The past few years haven't been a great time for Koei-Tecmo’s premier ninja Ryu Hayabusa. Dead Or Alive 6 left fans cold with its monetization practices and bare-bones content. Meanwhile, his flagship series, Ninja Gaiden, got left in the lurch after Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, Team Ninja’s apology for the regular NG3's lackluster gameplay.

Since then, Hayabusa’s usually been seen in playable cameos, like in the Warriors Orochi series. But there are rumors flying around that Ninja Gaiden may be receiving a reboot. Team Ninja have clarified that it’s not currently in the works. However, fans would be happy to see Hayabusa swing his Dragon Sword in style once again. If it was in the cards, a reboot would have to avoid these pitfalls to please the fans.

6 Where’s The Blood?

Ninja Gaiden Reboot Mistakes to Avoid- NG3 Blood

The likes of Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and Metal Gear Rising aren’t exactly trips to Disneyland. But compared to Team Ninja’s Ninja Gaiden games, they may as well be Mickey Mouse games. Ninja Gaiden had the gore of a classic God of War game with DMC-esque intricate action. It was violent enough that its original releases in Europe and Japan had to be censored, removing the swift decapitations.

This might be why Ninja Gaiden 3 toned it down significantly, turning out more T-rated than M. The games don’t necessarily need blood to succeed. However, removing a hallmark feature is always going to get some complaints. Part of the reason Razor’s Edge was more favored was because it brought back gore and dismemberment. A reboot will have to keep it bloody to some degree or another.

5 Wonky Camera

Ninja Gaiden Reboot Mistakes to Avoid- NG3 Camera

Camera function in games is rarely commented on for how good it is. It’s one of those invisible features that's only really noticeable when it’s bad. Not that the overlooking view of the classic God of War games or the over-the-shoulder view of the newer ones are to everyone’s tastes. Still, they work because they fit within the level design.

Both NG3 and Razor’s Edge fell short in this regard because the camera was much more awkward. It stuck too closely to Hayabusa, making the enemies harder to see, and making platforming much trickier than it needed to be. It’s a little basic to say, “make camera good,” but it’s something that requires just as much attention as the combat and level design.

4 Same Old Moves

Ninja Gaiden Reboot Mistakes to Avoid- Razor's Edge Ayane

Dynasty Warriors and similar Musou games aren’t exactly as complex as Ninja Gaiden. However, one of the reasons they thrive is because of their variety. Their best entries see multitudes of characters use different weapons, different moves, and combos. Meanwhile, the less impressive ones reuse them across multiple characters. Still, that’s not to say a new Ninja Gaiden needs hundreds of playable characters to catch on. It just needs to spice up Hayabusa’s move list.

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Give him some new skills and weapons to unlock as he progresses through the game. It's not the most revolutionary suggestion, but NG3 did falter in this regard with a lacking set of skills compared to prior entries. Razor's Edge fixed this by making the Scythe weapon available on the disc, alongside additional ninpo magic and an extra playable character in Ayane. Maybe a reboot could give the rest of Hayabusa's harem, like Rachel or Momiji, some attention.

3 Drag Out Fights

Ninja Gaiden Reboot Mistakes to Avoid- Razor's Edge Boss

A new Ninja Gaiden game could have the best move list in the world with the smoothest animations and most stylish combos. However, it wouldn’t matter if all the game’s mooks and bosses could be taken out with the same basic hits. The series was known for giving players a challenge, being harder than its rivals while on base difficulty. It was the hack n' slasher fan's hack n' slasher, so to speak.

But again, NG3 faltered here, because many of its encounters were somewhat uninspired. When it wasn’t providing near-endless goon rushes, it was reusing boss fights, all of whom fell to the same tactics as before. There wasn't a need to mix it up beyond boredom or curiosity. Time isn’t always on the developer’s side in creating new encounters, but the final game ends up suffering if the enemies aren’t diverse or challenging.

2 Ninja Gai-Dumb

Ninja Gaiden Reboot Mistakes to Avoid- Yaiba Comedy

Ninja Gaiden’s stories haven’t exactly been Broken Sword, let alone Shakespeare. However, its dramatic elements have been a selling point since the series’ original NES games. They were some of the first games to use cutscenes to tell its story than relying on text boxes and gameplay. So, it has a pedigree to maintain. But not every story sticks with the player, at least not for the right reasons.

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Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, Spark Unlimited's take on the series, gave players an edgy new protagonist coming back from the dead to seek revenge against Hayabusa. It's a fine premise for a game. Unfortunately, the execution wasn't so grand. Yaiba was a foul-mouthed dullard surrounded by characters who would be more at home in a disappointing Saints Row game. A Ninja Gaiden reboot would be better off sticking to the main series' martial arts movie-like tone than attempting comedy.

1 Being Too Slavish to the First Two Games

Ninja Gaiden Reboot Mistakes to Avoid- NG Master Collection

This list has been rather harsh on NG3, because it was a rather notorious disappointment. That said, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 are nearly 20 years old each now. They’ve received different Sigma updates, and have been packaged together in various collections, but have still received criticism. As fine as they are for fans who are used to their controls, they’re somewhat stiff and outdated compared to the latest games. Classics can only go on for so long until people want something new.

For example, Yooka-Laylee disappointed fans because it played too much like the N64 platformers it was trying to emulate. It took on their flaws without enough modern conveniences to make up for them. So, if Team Ninja were to reboot the series, they could still look at NG1 and 2. However, they’d also have to look at every other hack n'slash game made since Razor’s Edge to see what to adapt to, what to improve, and what to leave behind. Otherwise, it could risk being a throwback instead of providing a new direction for the series.

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