With all the remakes of hit games being released this year, you'd think we'd see some more familiar faces in the gaming landscape. We have at least a couple of big A list titles coming this year, namely Resident Evil 3 remake, and Final Fantasy VII remake (at least the first part). Both games are highly respected in the gaming community as being some of the best gaming experiences ever, even more than 20 years after their original release. I wouldn't be surprised if Capcom is planning to remake more games of the Resident Evil franchise. And Final Fantasy...well let's just say we'll have plenty of nostalgia come early April.
Before I was going to play Final Fantasy VII remake, I went through playing the original, as well as Final Fantasy VIII remastered. I wanted to make sure I platinumed the original on PS4 and Xbox One before I delve in to this reimagination. In doing so I found myself playing most of my back catalogue to add them to my PSN and Xbox profile. In doing so I experienced some lovely nostalgia in the form of Ninja Gaiden. While this is the reboot franchise I'm talking about, I'm definetly a big fan off all things Ninja Gaiden. As I'm typing this I'm listening to playlists from the NES trilogy.
Ninja Gaiden is one of the most memorable gaming experiences for me on both the NES and the previous few generations with the reboot. Both have excellent story telling, and both are challenging gaming experiences. Of course Ryu Hayabusa has been hiding out in the Dead or Alive series since it's beginning. It wasn't until after Dead or Alive 3 was released that we got a more modern take on the most loved Ninja in all of gaming. Tecmo was very consistent with the Ninja Gaiden Reboot trilogy. Each game was about 4 years apart and each one was hard as hell, and payed homage to the previous game that came before it. With every new entry that arrived we got more content. ..even if it took a second/director's cut esque kind of game to get it.
Despite what many gaming publications may have said about Ninja Gaiden 3, and Ninja Gaiden 3 razor's edge, I still enjoyed the game as a whole. This wasn't the first time i've enjoyed a game that most of the general gaming population hated. I'm still playing through Razor's edge right now to get some of the other trophies that take a little bit longer to achieve. But in thinking about that. We haven't had a new Ninja Gaiden title in about 7 years....8 if you count Ninja Gaiden 3/Razor's edge as the same game (which it kind of is) I don't really count that spin off game that came after Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's edge, mostly because that's not a game where Ryu is the main character.
Even though Ryu appears in the Dead or Alive series, as well as the Dynasty warriors series, it would be nice to see him in the spotlight again. I'm sure given some of the backlash the community dished out 8 years ago, Koei Tecmo may just be waiting for the right time to bring Ryu back. Also the 8th generation is about to end and the 9th is about to begin. With the PS5 and Xbox Series X just around the corner (and possibly another Nintendo system as well), maybe it's a valid assumption to make that a new Ninja Gaiden game could be in the works? I sure hope so! I think it would even be an awesome idea if the NES trilogy was remade for the current generation. I know that's wishful thinking, but hey, you never know.
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