Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja is gearing up for the release of its upcoming title, Rise of the Ronin, this March. The action role-playing game which has been in development since 2015 is set in the mid-19th century during the time of Bakumatsu, which is the final years of the Edo period. It is developed by Team Ninja and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and is slated for a March 22, 2024 release.
As part of the promotional campaign for the upcoming game, Touch Arcade had a conversation with the Producer/Director for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Team Ninja Department Manager, Masakazu Hirayama about a variety of topics and fan queries, including the much-demanded sequel to Ninja Gaiden.
Ninja Gaiden sequel is a possibility
Talking about his association with Team Ninja, Hirayama stated that he joined Team Ninja immediately after graduate school. He initially started as a game designer in the Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge team. He later worked on the Dead or Alive series and the Dissidia Final Fantasy series. He also worked as the director of the Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty main game.
Considering that Rise of the Ronin is being handled by Team NINJA, Koei Tecmo, and PlayStation Studios, the department manager was asked if there were any plans for Team Ninja to return to its iconic and classic franchises such as Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive.
To this, Hirayama said,
“While we have no plans at the moment, the NINJA GAIDEN and DEAD OR ALIVE are IPs that are important to us, so we are always considering the possibility.”
Hirayama’s response undoubtedly sparked hope among several fans who have been eagerly waiting and asking for another sequel to the 2004 hit game.
About the Ninja Gaiden game series
The Ninja Gaiden franchise started with the release of the first Ninja Gaiden game in 2004, which was released only for Xbox. The next game in the series was Ninja Gaiden Black released in 2005. This game was merely an enhanced version of the first one.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma was next in line. Released in 2007, this one was an altered version of the original Ninja Gaiden. It was published by Eidos Interactive in PAL regions on Sony’s PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita.
The first proper sequel to Ninja Gaiden was released in 2008 as Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword on Nintendo DS and Ninja Gaiden II on Xbox 360. Similar to Ninja Gaiden Sigma, an altered version of Ninja Gaiden II called Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 followed in 2009.
The third installment of the series was released in 2012 as Ninja Gaiden 3 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, followed by its altered version, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in the same year. Later, a spin-off of the franchise called Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z was released in 2014 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows.
Thus if the developers plan to release a sequel, the series will receive a new entry after more than a decade.
