The reboot of theNinja Gaidenfranchise, reinventing a high-difficulty series from a 2D action game to a 3D one, is now over 17 years old. Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja see that as an opportunity, not just to introduce a new generation of gamers toNinja Gaiden,but to bring the classic trilogy to new platforms including PC. However, bringing back such an old series new platforms isn’t a simple task, and PC appears to be facing the brunt of those limitations. It has been confirmed that the newNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionwon’t support mouse and keyboard.
A interview from PC Gamer withNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionproducer Fumihiko Yasuka confirmed the restriction. ThePC port of theNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionwill only work with a controller. The decision marksNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionas a rarity in the gaming marketplace.
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An explanation for the decision doesn’t seem to be provided, but can probably be assumed.Ninja Gaiden Sigmawas released in 2007 and has never been ported to the PC before. It’s realistic thatNinja Gaiden Sigmaand its sequels were never planned to be brought off consoles, so adding PC functionality is beyond the scope of a simple remaster. It could very well take redeveloping the game from the ground up to add the kind of functionality most PC gamers would want.
Further evidence of this is shown in other ways theNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionwill be limited on PC. The trilogy isn’t just limited to controllers, it’s also limited to a strict 60 FPS. It’s hardcoded to cap at 60 FPS, and will only diverge from that if thePC hardwarerunning the game can’t keep up.
In fact, the PC version ofNinja Gaiden: Master Collectiondoesn’t have any advanced graphics options whatsoever. Even the resolution of theNinja Gaiden: Master Collectionwill be automatically detected. It’ll default to 1080p, but will update to4K resolutionif the PC’s hardware specifications meet a certain threshold.
The barebones PC port is likely to be disappointing to PC gamers hoping for a more robustNinja Gaiden: Master Collection. However, it likely still outweighs the alternative, which is not having those classicNinja Gaidengames available at all. For those who can’t stomach using a controller or having a capped framerate, it’s likely just a matter of time before modders add the features thatPC playerswant.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collectionreleases June 10 on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
