The best Team Ninja games, ranked

Team Ninja has been in the limelight ever since the announcement of its upcoming Samurai-themed game, Rise of the Ronin. The Japanese video game-developing studio was founded in 1995. It was a part of another company named Techmo, which later merged with Koei to form Techmo Koei.

Team Ninja is a well-known name in the gaming industry, as it is known for hit games such as Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, and Nioh. All these titles share stylistic choices that have become an identity for the developer. But which of its games are the best?

Here is a list of the top five games by Team Ninja.

Note: This ranking is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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Ranking the top 5 Team Ninja games

5) Nioh

Team Ninja's Nioh is an action-adventure game whose plot is set in 16th-century Japan. It follows the adventures of an Irish sailor who gets to become a samurai. The title set the stage for a sequel, which critics and players equally praise.

Although it is a fantasy game, Nioh is especially praised for its accuracy in terms of historical weapons and martial arts. In terms of sales, the game did quite well, as it opened at number two on the UK charts upon release. Even Amazon and Walmart sold all of their stock of copies in the first week.

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4) Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is anothe­r historical fantasy action-role-playing game from Team Ninja. It e­xplores a fictional version of the Han dynasty's fall, a pivotal Chine­se historical event.

The­ game caused quite a stir when announced, with its dark visuals, comple­x combat, and character designs intriguing gamers. This hype­ translated to sales success, with ove­r one million copies sold within a month of its release.

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3) FF Stranger of Paradise

In the world of RPGs, very few franchises were able to achieve a legacy as strong as Final Fantasy. Spanning generations and a plethora of mainline entries, Final Fantasy is an RPG juggernaut. To celebrate the 35th anniversary of this legendary franchise, Squire Enix collaborated with Team Ninja to develop Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

This title is an alternate universe prequel to the original Final Fantasy game that was released on the NES. Although it received good scores and praise, the main criticism was that it felt more like a Team Ninja signature action game than a Final Fantasy title.

To learn more, check out our Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Steam review.

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2) Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden is a bloody, gory, Devil May Cry-like action-adventure title by Team Ninja. In the game, the objective is simple: kill anything you see and look cool while doing it. This franchise has been around since the arcade era, spawning multiple entries, both mainline and spin-offs.

While every Ninja Gaiden game mainly focuses on the action and making the characters as cool as possible, some of them also feature in-depth stories, which may not bring you to the verge of tears but will definitely sit with you for a while.

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1) Dead or Alive

In a genre dominated by Tekken and Street Fighter, Dead or Alive has always been an underrated gem. Even though the franchise has been around since 1996, many fighting game fans still have no idea about its existence.

The Dead or Alive franchise is a solid fighting game series that offers innovative combats, long combos, and much more. There are quite a few DoA games out there, with DoA 6 being the most recent.

The reason Dead or Alive is considered the best of Team Ninja's titles is its consistency, charm, and ability to deliver an in-depth fighting experience without taking itself too seriously. If you don’t know what I mean, take a look at the character roster of DoA games; you will find parody characters like Jann Lee (Bruce Lee) and Kasumi (Chun-Lee).