Koei Tecmo insists Ninja Gaiden Master Collection "is based on the PS3 version in quality"

Koei Tecmo has insisted Ninja Gaiden Master Collection "is based on the PS3 version in quality", after fans noticed the Ninja Gaiden Sigma included in the package looks like the Vita version.

Users on ResetEra compared footage and screenshots of the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection's Ninja Gaiden Sigma to the PS3 and Vita version, and found the footage seemed to be a match for the downgraded Vita version.

However, doubt was cast on this claim because the reference footage and screenshots used came from the Nintendo Switch version of Ninja Gaiden Master Collection. Fans also wondered whether Koei Tecmo accidentally used Vita assets to promote Ninja Gaiden Master Collection for its announcement. Now, in a statement given to Eurogamer, the publisher has attempted to clear things up:

"The Ninja Gaiden Master Collection is based on the PS3 version in quality (such as CG models, etc), but will include modes from the PS Vita version."

One of the Vita modes included in the Master Collection is the Hero Mode. This mode, which is available on both Sigma and Sigma 2, means Ryu automatically guards against attacks, and is designed to let newcomers have an easier time of things with the famously difficult action series.

The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection, which comes out 10th June 2021, includes 2007's Ninja Gaiden Sigma, 2009's Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and 2012's Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge - but it does not include Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2. Last week Koei Tecmo said some of the code for those games was irretrievable. "As for Ninja Gaiden Black and the original Ninja Gaiden 2, only pieces of their original data were still intact, and we couldn't salvage them either. That's also the reason why we chose Sigma," Team Ninja brand manager Fumihiko Yasuda explained.

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