Technologies

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Is a Forgettable Chapter in the Series’ Legacy

All style, but no heart makes Ragebound an easy game to skip.

It looks like 2025 is the “Year of the Ninja.” Assassin’s Creed: Shadows was one of the big hits of the year’s first half, a new Shinobi game is on the way, and Ninja Gaiden fans are being treated to a full trilogy: Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, released in January, Ninja Gaiden 4, arriving later this year and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, arriving Thursday. However, based on my experience, you might want to skip this installment: It’s charming but far from satisfying.

Ninja Gaiden Ragebound is a 2D side-scrolling action game that pays tribute to the original NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy. While the retro graphics are appealing, the gameplay lacks meaningful depth. It feels like a concept-first project where ninjas were added after the fact, with the Ninja Gaiden name slapped on to sell it.

Interestingly, Ragebound acts as a side-story to the original NES title. Ryu Hayabusa learns of his father’s death in America and leaves his village, setting up the events of the first game. In his absence, fellow ninja Kenji Muzo stays behind to protect the village. Soon after, a demon army invades. Meanwhile, Kumori, a ninja from the rival Black Spider clan, finds her home base under siege as well. Captured, Kumori tells Kenji to use a mystical dagger to bind her spirit to him.

This dual-character mechanic is Ragebound’s central hook. Players control Kenji, who uses a sword, while Kumori aids in spirit form by throwing shurikens. Occasionally, she can take physical form to reach areas Kenji can’t access. As the duo progresses, they unlock a powerful screen-clearing magic attack.

As clever as that sounds, it falls flat in execution. Kenji’s sword is his only consistent weapon, and Kumori’s shurikens are tied to a meter that only fills when Kenji lands hits. At full charge, you might get a dozen throws before it empties again. There’s a jump-based guillotine attack that feels vaguely Sonic the Hedgehog-like, bouncing off enemies, but it’s mostly used for platforming rather than combat. The moveset is shallow, as are the level designs.

Stages feel repetitive, filled with endless waves of weak enemies that die in one hit. Occasionally, one drops a power-up that lets you instantly kill a larger foe, but these moments don’t change the core loop that repeats again and again until you reach a boss.

To the game’s credit, boss fights are a highlight. Each has distinct patterns and grows more complex in its second phase. These encounters forced me to be more tactical with dodges and attacks, and a few required multiple attempts due to overcommitting or mistiming. But these fights are the only part of Ragebound that feels like it was designed with care.

The regular enemies are mindless and mostly exist to knock you into pits, which cause instant death. Otherwise, they’re laughably easy. With healing talismans and generous checkpoint placement, it’s difficult to actually die. In fact, with Kenji’s dodge ability, you can run past most of the level without engaging. You’ll be healed at the next checkpoint anyway.

Levels are set in various regions of Japan, and while one stage on a building under construction offers a bit of variety, most environments lack creativity or challenge.

The difficulty is also a huge departure from Ninja Gaiden’s legacy. The original NES games were notoriously punishing, and the Xbox reboots were even harder. Here, the default difficulty feels like “baby mode.” You can tweak settings to remove healing items or increase enemy damage, but that’s about it.

The 2D pixel art is from developer The Game Kitchen, known for the Blasphemous series. The style echoes the NES and SNES era nicely, but the charm fades fast. Unlike Blasphemous, which featured unique enemy designs and animations that oozed personality, Ragebound’s enemies feel lazy. They just run toward you, then pop like water balloons when defeated.

With six to eight hours of gameplay at a price tag of $25, I cannot recommend Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound. It lacks anything of interest other than this side story to the original Ninja Gaiden game, and even then, it’s just introducing different ninjas that are fighting monsters. This game was supposed to be a love letter to the original trilogy, but instead, it’s more like a bad photocopy of a love letter made by someone who didn’t seem to care that much.

Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is available for PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”