Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection Reviews
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a double-edged Dragon Sword. On one hand, it's hard to overlook the omission of both Black titles. On the other hand, the Sigma duology and Razor's Edge make for a compelling, if at times uneven, action trilogy. What the first Sigma loses from puzzles, platforming, and exploration, it makes up for with streamlined set pieces that highlight combat above all else. Sigma 2 lacks almost all the style that defined Ninja Gaiden II, but it's undeniably a smoother experience that challenges a different set of skills than its predecessor. Razor's Edge is the clear weak link of the bunch on a design level, but the mechanics are incredibly fun to experiment with. It may not be the ideal compilation for hardcore franchise fans, but Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a great entrypoint for new fans and a solid trilogy in its own right.
Bare minimum ports with performance issues they may be, but Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a most welcome release that hopefully fuels the flame for a fourth in the 3D series. The lack of polish or any real noteworthy adjustments or additional content, as well as the third game losing its way following the first two great entries, put a dampener on the package, but there is still good value for money here that fans of challenging games will do well to check out.
With Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, Nintendo fans finally can experience the entire contemporary Ryu Hayabusa saga. The games themselves are each grueling challenges that deliver a unique sense of accomplishment after players learn to master Ryu’s move sets and become discerning combatants. In terms of performance, Master Collection is at its best docked, but Nintendo’s version of the compilation has unmistakably had the most sacrifices made to get it running.
These games are nearly right at home on a handheld, at least in regards to portable ninja madness.
The Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is a compilation of the three action-adventure titles. They are known for their intense action-packed gameplay as well as their difficulty. I have already published reviews for these three titles, so most of the detail will be in their respective reviews. However, I will cover my experience playing through each game sequentially and the main differences in each title.
A competent collection of ports that does the bare minimum to bring the series to modern systems. The games themselves are still fantastic action classics but it's a shame all versions couldn't be included.
Return of reliable, but archaic ninja warrior without improvements.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden : Master Collection doesn't offer anything exceptionnal. You get three good games that received visual enhancements and faster loading times. Despite the fact that all the DLC content is also included, it would've been more interesting to add a couple of new elements for the fans. Nevertheless, it's a pretty sweet deal for the price if you're looking for a good challenge.
Review in French | Read full review
This should not have been the way for PC players to meet the Ninja Gaiden Sigma series, all these port-related problems shouldn't have overshadowed the fun of the game. It seems that we will continue to be skeptical when the words Koei Tecmo and PC come together.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
It's utterly hilarious how difficult "Ninja Gaiden" games are and how Tomonobu Itagaki single handedly proves modern "too easy, too hard" discourse irrelevant. "Master Collection" is a decent remaster, but the question is: how hard will you push yourself to change this hellscape into a funhouse? On the other hand, home is where the heart lies. And my heart is right there, in the world of pain.
Review in Polish | Read full review
The games in the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection still hold up, but the remaster falters on bringing new quality of life features and fixing some of the trilogy's more glaring issues.
The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is a fun trio of games that will challenge most action fans while providing plenty of gore and flashy combat. There are times the games remind us that this series kicked off in the mid 2000’s, with camera angles that can still aggravate and a narrative that has not aged particularly well. Thankfully the combat is as fast and fun as ever, despite not really adding any extras to fully round it out as an actual collection.
$40 for three titles that are still fun to play and are decent representations of the originals isn’t bad value by any means, especially if you’ve never experienced them before or don't own the consoles necessary to play the older versions. It’s just a shame that so little effort seems to have been put into fixing the problems that did exist with these games.
The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection offers three intense, challenging, and mostly thrilling Ryu Hayabusa games for the price of one. Three may be one too many, but this is still a good deal for those seeking visceral, violent, video-game action.
While the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection isn’t perfect on Switch, it’s nail-biting, Ninja fun that is definitely worth revisiting.
A very low-effort remaster collection, that even pales in comparison with the same games ran via enhanced backward compatibility on Xbox.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While this remastered collection has a couple of flaws, the games as a group are excellent. If you haven't given Ninja Gaiden a chance before and love a good challenge these games are for you. You are getting three games for the price of one!
Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is a nice, chunky package full of satisfying and very difficult gameplay that the new generation of gamers ought to know. While the remaster brings 4K60 gameplay, it's hard to deny that some corners were cut, and that a lot more could have been done in terms of revamping this classic.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection succeeds at what it sets out to achieve with a collection, albeit it doesn't add anything exciting.
The Master Collection is just about as barebones as you can get, yet can still be recommended due to the inclusion of two of the best games ever made. Like most players, I was excited when the collection was first announced because I thought it would be a full blown remake or, at the very least, a remaster. Still, I had hours of fun replaying the first two entries, and would wholeheartedly recommend this collection to anybody that has not played the games before or does not own another means of playing them.