- Disowned Adaptation: Itagaki did not like Ninja Gaiden Sigma, going as far as to refuse to sign copies of it. This is likely due in part to his lack of involvement with this version of the game (since the changes from Black were relatively minor). However, he did admit that it gave PS3 owners a shot at the game, and all of the new features in Sigma were carried over to Ninja Gaiden II anyway.
- Dueling Works: Black came out in 2005, the same year as Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, a very similar 3D hack-and-slash developed for the PS2. Thankfully, the two games formed more of a Friendly Fandom over the years than a Fandom Rivalry.
- Killer App: While it was a relatively late title, this game was one of the reasons to own an original Xbox.
- Newbie Boom: The game saw a BIG resurgence in popularity when Black was added to the Xbox One's backwards-compatibility program in late 2017 (alongside a number of other original Xbox games), as it was the first time the game could be played in true HD on a modern console (4K on the Xbox One X).
- It happened again in 2021 when the Master Collection came out (although the response was slightly more muted, because the port was based on the Sigma version).
- Word of God: This was the first time that Koei Tecmo abandoned the series' Market-Based Title, instead using the Ninja Gaiden title worldwide (prior games had used the title Ninja Ryūkenden in Japan). Their reasoning for Japanese players? They considered the game a side-story to the Dead or Alive seriesnote .
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