NINJA GAIDEN Anniversary Trailer Drops Subtle Hints

On March 2nd of 2024 Team NINJA celebrated the 20th anniversary of the NINJA GAIDEN series under the Team NINJA banner and to great surprise they also hinted at a possibility of the series being revived. President Fumihiko Yasuda also commented on the occasion leaving the entire conversation up for debate whether or not NINJA GAIDEN would be the next masterpiece from the illustrious Team NINJA. Though the great debate of what's coming next has been widely discussed we will recap and back the statements made by the president himself.

The signs have actually been pointing to a new NINJA GAIDEN and or at another Dead or Alive for multiple years and the question hasn't really been when more than it has been the order of in which they will appear. If another Nioh is announced or a completely different franchise it should be considered a complete shock to the system as this would not align with anything Team NINJA has said publicly in the past two years. Yasuda's presentation at the G NOTE conference stated with official slides from the company "Team NINJA's Future - Reboot of Popular Series - Images of NINJA GAIDEN and Dead or Alive" with NINJA GAIDEN being the first slide to the left it would make sense that they go with NINJA GAIDEN first and follow up with DOA.

Team NINJA's Tom Lee did not say there wouldn't be future titles following the release of these slides, but he did say that there wasn't going to be an announcement at that time which would make complete sense as that's not what anyone really expected in the first place.

Sign number two showed up this year at FAMITSU ONLINE where Yasuda was interviewed about the future of Team NINJA alongside many other Japanese developers that wanted to share their New Year aspirations for 2024 without of course revealing surprises or the actual plans. Yasuda stated:

"We have continued to produce titles with historical themes such as the Sengoku and the end of the Edo period, and we have learned a lot from them, but we would like to make 2024 a year in which we take a fresh look at the historic series of Koei Tecmo and Team NINJA."

Now without trying to sound like a wisenheimer; it seems pretty obvious what games he could be alluding to here when you eliminate Nioh & Wo Long as "historic series" and that would be NINJA GAIDEN & Dead or Alive. Yasuda said it himself right in the provided interview, and I don't know how to further justify this hint to people without tiring myself out, but the information is clearly out there for people to see while looking fairly transparent in the process.

The third clue is almost so abundantly obvious that it would be staggering to me that people could still find themselves doubting the possibility and that is the NINJA GAIDEN 20th Anniversary Trailer that Team NINJA released on their YouTube right on March 2nd of this year.

There are a lot of things to take away from this trailer despite it just being packaged clips of the last three games with the most important clue being the Falcon right at the end of the video. This Falcon (the Guardian Spirt of the Hayabusa clan) revived Ryu after Doku destroyed the Hayabusa village cutting up the Super NINJA in the process with the Dark Dragon Blade and leaving him for dead.

The second interesting thing about the video is that they are honoring the Team NINJA legacy of NINJA Gaiden and not the previous 16 years where Hayabusa was an 8-bit character with the original trilogy under the Tecmo umbrella. So, while the series itself is actually 36 years old in this trailer they are representing the 3D adventures, and not just the original NINJA GAIDEN/BLACK but also the second and third entries.

Yasuda leaves us with another quote that could mean "it's not coming" to some and "it's completely obvious" to others:

"Today marks the 20th anniversary of the NINJA GAIDEN series. Since the release of NINJA GAIDEN on March 2, 2004, we've felt the tremendous support and have been listening intently to the voices of our devoted fans throughout the years, your enthusiasm is genuinely felt and appreciated. For that, we would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts. Team NINJA will continue in our dedication to creating exciting games for everyone to enjoy. So, we hope that we can count on your continued support as we look to what lies ahead."

Could this be the year where we get more than just a souls like title? We will let you be the judge until it happens, but please look forward to what's ahead and stay tuned for all relevant Team NINJA news here at FREE STEP DODGE! Please also consider following our Facebook page for more ways to interact with the community and website! Thank you!

 

I want Nioh 3 so bad but I dont think there's any more yokai or historical figures to put in the game anymore. At this point, it would be repeatitive if we gonna fight the same enemies again

 

Could this be the year where we get more than just a Souls-like title?

Maybe, but I'm not bullish on the press releases. Sure, you could bow on and and foot just to beg for Team Ninja to give you what you want, but I'd prefer Koei-Tecmo reboot Tecmo Bowl and leave DOA in the dust (or at least get rid of this shared universe BS hanging on NG like an albatross). The American branch of the company is bleeding money and has to do something about it.

Otherwise, Yasuda will go down in history as a failure and if there were any sense in this world, he'd be out on his ass soon.

 

On March 2nd of 2024 Team NINJA celebrated the 20th anniversary of the NINJA GAIDEN series under the Team NINJA banner and to great surprise they also hinted at a possibility of the series being revived. President Fumihiko Yasuda also commented on the occasion leaving the entire conversation up for debate whether or not NINJA GAIDEN would be the next masterpiece from the illustrious Team NINJA. Though the great debate of what's coming next has been widely discussed we will recap and back the statements made by the president himself.

The signs have actually been pointing to a new NINJA GAIDEN and or at another Dead or Alive for multiple years and the question hasn't really been when more than it has been the order of in which they will appear. If another Nioh is announced or a completely different franchise it should be considered a complete shock to the system as this would not align with anything Team NINJA has said publicly in the past two years. Yasuda's presentation at the G NOTE conference stated with official slides from the company "Team NINJA's Future - Reboot of Popular Series - Images of NINJA GAIDEN and Dead or Alive" with NINJA GAIDEN being the first slide to the left it would make sense that they go with NINJA GAIDEN first and follow up with DOA.

Team NINJA's Tom Lee did not say there wouldn't be future titles following the release of these slides, but he did say that there wasn't going to be an announcement at that time which would make complete sense as that's not what anyone really expected in the first place.

Sign number two showed up this year at FAMITSU ONLINE where Yasuda was interviewed about the future of Team NINJA alongside many other Japanese developers that wanted to share their New Year aspirations for 2024 without of course revealing surprises or the actual plans. Yasuda stated:



Now without trying to sound like a wisenheimer; it seems pretty obvious what games he could be alluding to here when you eliminate Nioh & Wo Long as "historic series" and that would be NINJA GAIDEN & Dead or Alive. Yasuda said it himself right in the provided interview, and I don't know how to further justify this hint to people without tiring myself out, but the information is clearly out there for people to see while looking fairly transparent in the process.

The third clue is almost so abundantly obvious that it would be staggering to me that people could still find themselves doubting the possibility and that is the NINJA GAIDEN 20th Anniversary Trailer that Team NINJA released on their YouTube right on March 2nd of this year.

There are a lot of things to take away from this trailer despite it just being packaged clips of the last three games with the most important clue being the Falcon right at the end of the video. This Falcon (the Guardian Spirt of the Hayabusa clan) revived Ryu after Doku destroyed the Hayabusa village cutting up the Super NINJA in the process with the Dark Dragon Blade and leaving him for dead.

The second interesting thing about the video is that they are honoring the Team NINJA legacy of NINJA Gaiden and not the previous 16 years where Hayabusa was an 8-bit character with the original trilogy under the Tecmo umbrella. So, while the series itself is actually 36 years old in this trailer they are representing the 3D adventures, and not just the original NINJA GAIDEN/BLACK but also the second and third entries.

Yasuda leaves us with another quote that could mean "it's not coming" to some and "it's completely obvious" to others:



Could this be the year where we get more than just a souls like title? We will let you be the judge until it happens, but please look forward to what's ahead and stay tuned for all relevant Team NINJA news here at FREE STEP DODGE! Please also consider following our Facebook page for more ways to interact with the community and website! Thank you!

Honestly, it looks like it will be NINJA Gaiden if anything as it can be most readily adapted to nioh/souls style that is trendy.

Seeing DOA6 so soon abandoned makes me concerned. Doa5 got massive amounts of DLC and thus DOA got quick follow-ups with Ultimate, last round, and then DOA6. I feel like tecmo koei will not put 2 and 2 together and realize that DOA6 was shot in the knees by statements like "toning down fan service", it's use of the custom clunky Dynasty warriors engine, the insistence to sell DLC on playstation only in 30$ packs as opposed to 2$ or 3$ individual costumes, and a VERY SMALL graphical improvement vs 2012s doa5 where the leap for doa4 to 5 or even 2 to 3 was certainly not replicated.

I'm afraid they will just see sales numbers and say "wow guess people are no longer interested in a doa7."

 

Honestly, it looks like it will be NINJA Gaiden if anything as it can be most readily adapted to nioh/souls style that is trendy.

Seeing DOA6 so soon abandoned makes me concerned.

Don't waste your sympathy. Ninja Gaiden in '04 was just a Devil May Cry clone.

As for DOA 6, I think people just need to shut the fuck up. Not just for leaks and rumors, but at this point, I'm just waiting for this site to get nuked from orbit.

 

Don't waste your sympathy. Ninja Gaiden in '04 was just a Devil May Cry clone.

As for DOA 6, I think people just need to shut the fuck up. Not just for leaks and rumors, but at this point, I'm just waiting for this site to get nuked from orbit.

It may be like DMC but any game that properly transitions from 2D to 3D deserves praise as very few, especially outside of Nintendo IPs, have ever been able to successfully do it. Just look at castlevania and contra .

Bro I play DOA6 everyday and have gone to local tournies for it. I love the game just like I love my kids, but just like my kids when they mess up they will hear about it. That is how they get better, how you boost you own and others love for them, and that is how real love is expressed.

Also nukes don't come from orbit, they come from submarines and Wyoming.

Dear God I just want me a DOA7 with the "I don't give a fuck" production energy of Stellar Blade.

 

It may be like DMC but any game that properly transitions from 2D to 3D deserves praise as very few, especially outside of Nintendo IPs, have ever been able to successfully do it. Just look at castlevania and contra .

Bro I play DOA6 everyday and have gone to local tournies for it. I love the game just like I love my kids, but just like my kids when they mess up they will hear about it. That is how they get better, how you boost you own and others love for them, and that is how real love is expressed.

Also nukes don't come from orbit, they come from submarines and Wyoming.

Dear God I just want me a DOA7 with the "I don't give a fuck" production energy of Stellar Blade.

Yes. Stellar Blade was the production gamers needed. I rarely applaud Sony, but I do with this.

 

Yes. Stellar Blade was the production gamers needed. I rarely applaud Sony, but I do with this.

Stellar blade using actual real female models, a woman being in charge of art design, and basing the face of the protagonist on his hottie of a wife is a 10000 IQ level play that had to be done to shut up the godless neo-puritans. There simply is no reason you can't have stellar deep gameplay and attractive male and female characters.

Hopefully Team NINJA is paying close attention as there are MANY real female models that have way better physiques than the DOA ladies. Same goes for male models and the guys of DOA. Jan Lee shouldn't look less shredded or less handsome than Bruce Lee or peak Jean Claude Vandam.

 

Stellar blade using actual real female models, a woman being in charge of art design, and basing the face of the protagonist on his hottie of a wife is a 10000 IQ level play that had to be done to shut up the godless neo-puritans. There simply is no reason you can't have stellar deep gameplay and attractive male and female characters.

Hopefully Team NINJA is paying close attention as there are MANY real female models that have way better physiques than the DOA ladies. Same goes for male models and the guys of DOA. Jan Lee shouldn't look less shredded or less handsome than Bruce Lee or peak Jean Claude Vandam.

No offense but the model for Eve is actually way skinnier than in game model. People keep saying she looks the same but no, the designers definitely changed somethings, not just copy and paste. I prefer DOA ladies over Eve anyday

 

No offense but the model for Eve is actually way skinnier than in game model.. I prefer DOA ladies over Eve anyday

Good to see you got past the misogynistic clickbait. In my humble opinion, Stellar Blade looks like a terrible DMC rip-off. It's almost like Shift Up aren't quite as good as they're cracked up to be.