Ninja Gaiden 4: The Rise of Hayabusa’s Halo Armor?

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At the Xbox Developer Direct event of 2025, Team Ninja and PlatinumGames unveiled that they will be launching “Ninja Gaiden 4” in Fall 2025. In addition to this announcement, they also secretly released an updated version of “Ninja Gaiden 2”, which they named “Ninja Gaiden 2 Black”. This means that gamers will have the chance to play as the legendary ninja Ryu Hayabusa in the remastered version, and as the new character Yakumo in “Ninja Gaiden 4“.

These unexpected developments are great news for fans of Ninja Gaiden, and they might also attract players who have long been devoted to Halo. With a Halo game likely to be unveiled later this year, along with the launch of Ninja Gaiden 4, there’s a chance these two series will intersect again. This could mean the iconic Hayabusa armor makes a return in Halo Infinite and possibly future games.

Halo and Ninja Gaiden’s Long History Explained

In case you’re well-versed with gaming, Ryu Hayabusa might ring a bell as the leading character of the Ninja Gaiden series. Interestingly, he’s also a familiar face in another long-standing Team Ninja series – the 3D fighting game franchise, Dead or Alive, which has been around for nearly three decades. After the immense success of games like Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, Team Ninja approached Bungie to see if Master Chief could make an appearance in the next installment of Dead or Alive.

Rather than developing the character independently, Bungie collaborated with Team Ninja to introduce a fresh Spartan II, named Nicole-458, in the 2005 release of Dead or Alive 4, which was exclusive to the Xbox 360. In this game, players could engage Nicole-458 in combat with Hayabusa on a stage modeled after Cairo Station, named Nassau Station, once they had completed the campaign for Dead or Alive 4.

As a gesture of reciprocity for their collaboration, Bungie introduced a fresh design of Spartan II armor titled “Hayabusa” in 2007’s Halo 3, inspired by Ryu Hayabusa. To acquire the full set of Hayabusa armor, players needed to find all the hidden skulls across Halo 3‘s campaign and accomplish 50 achievements. The katana was one of the armor pieces and couldn’t be used as a weapon; it merely served as an aesthetic addition. However, due to the challenging process of unlocking every piece of Hayabusa armor and its captivating Japanese-themed design, Hayabusa quickly became one of the most sought-after armor sets within the Halo series, even inspiring the amusing “Oh, Hayabusa!” song by JT Machinima.

Hayabusa’s Disappearance From the Halo Franchise

Although Hayabusa is a favorite among Halo gamers, it didn’t reappear in Halo 3: ODST or Bungie’s last Halo game, Halo: Reach. The reason for its absence in games following Halo 3 remains unclear, but many players have hoped to see it return in future Halo releases. When the main development of Halo moved to 343 Industries, they heard these requests and some developers even explored the possibility of introducing Hayabusa armor in Halo 4.

Artist Gabriel Garza designed a revised GEN2 model of the spacecraft, Hayabusa. Liquid Development also produced 3D representations of its armor; however, it remains unclear why this new version was never fully realized within the game. Originally, Hayabusa appeared only in “Halo: The Master Chief Collection”. Nonetheless, its Japanese heritage persists in “Infinite” through the Yoroi armor.

In “Dead or Alive 4”, characters like Nicole-458 offer multiple color options for their Mark VI armor. These include shades like red, blue, white, beige, silver, and black.

The Potential Return of Hayabusa in Halo Infinite and Beyond

As Ryu Hayabusa makes his grand comeback in the gaming world with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black and Ninja Gaiden 4 slated for release in 2025, it’s a strategic move for Microsoft, Halo Studios, and Team Ninja to collaborate again. Given that these upcoming Ninja Gaiden games were initially unveiled at Xbox Developer Direct 2025, it seems there might be a growing bond between Microsoft and Team Ninja. If this is the case, Microsoft could propose to Team Ninja that Halo Studios replicate the Hayabusa armor for Halo Infinite or the next major Halo title. Essentially, they could recreate the Hayabusa armor from Halo 3 in Halo Infinite, much like how Master Chief’s armor was incorporated in Halo 2, or they could modernize it and blend it with the Yoroi armor core.

Introducing the Hayabusa armor in the upcoming mainline Halo game or Halo Infinite, or even future games, might draw back old Halo fans who haven’t played for a while. But this reunion doesn’t have to be exclusive. If Hayabusa is allowed back in the Halo universe, perhaps Halo Studios could reciprocate by letting Team Ninja add some Halo elements into Ninja Gaiden 4.

In the game Ninja Gaiden 4, characters Ryu Hayabusa and Yakumo might gain access to energy swords upon fulfilling specific requirements or accomplishments. Notably, Ryu Hayabusa would wield a blue energy sword, while Yakumo would utilize a red one. If the iconic Hayabusa armor makes a comeback in Halo games, there’s a chance that Team Ninja could include this armor as an alternate skin for Ryu Hayabusa within Ninja Gaiden 4.

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2025-01-27 02:27