Ninja Gaiden Ragebound just dropped on Game Pass, and it’s already proving why The Game Kitchen — the Blasphemous team — knows how to make retro action feel devastating. After clearing the campaign and chasing S-ranks across multiple levels, here’s everything you need to master Kenji Mozu’s deadly moveset.
This guide covers the core mechanics that separate frustrated players from ninjas who flow through levels like water. Get these fundamentals down and Ragebound transforms from punishing to addictive.
Table of Contents
- Quick Answer
- Core Mechanics You Must Understand
- Mastering the Guillotine Boost
- Hypercharged Attacks Explained
- The Aura System: Blue vs Pink
- Using Kumori Effectively
- Progression and Collectibles
- Pro Tips
- FAQ
- Summary
Quick Answer
- Guillotine Boost is your most important move — tap jump when landing on enemies or projectiles to bounce and deal damage
- Match your weapon to enemy auras — blue/teal enemies need katana, pink enemies need Kumori’s projectiles
- Killing aura-matched enemies grants Hypercharge — an instant-kill attack for armored foes
- Most enemies die in one hit — the challenge is timing and positioning, not damage output
- Collectibles unlock talismans and new moves — explore slightly off the main path
Core Mechanics You Must Understand
Ragebound plays nothing like modern action games. It’s closer to classic NES Ninja Gaiden fused with the precision of Celeste. Understanding this mindset is crucial.
Every enemy dies quickly. Your katana slices through most foes in a single hit. This isn’t about damage — it’s about rhythm, timing, and flow. When you’re struggling, you’re not under-leveled. You’re mistiming.
The game grades your performance. Each level ends with a ranking based on completion time, kill count, and style. S-ranks aren’t required for progression, but chasing them teaches you how the game wants to be played: aggressively, fluidly, and without hesitation.
Memorization matters. Enemy patterns and level layouts become muscle memory through repetition. The game rewards players who internalize when to slash, when to boost, and when to let Kumori take over.
Mastering the Guillotine Boost
If you learn one thing from this guide, make it the Guillotine Boost. This move defines Ragebound’s entire gameplay loop.
How it works: When Kenji is in the air and about to land on an enemy, projectile, or certain environmental objects, tap the jump button at the right moment. Kenji will bounce off, dealing damage and gaining height.
Why it matters:
- Guillotine Boosts can chain infinitely — bounce from enemy to enemy without touching the ground
- You can boost off incoming projectiles, turning enemy attacks into mobility tools
- Certain platforming sections require boost chains to reach hidden areas
- It’s your primary way to maintain momentum through combat encounters
Practice tip: Find a room with multiple enemies and try to clear it without touching the floor. You’ll fail repeatedly, but this exercise teaches the boost timing faster than anything else.
Hypercharged Attacks Explained
Hypercharged attacks are your answer to armored enemies, shielded foes, and mini-bosses that would otherwise tank multiple hits.
How to gain Hypercharge:
- Primary method: Kill enemies with the weapon matching their aura color (explained in next section)
- Emergency method: Sacrifice some of your health to instantly gain Hypercharge
Using Hypercharge: Once charged, your next attack becomes an instant kill on almost anything. The key is identifying which enemy in a group needs it — waste it on a regular foe and you’ve lost your edge against the armored one.
The rhythm: Ragebound wants you to constantly cycle aura kills into Hypercharged finishers. Kill a blue enemy with your sword, immediately Hypercharge through the armored enemy behind it, repeat. When you find this flow, levels become a dance.
The Aura System: Blue vs Pink
Enemies glow with colored auras that tell you the optimal way to kill them.
Blue/Teal Aura: Use Kenji’s katana (melee attacks). Killing blue-aura enemies with your sword grants Hypercharge.
Pink Aura: Use Kumori’s projectiles (ranged attacks). Killing pink-aura enemies with projectiles grants Hypercharge.
Important: You can kill any enemy with any weapon. Auras are suggestions, not requirements. However, mismatched kills don’t grant Hypercharge, breaking your combat loop. In the early game, this matters less. By mid-game, you’ll need that constant Hypercharge flow to handle enemy density.
Using Kumori Effectively
Kumori, a Black Spider Clan assassin, becomes intertwined with Kenji’s soul during the story. She provides ranged attacks and unlocks new traversal options.
Combat role:
- Throwing kunai for pink-aura enemies
- A throwing sickle with more reach
- Screen-clearing Ragebound Arts when fully powered
Traversal role: Kumori can access a demon underworld, enabling her to teleport to kunai locations and bypass certain obstacles. Some collectibles require switching to Kumori’s perspective to reach.
Demon Altars: Throughout levels, you’ll find demon altars. These are timed platforming challenges requiring near-perfect mastery of Kumori’s moveset. They’re optional but highly rewarding — each one teaches advanced techniques while providing useful unlocks.
Progression and Collectibles
Ragebound uses traditional level progression — complete one level, move to the next. But exploration within levels matters significantly.
Currency: Found throughout levels and spent at Muramasa’s shop between stages. Use it to unlock new combat moves and talismans.
Talismans: Equippable perks that modify your playstyle. Some boost damage, others improve health recovery or change movement properties. Experiment to find combinations matching your preferred approach.
Secret Levels: Certain collectibles unlock extra-hard challenge stages on the world map. These are endgame content — don’t stress about them until you’ve cleared the main campaign.
Where to look: Straying slightly off the main path often reveals collectibles. See a suspicious wall or a platform that seems just out of reach? There’s probably something there. The game rewards curiosity.
Pro Tips
- Don’t fight gravity. Guillotine Boost lets you turn descent into offense. Falling toward enemies isn’t danger — it’s opportunity.
- Replay early levels. Once you understand the mechanics, revisiting Stage 1 with new skills reveals how much the game taught you through failure.
- Watch for projectile patterns. Enemy projectiles follow consistent patterns. Once you recognize them, you can boost off them reliably.
- Sacrifice health deliberately. Emergency Hypercharge costs health, but a well-timed instant kill often saves more health than it costs.
- Extreme difficulty unlocks after completion. Beat each level on normal first, then return for the real challenge if you want it.
- Turn off continuous scrolling if you’re struggling. The accessibility options include helpful toggles — there’s no shame in using them while learning.
FAQ
How long is Ninja Gaiden Ragebound?
The main campaign runs approximately 12 hours for a first playthrough. Add significant time if you’re chasing S-ranks, finding all collectibles, and completing demon altar challenges.
Is Ragebound harder than Blasphemous?
Different kind of hard. Blasphemous is methodical Metroidvania difficulty. Ragebound is precision platformer difficulty — faster deaths, faster restarts, faster improvement cycles. Checkpoints are generous.
Do I need to play the original Ninja Gaiden games first?
No. Ragebound tells a story that runs parallel to the original 1988 game, but it’s completely standalone. You’ll appreciate some references if you know the series, but missing them doesn’t hurt the experience.
Is Ragebound on Game Pass?
Yes. Ninja Gaiden Ragebound arrived on Game Pass in January 2026, available on console and PC tiers.
Can I play with a keyboard?
The game supports keyboard, but a controller is strongly recommended. The precision timing of Guillotine Boosts feels significantly better with analog input and triggers.
Summary
Ninja Gaiden Ragebound rewards aggression, rhythm, and willingness to fail forward. Master the Guillotine Boost to maintain aerial momentum, match weapons to enemy auras for constant Hypercharge access, and don’t be afraid to sacrifice health for clutch instant kills.
The Game Kitchen built something special here — a game that feels like classic Ninja Gaiden while playing unlike anything else. Once the mechanics click, you’ll understand why people are already speedrunning this at AGDQ.
