Reviving older games for modern audiences can lead to mixed results. Sometimes those games recapture the spirit of the originals and inspire further life in a bygone franchise, like 2017’sCrash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. Other times these ventures may fall flat, like the2020 reboot of Ubisoft’sXIII. A game succeeding or failing can be the result of any number of factors, but Team Ninja’s apparent passion going into itsNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionbodes well for how it will appease both developers and long-time fans.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collectionwill makeNinja Gaiden: Sigma(2007),Ninja Gaiden: Sigma 2(2009), andNinja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge(2012) available in one place on modern hardware later this year, including all the games' DLC, new features such as playable female characters, and bonuses like a70-page art book in the Digital Deluxe Edition. Team Ninja Producer Fumihiko Yasuda said theNinja Gaidenseries can be considered the foundation of the studio’s action style, and it has been “on our minds for a long time” that this trilogy is not available for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One. Game Rant spoke to Yasuda aboutNinja Gaiden’s legacy, and howMaster Collectionwas affected by what the video game industry has popularized in the years since its games released.
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Ninja Gaiden: Sigmais a PS3 port of a game first released on Xbox in 2004, itself a reboot of Tecmo’sNinja Gaidenseries on the NES that began in 1988. Team Ninja’s timing could seemingly not be any more apt given Sony announced this week it isshutting down the PlayStation Store on PS3, PSP, and PS Vita, which meansMaster Collectionwill arguably become the best way to access this game and its sequels; preserving them for new audiences to experience.
However,Master Collectionhas been in development for about one-and-a-half years now, according to Yasuda, and a big part ofTeam Ninja’s push was to bring one of its “signature franchises” backfor the modern generation of consoles after it finished work onNioh 2. Yasuda said there are an increasing number of developers at the studio who grew up playing itsNinja Gaidentrilogy in the 2000s, so “for our development team we wanted this to be an opportunity to get involved once again with theNinja Gaidenfranchise.”
The process of bringing these games back has not been particularly easy for Team Ninja, as Yasuda said the original titles were not designed with much thought toward being remastered. The team worked backwards, first remasteringRazor’s Edge, thenSigma 2, and finallySigma-the latter games based on their PS Vita “Plus” versionsthat had well-organized source code to work with. WhileMaster Collectionwill be backward compatible with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, there are “currently no plans” to make proper next-gen versions, as that would require complete remakes. Team Ninja felt it would be better to get the games into players' hands sooner rather than later. According to Yasuda,
“If we had the time and resources for a remake, we felt it would be a better served opportunity to create a new game…That’s why we decided to go with this collection at this time.”
Online features from the original games were also removed, as recreating them would lead to bigger development times and expenses while makingMaster Collectioninaccessible on certain platforms- though it will have a “ranking system for competitive scoring.” Beyond that there are not many major changes outside of things like improving graphics and framerate across the games, and Yasuda feels the high-speed action doesn’t feel dated today, which should make it as fun and challenging as ever.
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Yet the industry has evolved since the original trilogy ofNinja Gaidenreboot titles was fresh on the market. The series has been infamously “difficult” since the days of the NES, but Yasuda said video games have become more multifaceted in the nearly 20 years sinceNinja Gaiden’s reboot. He talks about hardware advancements alongside changing gameplay environments like more online and smartphone support, and how FromSoftware’s 2011 hitDark Soulsinspired a whole genre of “Souls-like” gameswith options beyond combat for players to “redeem themselves” after dying.
Amid that crop of support forSouls-like titles came Team Ninja’sNiohin 2017, which Yasuda said would help influence any futureNinja Gaidenrelease that could come out followingMaster Collection- he leaves the door open to the idea based on fan support and encouragement. The trilogy featured in this collection takes a “stoic approach” to requiring players improve their skills to advance, which he believes may feel fresh for newer audiences that have become used to the brand of difficult games inspired byDark Souls. However, if Team Ninja had the opportunity to work on the nextNinja Gaidengame, Yasuda said it would incorporate RPG elements, modern online functions, and more into its pure action elements.
“But at the same time, simply making games difficult isn’t our primary goal, as much as it is to create an immersive game that players can enjoy navigating and overcoming…Therefore, we’d like to retain the essence ofNinja Gaiden-like aspects, but create a new game that can hold its own when compared to the latest action titles.”
With regards to the legacy ofNinja Gaidendating back to its days on the NES, as well as calls for protagonist Ryu Hayabusa to be included inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Yasuda said Team Ninja would love to take part, but is “still waiting for our invite.“Ninja Gaiden: Master Collectionwas announced during the June 13, 2025 Nintendo Directbecause Team Ninja was approached by Nintendo and “the timing was right.” Of the 3D-action reboot series, onlyRazor’s Edgewas released on a Nintendo platform (the poorly performing Wii U), so the developer also felt an announcement with the company would create a significant impact.
Yasuda seems most interested with ensuring fans can enjoy its games to the fullest; experiencing them to learn all the intricacies of the action. He said precise control response is a hallmark of Team Ninja’s signature franchise, in which “Ryu Hayabusa is your formidable weapon to command each battle as you master the controls,” taking on enemies at every junction. If a newNinja Gaidengame becomes a reality afterMaster Collectionhe said the studio will let everyone know, but in the meantime it will continue dedicating itself to every project with fans' support.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collectionlaunches June 10 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, with backward compatibility on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
