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 Interview: Tomoko Nishii, Masahiro Miyauchi & Yudai Abe - Platinum Games
During my trip to Platinum Games, I not only got to chat to the game directors of both Platinum and Team Ninja, Masakazu Hirayama and Yuji Nakao about how the collaboration came together, but I also got the chance to sit down with Art Director Tomoko Nishii, Lead Composer Masahiro Miyauchi, and Level Design & Environment Lead Yudai Abe to find out how the sauce is actually made. It was a fascinating chat with some clearly passionate developers that really game me some great insight into how Ninja Gaiden 4 came together.
What I had to know, from a developer perspective, was what it was like to work on such a well-regarded franchise. Was it daunting, fun, challenging or something in between? Yudai Abe was keen to answer this one. “We knew coming in that this series has been going on for a long time and has many fans, so we were very nervous when we took on the project. But when we started making it we found it lots of fun to work on it. From the start, we had the position that this was a very stoic action series, and it was also known for being a highly difficult serie,s but at the same time, from Platinum we really wanted to widen the entry point for this game to make sure that we could have a lot more players enjoying this game. So we wanted to incorporate the very Platinum-like, flashy production elements and a flamboyancy to the action elements as well. So I think we were able to get together to create a game that incorporates both of those perspectives.” He then went on to add, “Overall, being able to work on the new Ninja Gaiden game, we found it to be really fun working together and bonding over the challenge of making this game.”
During my time playing Ninja Gaiden, I was super impressed by the comprehensive training modes on offer, especially as there are quite a lot of gameplay systems for players to learn. I asked the group if this was an important part of their brief to bring new players into the franchise as opposed to just catering for old fans. Yudai was once again the man to answer. “I think you hit the nail right on the head, with what we wanted to do”, he said. “We wanted to make sure the tutorial systems really paid a lot of attention to how players could learn the game. I think, as an action game, if you were to proceed straight through it, players will be able to learn as they go, but at the same time, since there are a lot of moves to learn, we felt it important to give the players the opportunity to practice as well. It was something we were definitely keen on incorporating into the game and something that we considered very important, especially as something to help bring in new players. At the same time, we also know that Ninja Gaiden is a very hard action gam,e and there are a lot of things that players need to know, because that is at the base of it, being able pick these moves up naturally as you play, we found a very difficult thing to incorporate so we had to do a lot of reviews and edits in order to find that right balance.”
Another thing that impressed me in my time with the game was the on-rails section that saw Yakumo grinding on rail lines and dodging obstacles. It really gave a nice bit of variety and breathing space in between the heavy action sections of the traditional gameplay. I asked the team if this space was the intent behind the section and if we could expect more of this sort of gameplay in the final game. Yudai’s response was interesting. “It was our intent to give players that space, so I am really glad you picked up on that”, he said. “When it comes to adding new elements to the game, we were unsure as to how that would be accepted by players, so I am really glad to hear you enjoyed that section. Later in the game, there is more than just on-rails in terms of other modes of movement or action, but we can’t get into any details right now, but know there are more things like that coming to players.”
During my interview session, I was joined by other journalists, including Australia’s own, Charlie Kelly. Charlie asked what new advancements since the last game in the franchise, over 10 years ago, have been used and incorporated in the newest entry to bring Ninja Gaiden 4 to life. Tomoko Nishii had a fascinating answer to share. “From the art perspective, we looked at the past games and the designs and discovered that it had a very stoic aspect to it. This, along with the lead character designs, is something we wanted to make sure we carried over to Ninja Gaiden 4. With this game, since it is set in a futuristic Tokyo, we were really able to incorporate a Japanese taste in regards to its looks. It was fun to mix these aspects with the cyberpunk elements together and to update the visual style of the franchise. I think we are really building upon what came before, while adding our own touches.”
Sadly, just like that, my session with these talented developers was over, but one thing that struck me during my time with the Platinum team was the dedication to the franchise. These are people who hold the original games in such high esteem that they have really placed a huge responsibility on themselves to get Ninja Gaiden 4 right, for both old and new fans. This sort of attitude is really something that I took great pleasure in witnessing, and it is showing in just how good the game is shaping up to be.
