In a massive surprise, during Thursday's Xbox Developer Direct, Team Ninja, in partnership with Platinum Games, announced that it is reviving the Ninja Gaiden franchise with a new entry, Ninja Gaiden 4, that's due out later this year.
That announcement was topped several minutes later, when it was revealed that 2008's Ninja Gaiden 2 would be receiving a remaster in the form of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. Oh, and it's out everywhere.
In other words, it was a bombastic several minutes for action game fans. That said, perhaps the most interesting part of the release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, besides its modern graphics and additional playable characters, is the presence of a "Hero Mode" that seemingly curbs the game's notorious difficulty.
It's only January and I've already found 2025's hardest boss fight.
For background, Ninja Gaiden as a franchise is as iconic for its major set pieces as it is for its difficulty. The original Ninja Gaiden famously received a "Black" definitive edition that added difficulty options, while Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma modified a few things, including reworking enemy attacks and boosting item spawn rates.
Those reworks are part of Gaiden 2 Black, too. According to the...
