Having been a fan of the Ninja Gaiden series in its vintage incarnations I’d always heard good things about the modern series but hadn’t ever had the pleasure. With them now available on the Switch I’m happy to say that, for the most part, they live up to the hype and deliver an increasingly intense experience that performs reasonably well… though if you’re without the benefit of a Pro Controller or playing it handheld I wouldn’t consider it as ideal for enjoyment without some frustration. Starting with Sigma the core style of the series gets established and though, at times, I found the level design to be a bit wonky there’s no doubt that the action delivers. Stepping up the heat with the sequel, everything feels like it got an upgrade with more refined play, weapons that feel even more fun to use, and quite a bit more craziness that helps propel it to what I’d consider the best title in the trilogy. While the third title, Razor’s Edge, absolutely goes all in on making everything even more intense I’d say it often falls into the trap of everything getting muddled and the action difficult to follow. The main culprit is the camera, which in all 3 titles can sometimes really be your enemy, but with the on-screen chaos that Razor’s Edge thrives on the problem is more pronounced. Nevertheless, if you’re a fan of crazy ninja hacking and slashing it’ll be hard not to have a smile on your face working your way through this collection… just preferably in docked mode with something a bit more robust than the stock JoyCon, which struggles with this sort of intense play.