Ninja Gaiden II Black is something that wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card, but I couldn’t be happier with its arrival. As much as I enjoy games such as Nioh and Rise of the Rōnin, I have always wanted to see Koei Tecmo resurrect Ninja Gaiden back from the dead.
With the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 later this year, Koei Tecmo took the opportunity to also (aptly) stealth drop Ninja Gaiden II Black, a complete remake of the 2008 classic, remade using Unreal Engine 5. Incorporating both the base game contents of the 2008 release and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2’s content from the following year, Ninja Gaiden II Black is the complete experience on modern platforms.
Remakes go a few different ways: faithful recreations of what came before it or a vastly different and distinct departure that kind of does its own thing while still respecting the source material. Or, at the worst of times, a clinically sterile and safe redo that loses the essence of what made the original... Read more