Team Ninja has announced Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, a spinoff of sorts to the Ninja Gaiden series that’s being made in collaboration with famed developer Keiji Inafune (and his company, Comcept) and Spark Unlimited.
For those who don’t know, Inafune is the former Global Head of Production for Capcom, a position he earned after producing such series as Mega Man, Onimusha, and Dead Rising. Spark Unlimited, meanwhile, is currently working on Lost Planet 3.
The game was somewhat revealed last week in an issue of Japanese gaming mag Famitsu, where it went just by the name Yaiba. Turns out Yaiba is actually the protagonist of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, and he’ll be trying to hunt down the franchise’s usual hero, Ryu Hayabusa, in a zombie infested setting.
“Last year, I was the one who said the Japanese video game industry was over,” Inafune said of the collaboration. “As you may know I’m a great zombie fan. When I left my previous company, my dream was to make a zombie game. I’m very happy to be making this game with Team Ninja. Just as much as I love zombies, I like samurai and ninjas. My dream was to always make a ninja game so this collaboration that I’m announcing today is almost a dream come true.”
The announcement came at the Tokyo Game Show, where Team Ninja also revealed that Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus will be coming to the PlayStation Vita.
No specific release details were given for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, although Team Ninja did generally confirm will be coming to consoles.