On behalf of the band in The Game Kitchen, we are excited that we can share it Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound He is ready to leave and will be launched next week on July 31! To celebrate, we would like to look back at the artistic journey of the project and share how the art art style was developed, sophisticated and finally lively.
When he turned to us to create a novel entry in the cult team series Ninja Ninja Gaiden, Pixel Art seemed to be a natural choice. This allowed us to honor the appearance of the original trilogy using our own experience with the medium. However, pixel art is extremely versatile, able to convey a very different aesthetics: from the obscure baroque blasphemous atmosphere to the minimalist style of the last door. We knew that Ragebound required a clear visual identity, different from everything we had previously done.
The last installment of the original 8-bit Ninja Gaiden series was released in 1991, containing designs of characters and covers that divided the same aesthetics as the anime OVA was launched this year. Because our mission was to restore the series to its roots, we asked ourselves: What if Ninja Gaiden continued in the mid -90s as a 2D series? This idea became the basis for defining the RageBound visual style: live, high-quality pixel art inspired by 16- and 32-bit era, combined with bold, animated projects typical of the Seinen 90 anime.
To share how we enlivened this vision, two members of our team, Jesús Campos and María Lozano, discuss their artistic process below.
Campos Jesús “Kidney” is a senior pixel artist at Game Kitchen, recognized as environmental art in blasphemy. As the artistic director of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound (and the avid retro game lover), he took the inspiration from classic 16- and 32-bit games to create lively, liquid art of pixels full of energy and action. By honoring the heritage of the original Ninja Gaiden titles, Jesús also wanted to raise visualizations to state-of-the-art standards, combining time-honored graphics with current quality and techniques. He states that pushing pixel art to novel heights has become one of the trademarks of Kitchen games.
When discussing the artistic process, Jesús shares that one of the biggest challenges was coping with narrow colors and details due to low resolution, while providing the mood at any time in the adventure and atmosphere of each zone. This explains that in order to overcome this, the team tries to choose precise color palettes, design of texture tiles and applying decorative elements and parallax effects to ensure depth and food in environments.
Jesús also states that the most significant aspect of the art applied to designing the level was to ensure clarity and readability. Given that the game was a platformer of the action, it was significant that the characters and enemies clearly stand out from the background, so that players could immediately identify and get involved with them. He noticed that the geometry of levels (including floors, ceilings and platforms) had to remain glowing and recognizable, enabling players to fight and navigate without confusion, while directing their next goal. Finally, Jesús emphasizes how much the band liked to add decorative details and animations to revive the game world, making it ecological and addictive.
María “Maiku” Lozano, is a conceptual artist known from her designs of characters in many independent games and work as the cover of illustrator of Spanish game magazines. For Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, she worked closely with Jesús to develop the concepts of characters for heroes, bosses and enemies, as well as create scenes for all intermittent scenes.
María emphasizes the importance of designing clear silhouettes, which immediately convey danger or unique features, which is crucial in the art of pixels, in which petite details can be easily lost. Achieving the final designs often required numerous iteration, experimenting with clothing, hairstyles and color schemes until the identity of each character seemed appropriate.
Designing the heroes of Kenji and Kumori, María focused on forceful visual contrasts and personality to distinguish them as narrative opposites, such as day and night. Kenji has loose, flowing fabrics in lightweight colors and wind wind, expansive hair, radiating lively and determined energy typical of the central hero. Unlike a clear, elegant, kumori angular clothing with metallic accents, sharper edges and a cooler palette, combined with perfectly basic hair, transmits precision and a more urban, calculated order. Even the texture and movement, like Kenji’s fluttering scarf, have been designed to emphasize these differences, thanks to which Kenji feels heated and organic, while Kumori seems controlled and frigid.
Creating monsters and enemies, María drew inspiration from mythology, nature, art and real images, striving for projects that seem unique and emotionally resonant. He believes that each creature should have narrative or symbolic significance, adding depth to the world. While cultural or folklore motifs often cause ideas, she prefers to reinterpret them creatively than to reproduce them directly, ensuring that its projects remain fresh and original.
Creating Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound was an thrilling challenge and a real honor for our team. Restoring this classic series to life meant to remain faithful to its roots, trying to move the already amazing formula to novel heights, and thanks to the talent and sacrifice of artists such as Jesús and María, we think that we were able to create a novel chapter of the game guard.
We are willing to dive when the game starts on PS4 and PS5 on July 31, and we hope that venerable and novel fans will find a lot for pleasure.
