Although the franchise name is well recognized as one of gaming’s early heavy hitters, Ninja Gaiden has been dormant for some time. Now, with the upcoming release of the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection, the future of the series is wondered about once more.
The Master Collection gathers together three 3D Ninja Gaiden titles, all three of which are known for both their stylish combat and hellish difficulty. At the center of these games is Ryu Hayabusa, the star of the show since the days of the NES. By any stretch a classic video game character, players have long thought he would make a good addition to the roster of Super Smash Bros. Now Team Ninja has actually commented on the possibility.
According to Team Ninja’s brand manager Fumihiko Yasuda, the team is well aware of fans’ desire for Ryu to join the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster. His response, presumably mirroring the teams is “we are waiting for your invitation.” This suggests that Team Ninja would be on board with Ryu having a place in Smash but Nintendo has not yet extended them an offer. Tomonobu Itagaki, director of the first Ninja Gaiden reboot, says he would also like to see Ryu in Smash, so the ball is firmly in Nintendo’s court at this point.
While some may balk at the idea of another sword-wielding character, Ryu brings much more to the table than his legendary blade. As a ninja, Ryu has incredible acrobatic skills, and the flashy, stylish combat of his games would lend themselves perfectly to Smash‘s agility and spacing based combat. Furthermore, it would not be the first time he was in a crossover. Just recently, Ryu appeared as an alternate costume in Nioh 2, another game that mixes flashy gameplay with insane difficulty.
The time may well be ripe for Ryu to step back into the limelight, as many fans of the series want a new Ninja Gaiden game. With the Master Collection on the horizon, having Ryu join Smash could prove a good promotion.
Of course, if it really is Team Ninja waiting for the invitation, it’s likely no decision will be made until Nintendo sees how the Master Collection sells. Considering the games are well liked and the Master Collection‘s specs look pretty impressive, hopefully that won’t be any trouble as a deciding factor. Only time will tell for sure.
Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection will be released on June 10 for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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