JABarker81 was quite the conversational sum-up.
Random questions popped up during the post, including if Dotemu was responsible for Shinobi (they weren’t, as _Calc_ clarified). Other than that, most of the time took place on how the upgrade treats Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.
Good game support looks like exactly this: Listening to player feedback, fixing performance issues, added requested features, and making the game for the better for all of us. That’s how companies like Dotemu earned their die-hard fan base; they actually care about these games after release. Judging by the reactions today, the players have taken notice and are thankful.
So, if you were holding off on Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound due to performance issues-especially on Switch-then this might be a perfect time to jump right in. The game is in a much better state at this point. With all these options and improvements combined, it probably stands among the best ways to enjoy this resurrection of a classic franchise.
