History Characters / NinjaGaiden

* MultiEthnicName

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Japanese romanization found on their official guides for the original trilogy had Irene as ''Aileen''; fansubs for the OVA also spelled her name this way.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is it "Jaquio", "Jakio" or "Jakyo"? Who knows?

* BlowYouAway

* BoobsOfSteel: Rachel's physical strength is proportional to the size of her bust; she can even handle heavy weaponry better than Ryu at first in ''Sigma''.

* BoobsOfSteel: Not quite to Rachel's extent, but she's well-endowed ''and'' kicks plenty of ass.

* {{Bishonen}}: Ryu's design for his ''Dragon Sword'' appearance, adding to the fact it was the first time he appeared unmasked outside the ''Dead or Alive'' series after Tomonobu Itagaki's new direction of keeping Ryu always masked in his main games. ''Ninja Gaiden III'' reveals his whole face as much as possible in cut-scenes.

* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: In the original NES trilogy and OVA, she was Ryu's sole love interest and they were clearly shown to be affectionate with each other. In the modern games, barring a few ShipTease moments, Ryu maintains a professional relationship with Irene and treats her no different from all the other women who've shown romantic interest in him: caring but distant.

* FauxActionGirl: Even as a CIA agent, Irene isn't the most dependable ally.

->Voiced by: Yumi Sudo (JP), Creator/StephanieSheh (EN)

->Voiced by: Creator/KenyuHoriuchi (JP), James Brinkley (EN)

[[quoteright:169:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yaiba.jpg]]

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: [[spoiler:''Dies two more times'' over the course of the game - he survives from a thousand-meter Izuna Drop by Ryu and Miss Monday revives him once more after he frees (and kills) himself from Del Gonzo's control. At the start of their fight, Ryu even {{Lampshades}} how he can return]].

* IDieFree: [[spoiler:While it doesn't stick, he tears out his own heart (with its ExplosiveLeash) rather than remain Del Gonzo's slave one second longer. Especially significant since he had Ryu and Momiji at his mercy -- being free was more important to him than his revenge.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: Played with; [[spoiler:Yaiba never intended to pull this, but he saves Ryu and Momiji from his ExplosiveLeash (by ripping it out along with his heart) which was about to be activated by Del Gonzo]].

* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Del Gonzo takes advantage of his revenge against Ryu so he can stop him from thwarting his plans]].

[[quoteright:169:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/missmonday.jpg]]

* EvilGenius: Reconstructed Yaiba and possess extensive knowledge of technology and cybernetics. [[MadScientist She's also quite wicked and depraved]].

* MissionControl: Along with Del Gonzo; doubles as MsExposition.

[[folder:Alarico Del Gonzo]]
[[quoteright:169:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/delgonzo.jpg]]

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[spoiler:In the final mission]]

* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:Del Gonzo is the one responsible for the whole zombie outbreak]].
* {{Expy}}: [[spoiler:To Clifford Higgins of ''Ninja Gaiden III'']]
* FinalExamBoss: [[spoiler:By the time players fight him, they should know all the ElementalPowers combinations Yaiba has access to in order to damage him]].
* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:He's responsible for the zombie outbreak in Russia and takes advantage of Yaiba's revenge against Ryu so he can get rid of the latter from foiling his plans]].

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:According to Miss Monday, after Yaiba and Ryu foil his plans, Del Gonzo goes mad and kills some people]].

* YouDontLookLikeYou: As a result of being reimagined as Sonia in the modern ''Ninja Gaiden II'', this version of Irene looks nothing like the modestly dressed woman from the old trilogy.

* ColorMotif: Almost everything related to Ayane is {{purple|IsPowerful}}, including her hair, clothes, aura, ninpo, explosive shurikens, etc.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Cliff presents himself as a friendly and good-natured person in front of others, but it's all just an act. His real personality is that of a cruel, narcissistic sociopath who commits heinous murders and destruction without remorse.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Essentially a werewolf version of [[Franchise/MortalKombat Goro]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: Cliff presents himself as a friendly and good-natured person in front of others, but it's all just an act. His real personality is that of a cruel, narcissistic sociopath who commits heinous murders and destruction without remorse.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: This is how he killed Canna's parents.

* MadScientist: A seemingly harmless kind at first, judging by his eccentric personality and inventions. Then it later turns out that he's EvilAllAlong, having caused the "accident" that killed Canna's parents, resurrecting Theodore to life as the Regent of the Mask and turning Canna into the Goddess, making him the actual BigBad of ''Ninja Gaiden III'' over Ashtear Higgins.

** BeamSpam: Laser weaponry

* {{Hypocrite}}: Ashtear denounces Ryu as a terrible "slayer of lives", yet his organization has been responsible for more than a few deaths up to this point in ''Ninja Gaiden III''

* PsychopathicManchild: Cliff is a horrendously petty man who wants to cause the end of the world itself just because he thinks people don't pay him enough attention.

* BackToBackBadasses[=/=]StudentAndMasterTeam: For an entire chapter in ''Ninja Gaiden III'', Momiji fights alongside Ryu, proving her actions in ''Sigma II'' weren't a matter of luck.
* BladeOnAStick: Her "Heavenly Dragon Naginata"[[note]]A Japanese spear, initially one of the few weapons women were allowed to use in feudal Japan[[/note]], another weapon common for popular portrayals of shrine maidens.
** NaginatasAreFeminine: Provides the current trope page image

* HeroicBuild: He's always been depicted as a tall and physically fit man, but ''Ninja Gaiden 3/Razor's Edge'' ramps it up by having him bulk up a little more, complete with a ShirtlessScene that shows off his impressive, powerfully built musculature.

* [[index]]ImAHumanitarian[[/index]]: The ninpo "Art of the Fire Dragon" in ''Ninja Gaiden III''/''Razor's Edge'' allows Ryu to turn into a giant flaming dragon that eats all regular {{Mook}}s on screen, restoring {{Hit Point}}s.

* TheCameo: Appears in ''Ninja Gaiden III'' [[spoiler:as the fighter pilot transporting Ryu to rendezvous with Mizuki]].
* CoolShades: Never takes them off

* RetiredBadass: Not for a very long time, but still long enough
* SunglassesAtNight: Robert is badass enough to make them work

* {{Jerkass}}: Downplayed as Ayane doesn't show much of her base personality from ''Dead or Alive'' in ''Ninja Gaiden'' since she's dealing with mostly higher ranking ninjas like Ryu, whom she greatly respects as her superior. Unfortunately, this won't stop her from mocking him at the GameOver screen. She also doesn't extend any courtesy towards non-ninjas like Irene and snarks at them regularly.

* {{Jerkass}}: Downplayed as Ayane doesn't show much of her base personality from ''Dead or Alive'' in ''Ninja Gaiden'' since she's dealing with mostly higher ranking ninjas like Ryu, whom she greatly respects as her superior. Unfortunately, this won't stop her from mocking him at the GameOver screen. She also doesn't extend such courtesy towards non-ninjas like Irene and snarks at them regularly.

* {{Jerkass}}: Downplayed as Ayane doesn't show much of her base personality from ''Dead or Alive'' in ''Ninja Gaiden'' since she's dealing with mostly higher ranking ninjas like Ryu, whom she greatly respects as her superior. Unfortunately, this won't stop her from mocking him at the GameOver screen. She also doesn't extend such courtesy towards non-ninjas like Irene, whom she snarks at regularly.

* {{Jerkass}}: Downplayed as Ayane doesn't show much of her base personality from ''Dead or Alive'' in ''Ninja Gaiden'' since she's dealing with mostly higher ranking ninjas like Ryu, whom she does greatly respect as her superior. Unfortunately, this won't stop her from mocking him at the GameOver screen. She also doesn't extend such courtesy towards non-ninjas like Irene, whom she snarks at regularly.

* {{Jerkass}}: Averted as Ayane doesn't show much of her base personality from ''Dead or Alive'' in ''Ninja Gaiden'' since she's dealing with mostly higher ranking ninjas like Ryu, whom she does greatly respect as her superior. Unfortunately, this won't stop her from mocking him at the GameOver screen.

** ShockAndAwe: Inazuma

* HandWave: At least in ''Ninja Gaiden III''

* LockAndLoadMontage: A cut-scene following Chapter Two in the Xbox ''Ninja Gaiden'' shows Ryu is tightening the straps on his outfit and bringing three kunai with him.

*** A notable mention goes to the first ''Ninja Gaiden'' for Xbox: in the first mission, Ryu ''slaughters'' as many ninjas as he can find for his training routine, and they were from a ''friendly clan'', [[spoiler:despite Murai turning out to be the BigBad, but Ryu didn't take this into consideration then]]; the first ninja Ryu ambushes is also his first kill in the game. Ryu's reaction to his fallen foe is that of simple acceptance, since it was the right thing to do and the fallen ninja wouldn't live much longer anyway if he was that weak.

** Likewise, in ''Ninja Gaiden III'', she appears to loan a replacement katana for Ryu from her half-brother Hayate after he loses the Dragon Sword due to the Grip of Murder. ''Razor's Edge'' further has her become Irene's go-to clean-up crew when the Lords of Alchemy attack Paris and tasks her with planting a GPS signal on the Black Narwhal so Ryu and his allies can find out their location.

* HappilyMarried: With Ryu as of the first ''Dead or Alive'', but subsequent modern installments have quietly retconned their relationship to being professional friends/comrades with only hints of ShipTease along with Irene's drastically changed appearance.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Murai. Both are evil, large and imposing ninjas who lead their own clans, but the similarities end there. Murai is a self-centered man who craves absolute power for himself and betrays anyone and everyone without a second thought to achieve his goals, even his own family and clan. Genshin, on the other hand, genuinely cares for his people and wants to secure their survival even if it means living in servitude of evil. Unlike the treacherous Murai, Genshin values loyalty and is always honest and honorable to a fault, even warning Ryu about what he intends to do beforehand so to give his enemy a chance to prepare.

* MirrorBoss: To an extent - Genshin can use the "Flying Swallow" technique, CounterAttack, the Piercing Void ninpo (''Sigma II'' only), has an "Ultimate Technique" similar to Ryu's as his Greater Fiend form, [[MegaManning and picks up a version]] of the [[SpinningPiledriver Izuna Drop]] in the last boss fights.

* RecurringBoss: Fought a total of four times in a single play-through

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Murai. Both are evil, large and imposing ninjas who lead their own clans, but the similarities end there. Murai is a self-centered man who craves absolute power for himself and betrays anyone and everyone without a second thought to achieve his goals, even his own family. Genshin, on the other hand, values loyalty and concerns himself with securing the survival of his people even if it means living in servitude of evil. Unlike the treacherous Murai, Genshin values loyalty and is always honest and honorable to a fault, even warning Ryu about what he intends to do beforehand so to give his enemy a chance to prepare.

* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Murai. Both are evil, large and imposing ninjas who lead their own clans, but the similarities end there. Murai is a self-centered man who craves absolute power for himself and betrays anyone and everyone without a second thought to achieve his goals, even his own family. Genshin, on the other hand, concerns himself with securing the survival of his people even if it means living in servitude of evil, and never expresses desire to rule beyond his own clan. Unlike the treacherous Murai, Genshin is always honest and honorable to a fault, even warning Ryu about what he intends to do beforehand so to give his enemy a chance to prepare.