The Ninja Gaiden games are some of the most beloved action games out there, with games going all the way back to the original Nintendo Entertainment System. A new special edition in the series, Ninja Gaiden: The Master Collection released earlier this year – though it doesn't touch the original games, it adds a lot to three of the 3D entries in the series.

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Ninja Gaiden SigmaNinja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3 are all included in the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection. The remaster comes packaged with the typical additions of a collection like this, including better visuals and effects, it also took away some of the things that made the three games special to some players.

6 The Game Uses The Sigma Versions Of The First Two Games

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Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 were originally games on the original Xbox system. When the games were ported to the then-modern PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems, they were given graphical improvements and some minor extra content and rebranded with the Sigma title

However, fans of the Ninja Gaiden series have been eagerly anticipating remasters of the first two titles in their original formSigma changed a lot of cutscenes, music, mechanics, bosses, and even puzzles in the game. Though Ninja Gaiden Sigma is by no means a bad game, fans of the series tend to prefer the un-remastered version.

5 Five Different Characters Are Available To Play

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While Ryu is the iconic main character of just about every Ninja Gaiden game, the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection gives players the ability to play as one of five characters. These characters can be swapped anytime, even in the middle of a fight, if the player wants to change things up cosmetically for a little while.

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The four characters are Momiji from Ninja Gaiden 3, Ayane from Ninja Gaiden 2, Rachael from Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and Kasumi also from Ninja Gaiden 3. Most of these characters were originally included in DLC, and the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection also includes just about all of the DLC from the three included games.

4 The Graphics Get A Major Overhaul, Including 4k Resolution And 60 FPS

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The Ninja Gaiden series hasn't seen a good remaster in a long, long time. Technically, Ninja Gaiden Sigma was the first to remaster an older Ninja Gaiden game, as it built upon the foundation of Ninja Gaiden Black for the original Xbox. No matter how one looks at it nowadays, though, the game still needed a facelift to survive in the modern age.

The Ninja Gaiden Master Collection not only collects three of the most iconic Ninja Gaiden games in one place, but it also gives them major improvements like 4k resolution, ultra-high-quality textures, an unlocked FPS, and other features that turn it from a blotchy mess to a clean, crisp experience worthy of a ninja.

3 The Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 Didn't Get Special Treatment

Ninja Gaiden Master Collection

Most games that get remastered nowadays are made with the most modern consoles' capabilities in mind. Ninja Gaiden The Master Collection goes against the grain, though, and has been optimized for just about every console it is available on – the only exclusion is the 60 FPS feature from the Nintendo Switch version.

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Games like The Elder Scrolls OnlineThe Witcher 3, and other modern classics have already seen free content updates to bring them up to par specifically for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Because of the age of the Ninja Gaiden games, they can be made more beautiful by orders of magnitude with a few simple tweaks that every console can take advantage of.

2 There's No Turbo Mode In Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

One of the draws of the Ninja Gaiden series is its incredibly fast-paced and precise combat mechanics. Dodging, parrying, timing attacks, and keeping on one's toes are just the start to the complex and punishing swordplay in the games. Some die-hard fans of the series were enamored with the inclusion of a Turbo mode in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 to speed things up even more.

One of the few things that Ninja Gaiden The Master Collection actually removes from its included titles is this faster-paced mode. The games already play very fast, that much is for sure, but it's still a disappointment to fans who felt rewarded for figuring out the exact inputs and strategies needed to get past this near-impossible game mode.

1 Online Play Isn't Enabled In Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Or 3

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Another element of the games included in Ninja Gaiden The Master Collection is the ability to play online for specific events and activities. In Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, for example, players could take part in Tag Missions. In Ninja Gaiden 3, Ninja Trials could be completed with friends online too. Unfortunately, this online functionality was removed for the remastered collection.

Fans of the series don't exactly know why the functionality was removed, either, as modern systems are more than capable of online multiplayer and backward compatibility. As it stands, though, players will have to embrace the fact that Ninja Gaiden The Master Collection is an entirely solo experience, even though online-only modes such as these are still available in the game.

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