{"id":50856,"date":"2025-08-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=50856"},"modified":"2025-08-08T17:17:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T08:17:53","slug":"ninja-gaiden-4s-structure-and-game-cycle-are-based-primarily-on-ninja-gaiden-2-as-proposed-by-platinumgames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/ninja-gaiden-4s-structure-and-game-cycle-are-based-primarily-on-ninja-gaiden-2-as-proposed-by-platinumgames\/","title":{"rendered":"Ninja Gaiden 4&#8217;s structure and game cycle are based primarily on Ninja Gaiden 2, as proposed by PlatinumGames"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Ninja Gaiden 4<\/strong>, 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/news.denfaminicogamer.jp\/interview\/250808d#i-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Denfaminicogamer<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ninja Gaiden 4 - Release Date Trailer | PS5 Games\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/E2NnqO92d7M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Apparently, as the developement team needed a clear vision of what the game would look like, PlatinumGames suggested to heavily base it on 2008\u2019s Ninja Gaiden II. \u201cWhen we were deciding on which past game we should use as a foundation, I suggested Ninja Gaiden 4\u2019s structure and game cycle should be created with Ninja Gaiden II as a base,\u201d Nakao explains. To illustrate, Nakao cites the comeback of an old mechanic from Ninja Gaiden II. \u201cThe Ultimate Guidance technique will make its first reappearance in the series since Ninja Gaiden II, but it\u2019s not like it\u2019s returning as just a result of going through various different development processes,\u201d he says, emphasizing that this wasn\u2019t 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. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560001.jpg\" alt=\"Ninja Gaiden 4\" class=\"wp-image-50858\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560001.jpg 960w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560001-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Ninja Gaiden 4 also draws a lot of inspiration from Ninja Gaiden II when it comes to the game\u2019s setting and atmosphere. \u201cRather than being based on the actual Tokyo, we intended for the game to inherit the \u2018essence\u2019 of Sky City Tokyo, one of the locations from Ninja Gaiden II.\u201d However, Nakao says that the team has prepared a variety of locations and settings, including more rural and Japanese-inspired areas \u2013 so it\u2019s not like all of the fights will be happening in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u201cthe most remarkable\u201d systems and game cycle elements from the original Ninja Gaiden, as well as Ninja Gaiden 3. \u201cThat\u2019s why I spent pretty much every day of development playing past titles,\u201d Nakao laughs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560002.jpg\" alt=\"Ninja Gaiden 4\" class=\"wp-image-50859\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560002.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/20250808-508560002-380x214.jpg 380w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While it\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ninja Gaiden 4 launches on October 21, 2025, for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/platinumgames-on-ninja-gaiden-4-were-not-making-it-for-team-ninja-were-making-it-together-with-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PlatinumGames on Ninja Gaiden 4: We\u2019re not making it for Team Ninja, we\u2019re making it together with them<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ninja Gaiden 4 director shares that PlatinumGames proposed using Ninja Gaiden II as the axis for the new installment&#8217;s development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":50861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-50856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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