Ninja Gaiden 4 will offer up a slew of customisable difficulty settings that sound ideal for players who may not be used to the series' brutal brand of action.
The interesting thing about these options is that we're not just talking about your standard easy or very easy modes that reduce incoming damage, etc. Instead, the upcoming hack and slasher will attempt to ease beginners into the experience by letting them learn the mechanics at their own pace.
"In terms of difficulty settings, there is a mode called Hero Mode," director Masakazu Hirayama confirms in an interview with IGN.
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"So when you choose Hero Mode, it'll automatically enable a number of assists. So these assists include Auto Guard, Auto Dodge, and another assist that allow you to perform more complicated actions, moves more easily," he continues.
But as Hirayama goes on to explain, players are free to toggle individual settings on and off to suit their needs while utilising Hero Mode. So, you can disable the Auto Dodge, for example, but keep the Auto Guard on so that you can get used to the timing without suffering as much of a penalty if you get it wrong.
The director also clarifies that your overall difficulty setting can be changed at any time; so if you do want to step it up (or step it down), you're free to do so with no restrictions.
"You can really curate your combat experience based on your progression as a player," he says.
"I want to assure [new players] that the tools are available for them to train themselves and allow them to progress as a player."
In summary, then, the whole design philosophy here is that while Hero Mode does give you a significant advantage, it's really there to push you towards getting better at the game. And to us, that sounds like a great way to balance things out for newbies.
"It has been quite a while since the last mainline Ninja Gaiden came out, and we also want to make sure that a wide audience can approach our game and enjoy it," states Hirayama.
Again, Ninja Gaiden has a real reputation for being a rather merciless franchise, packed full of demanding combat encounters and deceptively tricky platforming elements. Let's hope that Ninja Gaiden 4 gets the balance right.
Think you'll be making use of Hero Mode? Live, learn, and die by the blade in the comments section below.