When all is said and done, a great game always has an air of magic to it. While there will always be aspects that can be singled out as exceptional, whether it's control, graphics, audio, or some combination, there is always that unidentifiable something that ties everything together into a grand package that is more than the sum of its parts. This careful alchemy is something that developers always try to re-create in subsequent games. One thing that's rare to see, though, is a developer going back and tweaking an existing hit. Unfortunately, messing with one of the finest Xbox titles ever made has the potential for a debacle of Star Wars: Special Edition proportions.

Itagaki flexes his sadistic streak with Ninja Gaiden Black, an update that adds incredibly difficult new modes to the superb action game.

However, this doesn't appear to be the case with Ninja Gaiden Black, a director's cut-style follow-up to 2004's reinvention of the classic 2D franchise. The game is both a love letter to hardcore Gaiden fans who have honed their action gaming skills to perfection on the challenging original game, as well as a gentle encouragement to those who were intimidated by the Xbox game's widow-making difficulty. We recently had the opportunity to get our hands on the upcoming game, along with a guided look at it by Team Ninja's head ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki.

One of the main reasons Ninja Gaiden Black came about was because of the user feedback that was received from the original Ninja Gaiden. Amid all the critical acclaim and diehard adoration from fans, Team Ninja caught wind of two very distinct schools of thought on the game. The first was a very strong call for more of the game from fans who eagerly tore into the downloadable content that was made available in the months after its release. The second was word of some folks feeling intimidated by the game's level of challenge and being unable to finish it. In order to satisfy diehard fans and help players of all skill levels enjoy its masterpiece, Team Ninja cooked up Ninja Gaiden Black. The game features the original Ninja Gaiden, as well as all the downloadable content found in the various packs that have hit since the game's release. In addition, there will be new difficulty levels and a slew of unlockable content.

The new difficulty levels will likely be of the most interest to both casual and hardcore players. You'll now find normal, hard, very hard, and master ninja difficulties. For those keeping score at home, normal will be equivalent to the default difficulty of the original Ninja Gaiden; hard will be as challenging as the harder levels in Gaiden; while very hard and master ninja are taking pain and humiliation to a whole new level with brutal challenges that are exponentially more difficult. Itagaki noted that very few individuals will be able to get through the master ninja difficulty, as it will offer a generally impossible challenge to the average gamer.

If all of the above difficulties prove too overwhelming for you, Black will also offer a special, easier "ninja dog" difficulty. The mode will be accessible in much the same way that Devil May Cry 3's easier settings are accessible--you'll get the option to select it if you die a certain amount of times on the first stage. Once that happens, you'll be able to opt for ninja dog. The only catch is, since this is a Team Ninja game, the difficulty isn't quite the free ride you might think. A mildly humiliating cinematic with Ayane dissing on you is followed up with a running gag in this mode.

Easier difficulty modes will be available, but you'll suffer some serious humiliation for them.

Once you return to the game after the cinematic, you'll gain an accessory, the band of power, which you'll be able to equip. The good news is that the wristband will enhance your melee attacks. However, the bad news is that it's an oh-so-cute shade of bright purple and looks more than a little out of place on a badass ninja. As you progress, you'll gain other bands, which sound as though they'll run through a rainbow of humiliating colors (which seems like a more than ample excuse to grow a pair and get better at the game). From the sound of it, the enemy artificial intelligence hasn't been tuned down in the ninja dog mode. Hayabusa is just a little more powerful, so you're still going to have to do some work.

As far as the unlockable content in the game goes, Ninja Gaiden Black offers deep, layered experiences of onionlike proportions. You'll be able to unlock Ryu's assorted costumes, a movie theater that lets you view all the cinematics from Ninja Gaiden, and a coming-attractions option that houses the E3 Dead or Alive 4 trailer. The biggest chunk of unlockable content comes in the form of a mission mode and the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden. The mission mode is a massive, and potentially soul-crushing, collection of challenges that have sprung from the minds of Itagaki and Team Ninja. When you initially unlock the mode you'll have access to two levels: Path of the Master Ninja and Descent of the Fiends. Each level will have one mission for you to play. As you clear the missions, you'll open others, which will equal a total of five missions for each level. Once you've cleared those, you'll open new levels with such charming monikers as Fateful Confrontation, Military Destruction, Battlefield of the Abyss, and Legend.