Welcome to Ninja Gaiden 4 week on Player 2. Thanks to Xbox, Matt Hewson was able to fly to Tokyo to spend the day with Platinum Games and get a host of inside info on the upcoming Ninja Gaiden 4. Join us over the coming days for previews, videos and interviews as Matt dives deep into the upcoming action title.
Ninja Gaiden 4 - A Chat with Masakazu Hirayama and Yuji Nakao
During my trip to Platinum Games in Tokyo, I had one question on my mind that I constantly asked myself. How do two such distinguished and unique studios, such as Team Ninja and Platinum, get together and still keep things rolling? Surely there must be differences in work methods, game ideas and goals. But clearly, they have worked it out because from what I’ve played so far, Ninja Gaiden 4 is looking to be an absolute ripper of an action title. Luckily, I was able to sit down with two very distinguished gentlemen to discuss how this all came about. Masakazu Hirayama Game Director from Team Ninja and Yuji Nakao were both there during my time at the studio and kind enough to sit down with me to answer some of my burning questions about the collaboration.
I got straight to the meat of things with my first question. I had to know just how these two talented and storied developers worked together to produce this seemingly awesome game. Nakao-san was quick to answer, “In terms of the development of the game, it all took place at Platinum Games, but core members from Team Ninja worked very closely in the development. They were looking at the builds on a daily basis, not only from an overall structural sense but also really getting down into the nitty-gritty and having very close discussions in regards to the precise details in the game.”
Ninja Gaiden Black 2 landed earlier this year with much fanfare, and players seemed both excited and ready for a new pure-action experience. I asked if this had them both excited that they were on the right path with Ninja Gaiden 4 and that there is an appetite for this sort of game in what has rapidly become a “soulslike” world. Hirayama-san was clearly excited about how things were looking for their game. “We were really happy to see people enjoy that pure action game experience that Ninja Gaiden Black 2 offered. It goes without saying because of the name, but pure action has no RPG elements; it is all about overcoming scenarios and challenges using pure action skillsets. With Ninja Gaiden specifically, what makes it distinct is that sense of balance and intuitive controlability. When I say balance, I mean that even when you are put up against insurmountable odds that may even seem unreasonable at first, you can overcome them by digging deep into your ninja toolset and improving your own skill. This is something we really set out to capture during the making of Ninja Gaiden 4.”
One of my key takeaways from my time with the press demo of Ninja Gaiden 4 was just how well it captured the classic feel of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, yet still included a host of modern game touches that players expect in this day and age. I was curious as to how the teams approached finding this balance and how important it was to the development process. “I am going to answer your question in two parts,” said Nakao-san, “Firstly, in regards to Ninja Gaiden 4 feeling like 1&2, this was absolutely our intention behind the development. First and foremost, even though it is being developed by Platinum Games, we wanted to make sure that it feels distinctively Ninja Gaiden and that it inherits those quintessential characteristics of the franchise. So even with the new systems, such as the Blood Raven form, we wanted to make sure it doesn’t take away from the foundational Ninja Gaiden experience.”
For the second part of the question, Nakao-san continued: “We set out to make Ninja Gaiden 4 an experience that both long-time players as well as new players could enjoy, and to that end, you may have noticed a character in the build called Tyran, who acts as a trainer to Yakumo, and he provides ability training and unlocks for players as they progress. He gives the players access to classic legacy abilities like Flying Swallow and Izuna Drop, and you can rest assured that players will be able to access these abilities early on. The first time you talk to Tyran, players should have more than enough currency to unlock these classic moves. The reason behind this choice is that we wanted to create an onboarding process for new players. Veteran players, the first thing they are going to want to do is these classic moves, but new players aren’t going to know what they even are, let alone how to perform them. By having this Tyran combat skill shop mechanic, we can both help new players and give returning players exactly what they want. This is all part of our desire to strike a balance between old and new fans, to give returning players the ability to get these classic moves easily, yet still teach new players about their use.”
Of course, it has been quite a while since we have had a new Ninja Gaiden game, 10 years to be precise, and that was the poorly received Ninja Gaiden 3. So I had to know if the teams had any concerns about bringing the franchise back after all this time. It turns out that Hirayama-san wasn’t worried, but did feel a sense of responsibility. “The environment around action games has changed over the years. When we were making this game, it wasn’t that we didn’t have confidence, more that if we are going to do this, we really need to do it right. There is a sense of responsibility in providing that high-quality pure action experience, and to that end, it’s all about really nailing that sense of playability, controls and responsiveness which makes a good pure action game. At Team Ninja, we have made a wide array of games, and so has Platinum, and we really felt the responsibility to do this right.”
Nakao-san added more context to the answer. “When we set out to make Ninja Gaiden 4, the thing we prioritised first and foremost was retaining the core Ninja Gaiden experience, the framework, the background of what makes Ninja Gaiden fun to play. There was never a moment when we thought about adjusting that. When it comes down to the controlability, that responsiveness, that’s something we make sure that Ninja Gaiden 4 retains. So to answer your question in a short way, no, we weren’t worried, we really had confidence in that core Ninja Gaiden experience, so we made sure we retained that.” Nakao-san went even further, giving some of his history pre-development with the franchise. “I just have to add that before I even became a developer, I was playing Ninja Gaiden. I love this series, and even if you are playing the older titles today, there is a timeless appeal to them. I not only respect all the games that came before, but the developers, too. So when it was decided that we were going to make Ninja Gaiden 4, I felt an immense responsibility to never lose sight of what makes Ninja Gaiden feel like Ninja Gaiden.”
Finally, I was curious as to how it felt for Team Ninja and Platinum to be partnering up with Xbox for the release of Ninja Gaiden 4. After all, both developers, despite working with Xbox in the past, are more commonly associated with the Playstation brand. Hirayama-san seemed to be pretty happy with how things were going. “I worked with Microsoft on Wo-Long Fallen Dynasty, where we also received a lot of support and Ninja Gaiden has a really rich history with Xbox in terms of collaboration. So it’s been really great to revisit this series and this relationship together. In terms of what that support looked like, well, of course, they have been very generous in the marketing realm, but also on the development side in terms of technical optimisation. They have really been generous in sharing the technical expertise to make sure the release is in the best place possible. Personally I am really grateful for the support we’ve received from Xbox. “
So that is where my time with Nakao-san and Hirayama-san came to an end. It was a fantastic conversation with both men coming off as genuinely excited about the prospect of releasing Ninja Gaiden 4 to the world. Their enthusiasm was still evident after chatting with press like myself all day, and that, in my mind at least, is a sign of passion for the project. All signs are pointing to that passion making for a fantastic game when Ninja Gaiden 4 releases in October this year.
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