Ninja Gaiden director weighs in on Ryu Hayabusa as Smash Ultimate DLC fighter

Ryu Hayabusa has been rumored as a Super Smash Bros Ultimate DLC fighter for some time and now, the director of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 has weighed in on if he thinks the ninja has a place in the game.

Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden is an extremely popular series, first appearing on the NES way back in 1988, spawning a trilogy of side-scrolling action games.

In 2004, the series was revived on the Xbox with Tomonobu Itagaki serving as the reboot’s producer and director. His role would be the same with 2008’s Ninja Gaiden 2 while also acting as Executive Producer for the Nintendo DS title Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.

Although Itagaki left the company and didn’t help with the development of Ninja Gaiden 3, it’s clear he still has a soft spot in his heart for the ninja he helped reboot on modern consoles.

Tecmo

Ryu Hayabusa has been a frequent name in Smash DLC discussion.

Speaking with Dexerto, Itagaki gave two thumbs up on if he wanted to see Hayabusa battle it out in Nintendo’s flagship fighter.

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When asked if he believes Ryu could ever have a shot at making his way to Smash Ultimate, the director said the Ninja Gaiden star would be a good fit.

“Super Smash Bros is a very popular game,” the 53-year-old remarked. “I think it’s a stage big enough for Ryu Hayabusa to play an active role.”

Tecmo

Ryu is a playable fighter in the Dead or Alive series.

Of course, it’s incredibly rare for any developer to be opposed to seeing one of their projects make its way to Smash in some capacity, but it’s good to see that Itagaki believes Hayabusa has a shot.

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Rumors about Ryu’s inclusion in Smash first began back in 2019 when YouTuber ‘IAmShifty’ uploaded a video claiming that sources informed him Ryu Hayabusa would be the next Smash Ultimate DLC fighter.

While the information seemed to be wrong and Terry Bogard came next, his sources still insisted Ryu would be coming at some point.

Nintendo

Could Ryu Hayabusa be among the final 3 fighters?

Furthermore, prominent leaker Vergeben has claimed that Nintendo had discussions with Koei Tecmo in regards to Smash. Vergeben has an incredibly good track record with his leaks, so it further suggests that Hayabusa is on the radar.

There are still three DLC slots remaining in Fighters Pass Volume 2. Could Ryu Hayabusa end up as one of the challenger packs? We’ll just have to wait and find out.