In the video game industry, certain franchises often become increasingly rare, until they disappear completely in the saddest cases. The one we’re going to talk about today has been quiet for about ten years, before making a strong comeback in 2025. We are, of course, talking about the Ninja Gaiden series.
The beginnings of the saga
Although the franchise began in 1988, during the early days of video games on old machines such as the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC, it has evolved over the years and across generations of consoles. First known as Shadow Warriors, then Shadow Warriors II: Ninja Gaiden II, in 1992 it adopted the name we know today with Ninja Gaiden on the Master System.
Looking back, we can see that the series likes to disappear only to come back even stronger. In 1995, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy was released exclusively on Super Nintendo, compiling the first three games. Then, radio silence… until 2004, when it returned with Ninja Gaiden on Xbox, followed by Ninja Gaiden Black in 2005 on the same console. Both games abandoned 2D in favor of 3D, which was much more polished than in the early days.
