This is Nishii, art director for NINJA GAIDEN 4. This time, I would like to show some of the character designs for NPCs, including some rough sketches, design pieces, and feedback images for the 3D models.

Please note that these are edited versions of internal materials from development, so as with the previous art articles, there are some differences from the final product.

Let’s check it out!

Seori is a priestess of the Dark Dragon, the counterpart to the priestess who appeared in a previous title. In the story, she guides Yakumo, but the path she leads him down is not toward light, but toward darkness… She might be a bad influence.

The first thing that catches the eye is the “blue rope.” As we were designing her, trying to figure out what type of heroine she would be and setting her tone, we decided to go with the idea of “binding” based on a certain story setting, and this is what we ended up with. There was some buzz among the development team regarding the design choice. We made sure to praise the designer.

She fits well in a twilight or pre-dawn alley or rooftop, with a shadowy yet cheerful aura. She might scold someone for a mistake, but then become an accomplice to something mischievous… A senior figure who’s full of mysteries… That’s the kind of image we were going for. She doesn’t alter her wardrobe but wears it in a relaxed, casual way. Her natural facial features are round and cute like a racoon while wearing contrasting foxlike makeup. She toes the line between black and white without leaning too far to one side. The dragon-adorned kimono doesn’t look too formal, perhaps thanks to her laid-back vibe.

I believe it turned out to be quite an interesting design.

Misaki, the trusted advisor of the Raven Clan. His origins are unclear but he has a British gentleman-like vibe. I believe we were able to cleanly combine elements of a suit and traditional Japanese clothing. What do you think? While maintaining a neat and formal appearance, we added a bit of a relaxed silhouette to avoid a stiff or cold impression.

There were several ideas pitched, but we settled on this design without much hesitation.

This is Tyran, a sort of big brother-type mentor to Yakumo. Since he is also a Raven ninja, he also has a raven as his design motif, but rather than being the sleek stylish type, he’s more like that big bold crow that just won’t budge when you try to chase it away from a dumpster.

This character existed from the very early stages of development but originally had a completely different role. Some traces of those early rough designs still remain. He went through several minor changes in both setting and design before taking his current form. In terms of design, he might be the character with the second-highest number of team members involved after Yakumo.

As a character, he’s my absolute favorite, so please enjoy his presence.

You can’t have NINJA GAIDEN without Ayane! We’ve had her design ready from the early stages in development, but it took a long time until we were able to show her off. The hardest part was keeping quiet… Of course, like Ryu, Ayane was also newly designed for this project.

It’s official information that her hobby since her teens has been beauty treatments, so we adjusted her hairstyle a bit to match. If she appears in another title, it might change again. Her outfit is designed to match the cyberpunk atmosphere of this setting, but judging from her designs from previous titles, she seems to have a fondness for cuter things like butterflies and ribbons, so we incorporated such elements as well. (But if you asked her if she was into that, she’d probably deny it.)

My favorite part of her outfit is the upside-down triangle.

This is the icon used by Umi, the operator who supports Yakumo, which can be seen in the shop. Umi’s too serious to express her love for cute things during missions, but we thought a sterile image wouldn’t fit her personality, so we decided to use this illustration to show her personal taste. Social media user icons are basically a person’s avatar, so it’s very likely that she has a huge stuffed toy in her own room.

Character design often involves working on multiple designs simultaneously, including enemies, so we debated the level of cuteness for this avatar… Then a minute later we found ourselves debating, “How much of this daemon’s limbs should get chopped off? Does it need more blood?” I felt a bit of whiplash there.

Finally, the game’s out…! I always get a bit restless around the release date of titles I’m involved in, because I’m simultaneously excited and anxious to see how our work will be received by players.

If you’ve been reading our development blog, I assume that you have some interest in this title. Whether your interest is in the combat/action or the characters, just know that we have worked as a team to create a game that players can enjoy as soon as they pick it up, so I hope you enjoy it!

In addition, I’m looking forward to seeing your feedback on social media, etc. (if you can, of course… I can’t force you to… but it’s been several years in development, and I’m starving for external validation… so please…)

Also, since this is a commemoration of the launch, I got a little carried away and make a personal drawing into a wallpaper size for phones. I couldn’t say no to the director… In addition, I begged the art staff to draw something for me, and I got some pictures. I guess it would’ve been hard to say no to the art director…

[Posting Schedule]
October 27: Tomoyuki Kondo (Lead UI Artist)
October 28: Taiga Nakane (Concept Artist)
October 29: Aoi Sawada (Concept Artist)
October 30: Manami Saitou (Concept Artist)
October 31: DAZZUR (Lead Concept Artist)

We will be posting their art on the above dates on our social media. I hope you look forward to it! Kondo, the Lead UI Artist who wrote a previous blog entry, said he wanted to draw something as well… Everyone is very busy, but were very kind to lend some of their time for this. I’m so happy to work with people so passionate about our project.

Of course, in addition to the design staff, so many people were involved in the project. I hope that when the credits roll, you’ll think of all the hard work that went into the game…

But first and foremost, I hope you have fun with the game! Play NINJA GAIDEN 4!!

Tomoko Nishii After joining PlatinumGames in 2011 and working on “The Wonderful 101” as an environment artist, she worked on various titles as a concept artist. She contributed work and provided original illustrations for the picture book section in “NieR: Automata,” and was in charge of the character design and overall visuals as art director for “Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.” In her latest work, “NINJA GAIDEN 4,” she supervised the overall visuals of the game as art director and personally handled a number of the character designs.