At the end of the Ninja Gaiden 4 campaign, Yakumo acquires a fifth weapon, the Dark Dragon Blade, which allows him to fight the game's final boss on equal ground. Here's how to permanently unlock this powerful final weapon in less than 30 minutes.
NOTE: Method tested in the game's Steam 1.0.1.0 version after the completion of two different playtroughs, which the author played at Normal and Hard difficulty. Screenshots captured from the same version.
Table of contents
How to Unlock the Final Weapon, the Dark Dragon Blade
The Dark Dragon Blade is the final weapon for Yakumo. It is permanently unlocked by completing the following steps:
- Defeat the Dark Dragon in Chapter 19 to complete the main campaign. Any difficulty will do. This will unlock additional post-game content, including the Boss Trial challenges.
- Complete all of the Boss Trial challenges to permanently unlock the Dark Dragon Blade and use it in Story Mode and Challenge Mode, including Chapter Challenge, Purgatorium re-runs, and Combat Trials.
How to Unlock the Dark Dragon Blade the Fastest Way
Fighting and defeating all 13 of the main campaign bosses can take significant time and effort, especially powerful bosses like Ryu Hayabusa. However, there is a way to speed up the process considerably taking advantage of some of the game's difficulty mechanics.
This method uses the Hero Difficulty setting, which increases your damage output and dramatically lowers boss health, making the challenge trivial:
- Pre-Boss Difficulty Switch: Before confirming a Boss Trial challenge, press the R1/Right Button on your controller to switch to Hero difficulty. And when prompted, activate Auto-Dodge and Auto-Assist to react automatically to enemy attacks, allowing you to just mash the attack buttons safely and cut down the time needed to defeat them.
- Maximize Damage: During the trial, hold the R1 / Right Button to bring up the Item Wheel and use the Senjin War Brew item to increase your damage output. Make sure to use the item again after the effect expires.
- Pick the Best Weapon: At the start of each trial, press the left direction on your d-pad to select the Kage-Hiruko weapon. Being a ranged weapon, it allows you to continue attacking even when the enemy tries to get away.
Following this strategy, I completed all 13 trials in 23 minutes and 4.412 seconds. Even accounting for menu loading and challenge setup, you will need less than 30 minutes total to unlock the Dark Dragon Blade using this method.
Even with the Dark Dragon Blade in tow, Yakumo's journey is hardly a walk in the park at normal difficulty and above. Check out our other Ninja Gaiden 4 guides to make the best out of the game's intricate combat mechanics.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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