Which Versions of the Ninja Gaiden Games Should You Play? All Ports Reviewed + The Master Collection
AustinSV
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Review & comparison of Ninja Gaiden & Ninja Gaiden Black for the original Xbox, Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PS3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus for the PS Vita, Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the PS3, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus for the PS Vita, Ninja Gaiden 3 for the Xbox 360 & PS3, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge for the Wii U, Xbox 360 & PS3. At the end we also discuss the Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and on PC. This comparison should inform you of any and all significant differences between each different version of the game, enough so that you could decide which version you think you’d prefer as well as understand the controversy & confusion around these games.
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That long Spreadsheet:
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:52 Ninja Gaiden 1
11:38 Ninja Gaiden 2
17:17 Ninja Gaiden 3
23:08 The Master Collection
12.11.2023
I'm glad I watched this before springing for the Master Collection on PS4. Seems like it's a decent package for the more casual fans, but the more diehard fans and those who didn't like the changes brought about with the Sigma versions of each game, probably won't like the Master Collection.
I like this franchise
Ninja Gaiden Black is notably the superior experience to Sigma, while NINJA GAIDEN II is the infinitely superior experience to Sigma 2. Sigma 2 is a mediocre, diluted and brazenly incompetent "revisioning" of Ninja Gaiden II. It's essentially a different game, with the visuals of Ninja Gaiden II. I can't say enough negative things about it. It's utterly useless.
ALL HAIL AND LONG LIVE, NINJA GAIDEN II – THE GREATEST ACTION GAME OF ALL TIME!!
PC is obviously the best version
ninja gaiden black is the best version
NG without blood is not a NG
Sigma is best game ever
Well done comparison, The removal of the Online co-op Team Missions in MC is the reason why I didn't buy this. Why they remove things is beyond me. I guess players didn't like the online play. Perhaps NG is meant to be a solo experience.
#1 black version
Great video. As a player who hit 40 million back on Mission mode in NGB and spent a few hundred hours on the other entries (minus the third game), Black is my favorite version. I felt like NGB was the pinnacle of polish for the series. It takes the first game, removes some of the bullshit like a lever puzzle, swimming level and really tightens up the campaign as well as adds the mission mode. Mission mode is 50 missions that you can play for score and really ups the replay. Sigma also has a mission mode and adds some playable characters to the campaign. I felt like this was extra filler and padding and the characters did not play nearly as well as the main character, sometimes being very gimped in comparison.
Both Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninja Gaiden Black are remakes of the original game (most polished of the trilogy). Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 seems to make some improvements to NG2 which lacked polish initially. It seems to have improved on the rocket spam and slowdown issues of the og game, so that was good. I still feel that the original game is superior as NG2 felt sloppier to me and more thrown together. I did enjoy it though. Its worth checking out all versions of the first 2 games to see the differences, but if I could only pick one ultimate NG game it would be black. They did try to improve the third game with the Razor's Edge version, but theres not much you can do when the foundation was weak to begin with.
My favorite ninja game that I play so far is ninja gaiden sigma 1 can't wait for 2 and 3
The fact we're stuck with the sigma 2 version on steam due to lost source code is beyond depressing to me. The combat isnt even remotely as satisfying as it was in the 360 version. I remember the lunar staff in particular splattering brains on the walls, seeing limbs and bodies littering the battlefield.. it was so freaking fun. I hope one day they find a way to unlock the gore in that game, while the mods help a lot.. its just not the same. Its also incredibly annoying to have to run cheat engine or an alternate launcher just to get the mods to work.
anyone not waiting for a somehow amazing ninja gaiden 4?
I still have my 360 solely for ninja gaiden black/2 and rock band
Ok ! Thank you so very much dude for the hard work and the insight, as an action hack n slash (dmc kinda games) fan i was looking for action games to satiate my hunger i love koei tecmo/omega force games and since i never owned a PS3 back in those golden days i was looking to play Ninja Gaiden master's collection ,the difference between versions is clarified by your video since it's a headache to figure out which is which but i'd like to know wether the games are connected story wise since i want to play the 3rd razor's edge version should i go blindfolded or should i play previous titles in order to understand the story of the 3rd one ? thanks again for the good work !!
There's obviously something up with the PlayStation 5 version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 the audio sounds like you're underwater in a echo hall it's very strange…… when I go to play it on the PlayStation 4 the audio is completely fine so there must be something up with the backwards compatibility version of this game…. does anyone know if this is a permanent bug or this is fixable
I think the most notable thing about the Itagaki era of Tecmo/Team Ninja games were the "Uniformity" of the graphics, by that I mean the characters effects and environment all worked together to create a feast for the eyes in the same way that CGI films do. by the time we get to DOA 5 and NG3 things changed drastically as more and more attention to detail was provided for the characters in those games but the environments were lacking that pop and fidelity of the previous games in those series. I'm surpised that this isn't discussed more.
Bro, XBox backward compatibility really deserves praise. It's so good to be able to play games that had some perfomance issues in original hardware better on the XBox One, One S/X or SX/SS and without paying any extra dollar over it. I played XBox 360 Ninja Gaiden I & II on my XBox One X and now I'm deciding if I play Ninja Gaiden III of the XBox 360 or XBox One remastered
Gyro controls for giggle physics!? Genius! hahaha
Excellent video.
I've always wanted to see all the comparisons collated into one guide.
Well done.
Which master collections come with a physical copy? I hear the ps4 and switch do, but outside the USA only. I don't seem to find a physical copy of the master collection for xbox tho. Also, would u suggest me playing ninja gaiden black and 2 on Xbox series x from the download store or should I purchase the ninja gaiden black disk on Xbox and ninja gaiden 2 disk on 360 and play them on my series x using backwards compatibility? Or does that not make a difference. Thanks
3:26 OK, whatever version that is, I'm buying this one.
I have bought this game more than any other game lol.
All i have is the vita version. I dont mind the slowdowns, its minimal at most. As long you enjoy the game thats a win in my book.
I still play the original Xbox version without the add ons still a great game
I grew up on the first game without any of the DLC. So it’s was quite jarring to play the “newer” games and everything being different.
i have to watch a 30 minute video to see what fucking game is corrected, yeah fuck this, terrible games
These versions of ninja gaiden trilogy that are the best and I recommend playing is, NG black, X360 NG2, and NG3 razors edge because its backwards compatibile to the Xbox one and series X/S.
Overall, the Xbox version of ninja gaiden trilogy are the best, not the masters collection.
Where is ninja gaiden z yaiba at?
Highly doubt they lost he sourcecode for black and 2, they made a shittier updated version and think they would look stupid if they used the originals
Man I loved that original music before Sigma got all edgy high schooler with its music
Great video! 😊
Great video!!
I honestly am not sure which one to get on Psvita still… any suggestions?
This was my favorite franchise but I hated 3 so much I couldn’t finish it. Didn’t know razor’s edge was a thing, but 3 burnt me so bad 😤
Master Collection >>>>
Sigma is absolute trash: if you want to play Ninja Gaiden proper, you 100% need an Xbox and the Black edition, which luckily is also on the store.
The game is trash because basically every single change makes the game worse: the new level design is crap, and the levels added are ultra trash. Instead of stramlining the game, they fill it with… filler, since Rachel is an absolute pain to play with.
OST has been crippled and it's a plain downgrade.
The game is generally easier: pretty much all AI patterns have been made easier, and your attacks are more likely to land and not be dodged.
Only actual good things on Sigma are the graphical enhancements and the fast-item menu, but as a devoted fan I highly suggest to stay as far awat from Sigma as possible and stick to Black.
So aside from strange content adds and cuts, the biggest differences in the games themselves is that black has more adventure game aspects and simga is more "stick to the action." Right? They didnt dumb down the combat or mechanics right? I got the master collection without knowing how different each game was
Thanks for the vid, it was really helpful.
I still can't play/use old my xbox disc in xbox one
How is the frame rate of razors edge on ps3 and Xbox 360?
13:48 Okay thats silly
Great video😊
Very beautiful video ❤❤❤
Xbox 360 ninja gaiden 2 master ninja mode still harder than dark souls elden ring
so the best is x360 played on series x
NG Black was by far the best of these titles with NG2 being a close second
Thanks so much. Never cared for the Sigma ports so now I know not to waste my time and money on the MC for Switch. I’ll stick to my 360 whenever I want to play Black or NG2 again.
Ninja Gaiden Black for xbox is the best hack and slash action game ever made in my opinion
Razor's Edge is literally a Wii U game, that is really sad for the Switch.
Amazing video, it's the most complete compilation of all modern NG games that exist till date and it's straight to the point.
Now, about the source code, it wasn't lost or anything like that, it's confirmed that it was a mistranslation and that it is spread across numerous systems and not organized. Still it pisses me off to know that on PC we only have access to the Sigma versions instead of Black and 2 natively.