Ninja Gaiden 4, the first mainline entry in the series in 13 years, is set to release on October 21, 2025. The game is co-developed by Team Ninja and PlatinumGames, the studio known for NieR: Automata and the Bayonetta series. In an interview with Denfaminicogamer, directors Masakazu Hirayama (Team Ninja) and Yuji Nakao (PlatinumGames) talked about where the new installment stands in the series, and how their experience as fans helped shape the game.
Apparently, as the developement team needed a clear vision of what the game would look like, PlatinumGames suggested to heavily base it on 2008’s Ninja Gaiden II. “When we were deciding on which past game we should use as a foundation, I suggested Ninja Gaiden 4’s structure and game cycle should be created with Ninja Gaiden II as a base,” Nakao explains. To illustrate, Nakao cites the comeback of an old mechanic from Ninja Gaiden II. “The Ultimate Guidance technique will make its first reappearance in the series since Ninja Gaiden II, but it’s not like it’s returning as just a result of going through various different development processes,” he says, emphasizing that this wasn’t a coincidence or due to necessity that cropped up during the development, but rather a result of the project consciously using Ninja Gaiden II as its axis.
Ninja Gaiden 4 also draws a lot of inspiration from Ninja Gaiden II when it comes to the game’s setting and atmosphere. “Rather than being based on the actual Tokyo, we intended for the game to inherit the ‘essence’ of Sky City Tokyo, one of the locations from Ninja Gaiden II.” However, Nakao says that the team has prepared a variety of locations and settings, including more rural and Japanese-inspired areas – so it’s not like all of the fights will be happening in the city.
As a big fan of the series, Nakao stresses that working on the game, he focused on implementing elements of previous games that were the most enjoyable and had good reception.This includes “the most remarkable” systems and game cycle elements from the original Ninja Gaiden, as well as Ninja Gaiden 3. “That’s why I spent pretty much every day of development playing past titles,” Nakao laughs.
While it’s been over 10 years since the release of the last mainline title in the Ninja Gaiden series, it seems like Ninja Gaiden 4 will stay true to its roots thanks to the development team’s passion towards the franchise. Nakao confesses that he approached the development with the feelings of a fan, and despite being nervous to handle the game, he himself was impatiently waiting for it to be announced, and felt confident in his ability to bring Ninja Gaiden 4 to life.
Ninja Gaiden 4 launches on October 21, 2025, for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Related article: PlatinumGames on Ninja Gaiden 4: We’re not making it for Team Ninja, we’re making it together with them
