Don't shoot the messenger – I'm just saying, don't expect much from Ryu's playable story segments in Ninja Gaiden 4. In the last week or so I have been able to play through and hit Ninja Gaiden 4and I'd say most of my expectations were topped by the flashy new action game. Like Yakumo, it delivers everything I want from combat and more, but PlatinumGames confirmed there were two playable characters before release: newcomer Yakumo and veteran Ryu Hayabusa. I can easily point to the worst game segments in Ninja Gaiden 4s story, and those are the ones where you play as Ryu.
But I want to be clear: NG4 is a good game and as a whole I would recommend it. I would only recommend it with the caveat that your expectations for Ryu should be on the floor. Fortunately, it's a relatively short segment of the game, only taking up a handful of chapters Ninja Gaiden 4. It's worth noting that Ryu has more than just those chapters, at least, but it still feels like he's a supporting character in a franchise that bears his name. SPOILER DISCUSSION FOLLOWS.
Ryu's role in the NG4 story is explained
Without going further into spoiler territory than I have to, it becomes abundantly clear in the earliest hours of Ninja Gaiden 4 that Ryu is indeed the “great challenge and growth milestone” for Yakumo that PlatinumGames suggested he would be. Yakumo carries with him the arrogance and self-righteousness one would expect from a less experienced warrior, believing himself to be Ryu's equal from the start. The conflicts that arise between the two are clearly one between a seasoned veteran and a prestigious upstart, and the story puts them at odds pretty quickly. There are several reasons for this, but as players progress through the story as Yakumo, they must complete four objectives. Throughout this, it is constantly suggested and then directly confirmed that the priestess Seori put these four goals in place – with Ryu's help.
After spending the entire game clearing the four targets, the playable segments for Ryu are flashbacks to setting up those four targets. In other words, it's just repeating the content that has already been played. To no player's surprise, each of these four goals ends in a boss fight, and those are the same boss fights for Ryu. Making it a little worse is that it goes backwards, meaning the last goal Yakumo finishes is the first one Ryu set up. Players face a large boss back to back, first as Yakumo and then as Ryu, then proceed to repeated levels to get to the other bosses. The only thing here is that every objective is shortened for Ryu, perhaps speaking to his power, but it's not like players need to be convinced that Ryu is the better ninja. Overall, it's one of the shortest segments in the game, but the brevity, repetitive boss battles, and the fact that it has no real narrative bearing means Ninja Gaiden 4 would have been better if these levels were lowered.
How cutting edge playable Ryu would have made Ninja Gaiden 4 better
Pacing would be greatly improved, for one. These flashbacks take place immediately after one of the biggest stories in history Ninja Gaiden 4which interrupts the natural narration. Perhaps the goal is to create distance from that moment and what follows, which itself is short compared to the rest of the game, but it doesn't quite achieve that. It feels like repetitive content is squeezed in between the resolution of the four objectives and the final boss. Second, it adds nothing to the gravitas of the story either. If there was anything new revealed here, then maybe it would have been worth playing through the content, but there isn't. Seori's role in the four goals is revealed early in the game, and it is implied throughout the game that Ryu was involved. The flashbacks serve no other narrative purpose than to explain perhaps a detail, which stretches the need for explanation.
Ninja Gaiden 4's story structure
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Prologue and setup
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Complete objective one
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Complete objective two
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Complete objective three
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Complete objective four
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Big Story Moment (Cutscene)
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Repeat targets four, three, two and one as Ryu
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The final chapter of the game
Considering nothing of significance or anything new happens in Ryu's boss fights or story chapters, it feels very much like an afterthought shoved into the game for fan service. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with fanservice and having playable Ryu in it Ninja Gaiden 4 just makes logical sense. But the fact remains, cutting his chapter would have made it a better game. Stepping into Ryu's shoes quickly goes from a wave of excitement to worry that everything feels very familiar to “Oh, so this is what we're doing. All this. Again.” The way the story unfolds, I'd be more curious about what Ryu did for the rest of today's game instead of these flashbacks. The story and pacing would have been more interesting if each goal for Yakumo (which is about three chapters) was followed by an original present day chapter for Ryu, instead of flashbacks.
Without that, cutting Ryu's chapter entirely would also have worked, since his role as a playable character was only an endgame unlock. It already is, actually, but his story chapters aren't necessary for that. As it stands, he feels like an arbitrary reward instead of a real one when players enter Ninja Gaiden 4s higher difficulty/endgame content.
Ryu's endgame content in NG4
To reiterate, I enjoyed and recommend playing Ninja Gaiden 4. For me it's a very good 8/10 game. I just think this part of the story hurts it overall and keeps it from being a great or even great experience. The moment-to-moment combat is tons of fun, the content offering is pretty good, and the overall story isn't revolutionary but is more than serviceable. I don't necessarily think so more Ryu would have fixed it, but I wanted to better Ryu content than flashbacks. Players, I would argue, deserve more than Super Ninja's main content being flashbacks.
But when players get past these chapters and finish Ninja Gaiden 4s story, Ryu can be selected as a playable character. Players can repeat chapters, do purgatory, complete trials, and so on, which means at least there's more Ryu than in the story chapters. But for his playable story segment, it's hard not to be disappointed with how he's been treated.
- Released
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21 October 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes
- Publisher
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Xbox Game Studios
