Review: NINJA GAIDEN: MASTER COLLECTION Is Bare Minimum Ports with Fun Fights

Koei Tecmo recently released Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection. This combines Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge from Team Ninja into one package. This is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One now, and Koei Tecmo was kind enough to provide me with a copy on PC via Steam.

The NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection brings the renowned action games to PC and consoles, allowing fans to once-again experience the tale of “super ninja” Ryu Hayabusa as he battles deadly fiends causing chaos around the world. NINJA GAIDEN Sigma, originally released in 2007, set the standard of high-speed action for the series – introducing dual-wielding weapons, and a Mission Mode alongside its gripping Story Mode. NINJA GAIDEN Sigma 2, originally released in 2009, continued Hayabusa’s journey alongside characters Ayane, Rachel, and Momiji, with four difficulty levels testing player’s battle techniques with every heart-stopping fight. The latest entry, NINJA GAIDEN 3: Razor’s Edge, originally released in 2012, upped the challenge with powerful new enemies and fiercely violent depictions, as well as bringing Kasumi into the action, making it the series’ most alluring white-knuckle experience to date.

This collection really is just three ports, so there’s not a whole lot to talk about. They look really good given their age. If you like hack ‘n slash adventure games, this is a great collection. When I loaded up the games, they all worked fine and I had a blast. I will say that it seemed the third game really ups the violence and blood from the other two games. You do need a controller for the games, but I tend to prefer controllers for third-person games anyways, so it’s not a huge deal to me, but I know some people get antsy about that.

The games are fun, but over a decade old with no real improvements in this collection. If I could’ve asked for any improvements, I would’ve asked for the ability to at least change screen resolutions and I would’ve loved it if they touched up some of the textures. Many textures look surprisingly decent, but a little more love could’ve gone a long way.

If you’ve never played them before and like hack ‘n slash games with fun combat, I’d consider getting this package, especially on sale. If you’ve already played the games, the only reason to grab this collection is if you really want to replay them and don’t have access to your old copies.