Ninja Gaiden Master Collection Review & Tag Missions Difficulty (SWITCH PS4 STEAM XB1)

[@Swrinny]

Was it worth for Team Ninja & Koei Tecmo to port these games to the current gen? Or do you think they should've just worked on NG4 instead?

[@Ninjedo]

For Xbox users is a lot better to go back to NG Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 through bavkwards compatibility. 4k textures, solid 60 fps and violence/gore kept intact. This collection did right only with NG3 putting the Razor's Edge version

[@Swrinny]

@@Ninjedo Actually looked up some footage of that and am really impressed with how good that game looks just through backwards compatibility :O

[@Ninjedo]

@@Swrinny Yup, one of the best optimized Xbox One X/Xbox Series S|X title from Xbox 360. There's a Digital Foundry coverage about it

[@mac1bc]

No NG4 without the original creator...I'm afraid it won't be as good.

[@Sirch100precent]

I loved the first 2 on Xbox. When i played 3 on ps3 i just couldn't find the motivation to finish it. I did just download the master collection on pc & paying the first part of 1 brought back that feeling of nostalgia & how fun these games can be. I need part 4 in my life ASAP .. these were the games that made me want to game!

[@gaidenrocx1]

Excellent unbiased review

[@Swrinny]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@user-db6rr7jy8n]

Heard that blood came back to NG2 in day-one patch. Didn't see myself, playing NG1 currently. As to what kind of person I am - one that really wanted to play these games for a couple of years and is simply happy to have this opportunity.

[@Swrinny]

Yeah the day-one patch sounded hopeful, but ended up re-adding the dismemberment. This was apparently removed in the Japanese version of the Master Collection. Limbs are flying left and right now, but the purple mist sadly remains :c Glad that you finally get to play them! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did :)

[@christopheryanez]

@@Swrinny I’ll take that any day of the fucking week, the purple mist isn’t even that bad because when you thrust the living fuck out of your sword into enemies and do other visceral attacks you can see some red blood within the purple mist. I also appreciate the red blood splatters across the floor, I’m glad those aren’t censored or removed. A patch that removes the purple mist would still be the best move for them to make so I won’t give up on that yet.

[@davidmonroy8960]

Hi, great video, 1:32 the Ng 2004 is only Xbox, not PlayStation 2. Great review dude 👍

[@Swrinny]

Glad you enjoyed it! And yes I just double-checked and you're right :O Not sure why an image of a PS2 cover appeared in my searches lol

[@whodatninja439]

Not only blood was missing but also fewer enemies

[@Swrinny]

Between Ninja Gaiden 2 & Sigma 2 you mean?

[@whodatninja439]

@@Swrinny yes

[@kenjones9326]

Out of all the games, I've played the arcade version, the 1st NES version, XBox version (regular& Black), Sigma, 2& 3. Of all of them, I liked Black the most because I believe it was the smoothest& more fun playing and replaying. Frustrating as all hell, but worth it, especially after a crappy work day!

[@Swrinny]

Damn that's a long history! I've actually seen some people talk about how the Xbox versions are looking and performing really well through backwards compatibility. And yeah nothing beats slicing through hordes of enemies after a crappy work day haha

[@kenjones9326]

@@Swrinny Man, did you know how much of a money sponge that arcade game was? I remember playing it at random places for about three years of my childhood. Must've spent at least $150 of my parents money playing that one alone. Never got past the third level.

[@mac1bc]

I've played and beaten all three NES versions as well. The first one was so unfair too...

[@Swrinny]

@@kenjones9326 Oh wow haha. Good thing it was your parent's money and not yours :p I've never had the arcades around where I lived sadly :c

[@kenjones9326]

@@Swrinny Heh, yeah I was still single digit in age at the time. If you ever find a Ninja Gaiden arcade game, the thumb button on the top allows Ryu to grab onto the environment. But when you're getting beat up, one tends to lose sight of it. Didn't have a cool head as a kid. But that Guillotine Throw though... fun back then and still fun nowadays!

[@joshk3490]

I really hope Ryu is the last fighter they add in smash bro’s or at least in the next fighters pass if they have one. I’d be sooo happy 😊 he’s literally the only character I want in smash bro’s!

[@Swrinny]

That'd be cool! Maybe have him use his different weapons with different attacks/combos :D

[@john0983]

This was a nice rewiew someone that actually states facts about good and bad but doesn't wine about something even though we haven't seen ninja gaiden in over 9 years and no z doesn't count but could I ask if tecmo responded or not?

[@Swrinny]

Thank you so much! And yeah let's pretend Yaiba NG Z doesn't exist :p Koei Tecmo hasn't responded to my question sadly :(

[@darthrobo5516]

Was hoping they would fix the terrible contrast in NG3RE.. Cant believe noone at TN thought of fixing that part.it was bad at the original release and its still super bad here.

[@Swrinny]

My TV screen is pretty bright by default so I think my recordings are a bit darker than they should be. But even with that in mind - yeah the contrast in 3 hasn't improved since the PS3 version.

[@FirearmEnthusiast]

The sigma versions include all of their sigma+ extras. Except for turbo mode and the gore option for NGS2

[@Swrinny]

Thx for noting! It just feels weird how they take some things from the + versions but leave the others (like the gore that everyone wants)

[@FirearmEnthusiast]

@@Swrinny Yeah seriously.

[@MazManZero]

Like most people are saying; gore back in NGS2 would have been great. A possible change in the enemies numbers similar to NG2 for the 360 could have been nice (while removing the 1 shot grabs on Master Ninja Difficulty in NGS2 but not being spammed by rocket ninjas and explosive kunai ninjas like in OG NG2 and having similar move sets for the 4 greater fiends in NG2 since many of them have had either their attacks reduced or barely used altogether) would have changed "a lot". They removing the Team Missions and instead took NG2's Challenge mode if they aren't going to bother adding the co-op/online on to it would have been a nice change also. These things "could" have been kinda nice to do but with the exception of Ninja Races; the games do feel like a lazy remaster. I'm happy either way we all get to re-experience Ninja Gaiden; but I can perfectly understand many NG fans disappointment to what they have done. I'm currently working on NGS2 first and I'm giving that a 7/10 overall (just wish the online, again, was included, as well as the gore since they easily managed it on NGS2+, but hoping for a possible patch for the gore option...). One thing I "have" noticed that they added was seeing all the lycans at the stadium (PS3's NGS2 had only the coliseum half filled; but was just about full on the remaster up until Volf gets defeated, then it's halved since many lycans fight Ryu at that point).

[@Swrinny]

Yeah I think it's better to just treat it as a port as opposed to a remaster and it's exactly b/c of the things you mentioned that I think this was made to attract a new, broader audience in hopes of a NG4 being made at some point. Existing fans, especially the most hardcore ones, are already unhappy with the sigma versions, let alone porting them without the online feature and NGS2+ gore :p Good mention about the Lycans! Guess they were removed before to enhance performance. Glad good boi Volf has got a proper audience now :D

[@juliendemills3213]

They could also add in the missing dlc costumes for sigma 2, and add in the missing costumes from black into sigma 1

[@Swrinny]

@@juliendemills3213 I didn't have the time to unlock all costumes in the tag missions yet - are there a lot of them missing?

[@juliendemills3213]

@@Swrinny the costumes missing are the ones in base NG 2 and it's DLC

[@juliendemills3213]

I don't believe the Tag Missions costumes are missing

[@sashimitrash8184]

Actually for sigma 2. The AI was always good mainly the Rachel AI. She’s a monster. She will carry you in master ninja / ultimate ninja . But on the PS3 people rather have an actual human cuz you both can exploit . In the MC for sigma 2 you can switch partners by pressing the d-pad down. You still take the same damage like on the PS3 but the trick is if you get grabbed by a boss or taking big boi damage in MN/UN trials you can switch to your AI partner and the AI partner will take reduced damage so that can be useful. Also for Sigma/Sigma 2 they are the plus versions of the game on the PS VITA. It has the vitas ports updated UI and plus versions exclusive costumes like DOA throwback Ryu in Sigma 2 or NG3 Ryu in sigma 1. Back when the ps vita ports were created they used the PS3 ports as a base and added the new content in there. So the 2 games are a hybrid in the MC.

[@Swrinny]

I remember never really trying the AI but just went with others are you mentioned. That said - even with human players there were a lot of Rachels being immortal by twirling around :p Good tip for the switching of characters though when big damage is incoming!

[@sashimitrash8184]

@@Swrinny just look up UN2 . Rachel AI will carry you hard

[@Swrinny]

@@sashimitrash8184 Oh wow, she really is a monster

[@ralphengland8559]

If you're on xbox you can get NG Black for $10. That's probably a better solution. Get that and Sekiro.

[@Swrinny]

Someone else mentioned that too and after looking into it, it surprised me to see how great that game still looks on the latest Xbox!

[@ralphengland8559]

@@Swrinny the back-compat is pretty good. The only thing lacking is some of the environment detail.

[@hamadothman7014]

is the tag mission in NGS2 easy than ps3 or just the same difficult as ps3 ? same question to NG3RE is the ninja trials hard like ps3 ( I mean master ninja and ultimate ninja is same difficult as ps3 ?)

[@Swrinny]

The tag missions are easier than the PS3 versions because the AI is actually somewhat useful now and the mission doesn't fail if you don't revive the AI. Also the boss health has been adjusted on the higher difficulties so you'll notice this a lot in the Ultimate Ninja ones! The Master Ninja missions didn't feel that much easier though imo. NG3RE also sees the bosses with some reduced HP, but you're still alone and fight multiple bosses at once. IMO this makes it harder than the PS3 versions where you could have an online partner help you out. Because of this I don't find the NG3RE missions fun at all as they don't feel like missions you should be able to solo. It feels like I can't do anything in most missions unless I use the the 360T attack with the scythe lol. It should be fine though trophy-wise as you only need to clear a couple of them.

[@KrieGor27]

@@Swrinny To be fair, 70 out of 100 ninja trials in Razor's Edge don't feature multiple bosses showing at the same time. That's already a lot of content. The remaining thirty are doable (even with Ayane or Kasumi) because bosses die so quickly in the two last difficulties but I agree a few of them are not particularly fun without a partner.

[@Ninjedo]

Nice video!

[@Swrinny]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@SoriduSnakeu]

NGS1 is the PSVita version, not PS3.

[@Scarxeds]

im a longtime fan

[@nekranlordchris1038]

I remember when 3 came out my friend rammed the scythe in a enemies back and all that happened was blood on screen. I've always loved these games even with their problems

[@GamingNightsNeoMasaki]

2004 ninja gaiden was never on the ps2...and the collection actually uses psvita assets. Some say they remastered the ps vita ver.

[@Swrinny]

Yup I noticed it afterwards, for some reason this was the highest-resolution cover image that popped up :p I wouldn't be surprised if they used the vita version as the base and just stripped away stuff from there. The Ninja Race mode is in there and so is the tag mission UI, but the gore & turbo modes are gone.

[@rietzhu]

I'd rather just play revengeance again instead of mastering the combat in these games (Again) and getting frustrated lol... revengeance is more forgiving. 😆 It's also a fun underrated game!

[@dimakor5914]

Stages are linear? Not in the first Ninja Gaiden.

[@Dimiblossom]

1:33 LOL

[@kenshinvxat]

So can somebody explain why are the sigmas not as good as the black or the originals? i really don't know and i would like to.

[@Swrinny]

I'd like to answer this but I've only ever played the sigma versions. There are a few differences between the orignals. Some examples I know is that in NGS1 some puzzles were removed and that you have to play as Rachel in certain missions. For NGS2 the blood was replaced with purple mist and the amount of enemies is heavily reduced, but they've been made more tanky. This causes some areas to feel empty and less chaotic. At the same time, the sigma verisons have better graphics, performance and a few more enemy types. So I honestly think it boils down to personal preference at the end of the day. Hopefully another kind viewer that has played both versions can fill you in on more details!

[@marcosousa6525]

@@Swrinny Hi mate, played both versions, the difference is that the originals were harder, gruesome and more satisfying, that's pretty much it.

[@ANDY-1109]

There is lots of meaning that NG 3 is more difficult than others two series!

[@GSPsvita]

So all the + features from the vita versions of the games are out ( modes, costumes, accessories etc ) . At least they made the missions in 2 easier , in 2+ you really had to be master ninja god to beat them all 😁

[@Swrinny]

Funny thing is that they actually added "Ninja Race" to this version too, but not turbo mode and not the gore. So yeah it's the sigma 2 version with a liiiitle bit of sigma 2+ :p

[@GSPsvita]

@@Swrinny even so , from what I can see , they did a great job . I'm currently playing Persona 3 portable , but when I finish it , Im pretty sure I'll make a master ninja run on bought games on my vita , just to boil my blood one more time 😁

[@Swrinny]

@@GSPsvita Haha, I hope they don't. How are you liking Persona 3 btw? Does it hold up to 4 & 5 after all those years?

[@GSPsvita]

@@Swrinny to be honest, I do like it , I'm assuming that I'm close to the end (65h)🙂. Well I have played p4golden , but I never finish it . maybe I wasn't ready for persona game and I think that I'll appreciate it more if I play it now ( after finishing P3P) but it's gonna wait , because after finishing P3P , I'm gonna try the dancing game and at the same time Ninja gaiden sigma+ (haven't played it in years - let's see if I can hold up and finish the first chapter on master ninja without rage 😁😂🤣

[@Swrinny]

@@GSPsvita Sounds great! Should pick it up at some point. I still think P3 has the coolest way of awakening :D The dancing games look really fun too haha. And good luck with Master Ninja difficulty!

[@megaman15ish]

I never understood why they censored the gore in Sigma 2. It's really stupid.

[@Josharcangel]

Great video, I'm a old player who drops consoles and take PC and I'm glad to have NG back. I dont have any kind of complaints, and for sure I wait for a 4rt part. Thx 4 the vid 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Swrinny]

Glad you enjoy it and yeah I'm happy they're expanding this series, and also others, to the PC these days! Let's hope for the 4th :D

[@gameshark427]

I loved Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 on PS3, can't wait to play these Remasters on my PS5. Its on sale now for $29.99 & $37.49 for the Deluxe Edition on PS Store.

[@DBX79]

I came back to this series in hope for the co-op, but of course the best experience they left out in purpose of getting money.

[@Swrinny]

Yup it's a real shame that part is not included. Was looking forward to play co-op with my buddy again after all those years (and hopefully with a less-laggy online mode). All important attacks are still stored in my muscle memory :D

[@MemoirOfWar]

Nice.

[@Swrinny]

Thanks!

[@brandonniles7147]

How can you not have NG2, its not much of a master collection without it. Well that's okay, I purchased a copy from Ebay.

[@KaiKrimson56]

Sigma 1 was okay. I didn't like how defensive you had to be in combat, wasn't a huge fan of the puzzles, Rachel's levels were really bad, and even on Ninja Dog difficulty, some enemy and boss encounters were salt-inducing to a point I gave up on Chapter 19 and watched the ending on KZbin. Sigma 2 was better since it encouraged being more offensive, Obliteration Techniques made it easier to deal with the more annoying enemy types, more reasonable difficulty, weapons felt and looked more brutal, the Howling cannon was awesome, you get healed when you use save points, there were better female characters to play as and Rachel went from unbearable to decent as a playable character. Razor's Edge was a complete regression. They made it harder by removing items, making Ninpo slow to charge and one of a few ways to heal, the game does a poor job explaining why Cicada Surge+Steel on Bone is so important to heal during combat, the Alchemists, the spider robot, and the helicopter boss are so infuriating I rage quit the middle of Day 2. The story is stupid since it tries to frame Ryu as a mindless killer when he isn't and the color palette is so drab, it looks like a AAA milltary shooter.

[@Swrinny]

Oh god the alchemists.... hate fighting those so much especially multiple at once. End up always having to run, flying swallow to break their 'alchemy state' or whatever you call it and then hope to remove a limb with attack so they can be executed quickly

[@albertomatanglawin326]

How about the unlockables?

[@Swrinny]

Do you mean unlockables like in outfits? or more? Unlocking weapons/ninpo's are unchanged. After you clear the mission where you unlock weapons, you also unlock them for the tag missions/ninja trials. By clearing trials you unlock more trials and in NGRE2 you also unlock costumes that way. Hope this helps!

[@meneeruyl]

if someone needs help on Switch or Playstation let me know. I can either login for you and get your DOA costume or try through share play. (i wont beat Mentor 05 or UN03 for you, those are way too tedious!)

[@PegAsi_]

Idk if people should be giving out their account info lol

[@meneeruyl]

@@PegAsi_ yeah its their choice but ive helped enough people to have some credit to my help at least :)

[@daltonbode6909]

Who thinks Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 hasn't aged well? This collection is the first time I've played Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1, but NG1 feels like an arcade game made to be unfairly hard.

[@Swrinny]

The sound is the thing that suffers the most with re-releasing old games, because you cannot increase the quality of sound files unless you rerecord stuff :p But yeah other than that - it doesn't feel as fluid or that you don't have that many options as compared to the other 2

[@ANDY-1109]

The difficulty games are really just for self satisfaction…

[@LudwigTheHolyBlade85]

It's pronounced arch not ark

[@Swrinny]

Thanks, I'll keep it in mind!

[@LudwigTheHolyBlade85]

@@Swrinny you're welcome man