Ninja Gaiden II

Ninja Gaiden II is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the sequel to the 2004 title Ninja Gaiden, making it the second 3D title in the series of the same name, and was released worldwide in June 2008. A reimagined and heavily altered version, titled Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 was released by Tecmo Koei for the PlayStation 3 in 2009, and for the PlayStation Vita in 2013. A remaster that blends aspects of the original game with Sigma 2, titled Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, was announced and released for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S on January 23, 2025. Shortly before its announcement, on September 11, 2007, screenshots of the game were accidentally leaked by the Japanese Xbox 360 website and was taken down hours later. A day later on September 12, the game was previewed with Microsoft in a press conference of Tokyo Game Show 2007, where it was confirmed to exist and be an Xbox 360 exclusive, with the game's director, Tomonobu Itagaki, being stated as saying, "Now please enjoy the world's best action game, running on the world's best hardware." 9 days later, on September 20, 2007, Ninja Gaiden II was officially unveiled to the public, with its first trailer at the Tokyo Game Show 2007, alongside various interviews. The game went unreleased in Germany as a result of lacking an USK rating. Ninja Gaiden II received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its difficulty, fast-paced combat, and level of violence, although some criticized its lack of innovation. It was considered a commercial success, selling 1.1 million copies worldwide as of December 2008. A sequel, Ninja Gaiden 3, was released on March 20, 2012, without the involvement of Tomonobu Itagaki.