Yaiba won't just be Ninja Gaiden with a coat of zombie paint, says Hayashi

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is being developed by three developmental entities: Comcept, Spark Unlimited, and Team Ninja. While it sounds as though there may be too many cooks making this bloody stew, Team Ninja boss Yosuke Hayashi said everyone is functioning as one team.

Speaking with Siliconera, Hayashi said each team brings with it a level of expertise, and working with a western developer such as Spark Unlimited will help the Ninja Gaiden studio stay "relevant in the future."

"Looking at Team Ninja and what we need to do is to stay relevant in the future, teaming up with a Western studio is one of the things that we needed to do," he said. "We see ninjas portrayed in Western games, and they aren't real ninjas. There is something off about them. Zombies are a creation of the west.

"We feel we can bring the authentic ninja-ness and by teaming with Spark, they can bring in the authentic zombie-ness."

Fans of Ninja Gaiden needn't worry that it will just be the same game with a zombie coat of paint, because while it takes place in the same universe, the game is its "own separate thing."

"We are not planning on just bringing the Ninja Gaiden system and putting a different coat of paint on it and calling it Yaiba," said Hayashi. "It will have its own sort of system, its own feel, and its own play.

"Within that, we need to make sure that gameplay will satisfy the Ninja Gaiden fans, but it’s not going to be the exact same thing, we just bring it over. So, we can assure Ninja Gaiden fans that they will feel the challenges in the game, but it will be different than Ninja Gaiden.

"It is not a direct sequel to a Ninja Gaiden game or directly tied into a Ninja Gaiden game. Within the world of Ninja Gaiden, you can have a lot of things going on, and Yaiba is one of those things. And within that we want to have stuff that a Ninja Gaiden fan will enjoy."

A release date and launch systems have yet to be confirmed for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z.