Ninja Gaiden 4 Achievement Guide: Complete 100% 

Ninja Gaiden 4 hands the series over to Yakumo, a young Raven clan ninja, while still bringing Ryu Hayabusa back for three playable chapters. Its 53 achievements lean almost entirely on story progress, weapon mastery, and full completion rather than obscure secrets, but the deathless chapter runs and MASTER NINJA difficulty clear still demand real skill. This guide covers every achievement in unlock-rate order, with the collectible totals and combat strategies you need for a clean 100% run.

Quick Stats

• Total Achievements: 53
• Estimated Completion Time: 40-50 hours
• Difficulty: 8/10
• Online Required: No (no co-op is required for any achievement)
• Missable Achievements: None. Chapter Select unlocks after your first clear and lets you catch anything missed, including chapter-specific challenges

Achievement List by Category

Story Progression

• Oh, Foxy Lady
• It’s a Dog! It’s a Plane! It’s…
• Smile, You Son of a…
• Priestess of the Dark Dragon
• Return of the Super Ninja
• The Priestess’s Wish
• Bloodsoaked Fate
• A New Master Ninja
• Wielder of Darkness
• Consumed by Corruption

Weapon & Combat Mastery

• The Art of Obliteration
• Bloodraven Form
• The Art of the Bloodbath Kill
• The Art of the Bloodbath Slaughter
• Way of the Dragon
• Master of the Blade
• Master of the Drill
• Master of the Hammer
• Master of the Toolbox
• Master of Takeminakata
• Master of Yatousen
• Master of Magatsuhi
• Master of Kage-Hiruko
• Master of the Dark Dragon Blade
• Master of Combat
• Combo Master

Raven Gear

• Raven Gear: Caddis Wire
• Raven Gear: Dragonfly Glider
• Raven Gear: Pond Strider

Chapter-Specific Challenges

• Shadow Incarnate
• The Grind Never Stops
• Free as a Bird
• Surf Ninja
• Laser’s Edge

Collection & Completion

• Need, not Greed
• NinjaCoin Miner
• Critter Collector
• Ninja Business
• Work Horse
• Annihilator
• Challenger of Challenges
• The One Who Obliterates
• Ninja Fortitude

Difficulty & Endgame

• Way of the Master Ninja
• True Ninja

The Two Masters DLC

• The Two Masters
• A Life Dedicated to Duty
• The Pursuit of Duty
• More Machine than Fiend
• Scornful Mother of the Damned
• Way of the New Master Ninja
• Ultimate Challenge
• Conqueror of the Abyss

Achievements by Category (Detailed)

Story Progression

The Art of Obliteration

Unlock Rate: 96.1% (Common)

Requirement: Perform an Obliteration

How to Unlock: Cut off an enemy limb during combat, then finish them off to trigger an Obliteration finisher.

Tips: This unlocks naturally within the first chapter as you learn the game’s core combat mechanics.

Bloodraven Form

Unlock Rate: 95.4% (Common)

Requirement: Enter Bloodraven Form

How to Unlock: Build up enough combat momentum to trigger Yakumo’s Bloodraven transformation for the first time.

Tips: This unlocks naturally through early story combat as you learn the transformation mechanic.

The Art of the Bloodbath Kill

Unlock Rate: 75.3% (Common)

Requirement: Perform a Bloodbath Kill

How to Unlock: Land a Bloodbath Kill finisher on an enemy during combat.

Tips: This unlocks naturally as you progress through early chapters and experiment with finishers.

The Art of the Bloodbath Slaughter

Unlock Rate: 62.1% (Common)

Requirement: Perform a Bloodbath Slaughter

How to Unlock: Chain a Bloodbath Slaughter, the upgraded version of the Bloodbath Kill, on a group of enemies.

Tips: This becomes available a bit further into the story once you’ve built up more combat techniques.

Way of the Dragon

Unlock Rate: 55.8% (Common)

Requirement: Defeat 3 enemies in a row with an Ultimate Technique

How to Unlock: Chain Ultimate Technique kills on 3 enemies in a row without interruption.

Tips: Look for encounters with 3 or more enemies clustered together to make chaining Ultimate Techniques easier.

Master of the Blade

Unlock Rate: 53.9% (Common)

Requirement: Use Takeminakata to attack 5 or more enemies at once

How to Unlock: Equip the Takeminakata weapon and land an attack that hits 5 or more enemies simultaneously.

Tips: Wait for enemies to group up before unleashing a wide Takeminakata swing to guarantee the multi-hit.

Oh, Foxy Lady

Unlock Rate: 60.7% (Common)

Requirement: Defeat the Kitsune Courtesan and break the first seal

How to Unlock: Progress through the story to the Kitsune Courtesan boss fight and defeat her, breaking the first of the game’s story seals.

Tips: This is the first of three seal-breaking boss fights and unlocks naturally through early-to-mid story progression.

It’s a Dog! It’s a Plane! It’s…

Unlock Rate: 47.1% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Defeat Kurobo and break the second seal

How to Unlock: Progress through the story to the Kurobo boss fight and defeat him, breaking the second of the game’s story seals.

Tips: This follows Oh, Foxy Lady in story order and unlocks automatically as you continue the campaign.

Shadow Incarnate

Unlock Rate: 46.7% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Complete any chapter without dying (excluding Chapters 00 and 14)

How to Unlock: Finish any single chapter other than Chapter 00 or Chapter 14 without dying once during that chapter.

Tips: This can be attempted on an easier difficulty or via Chapter Select on a chapter you’re already comfortable with, since only one clean chapter clear is needed.

Smile, You Son of a…

Unlock Rate: 41.7% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Defeat Cetus and break the third seal

How to Unlock: Progress through the story to the Cetus boss fight and defeat it, breaking the third seal.

Tips: This follows directly from the Kurobo fight in story order and unlocks automatically as you continue.

Priestess of the Dark Dragon

Unlock Rate: 39.6% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Revive the Dark Dragon in exchange for Seori’s life

How to Unlock: Continue through the story to the point where the Dark Dragon is revived at the cost of Seori’s life.

Tips: This is a major, unavoidable story beat and unlocks through normal progression.

Return of the Super Ninja

Unlock Rate: 39.5% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Start Ryu Hayabusa’s story

How to Unlock: Progress through the story until Ryu Hayabusa’s playable chapters begin.

Tips: This marks the shift to Ryu’s 3 playable chapters, which return to a more classic Ninja Gaiden combat style compared to Yakumo’s sections.

The Priestess’s Wish

Unlock Rate: 36.9% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Head to the final battle carrying the wishes of Seori (and Kureha)

How to Unlock: Progress through the story to the point where you head into the final battle carrying Seori’s (and Kureha’s) wishes.

Tips: This is a late-game story milestone that unlocks automatically as you approach the ending.

Bloodsoaked Fate

Unlock Rate: 36.2% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Hold your own against Ryu Hayabusa

How to Unlock: Progress through the story to a confrontation where Yakumo must hold his own against Ryu Hayabusa.

Tips: This unlocks through normal story progression during the late-game Ryu encounter.

A New Master Ninja

Unlock Rate: 35.9% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Purify the Dark Dragon and save the world

How to Unlock: Complete the main story, purifying the Dark Dragon and reaching the game’s conclusion.

Tips: This is the final main-story achievement and unlocks upon reaching the credits on your first completed playthrough.

Wielder of Darkness

Unlock Rate: 11.1% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Recover the lost Dark Dragon Blade

How to Unlock: Progress far enough into the story (typically requiring a second playthrough or New Game+) to recover the Dark Dragon Blade weapon.

Tips: This weapon and its associated achievement tend to come later than a first playthrough covers, so don’t be surprised if this unlocks on a subsequent run.

Consumed by Corruption

Unlock Rate: 6.2% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Defeat Oniwaka in his final encounter–he wouldn’t have lasted long in this world anyway

How to Unlock: Defeat Oniwaka in his final story encounter, a late-game or post-game boss fight.

Tips: This fight appears later in the campaign structure, so make sure your weapon skills and health upgrades are in good shape before attempting it.

Weapon & Combat Mastery

NinjaCoin Miner

Unlock Rate: 59.2% (Common)

Requirement: Obtain 100,000 NinjaCoin

How to Unlock: Accumulate a cumulative 100,000 NinjaCoin, the game’s currency used to purchase weapon and combat skills.

Tips: This adds up naturally across a normal playthrough as you defeat enemies and complete missions, since NinjaCoin is the primary currency you’ll be spending regularly.

Need, not Greed

Unlock Rate: 65.5% (Common)

Requirement: Obtain 30 items

How to Unlock: Pick up 30 items of any kind across your playthrough.

Tips: This unlocks early and naturally just from normal exploration and looting during the first few chapters.

Combo Master

Unlock Rate: 40.8% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Achieve a 2000-point combo

How to Unlock: Chain a single unbroken combo worth 2,000 points against enemies.

Tips: Look for a large group of weaker enemies to chain hits against without interruption, since breaking the combo resets your point total.

Master of Takeminakata

Unlock Rate: 36.1% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Learn all Takeminakata Weapon Skills

How to Unlock: Spend NinjaCoin and Weapon EXP to unlock every skill in the Takeminakata weapon’s skill tree.

Tips: Prioritize the weapon you enjoy using most first, since these skill-tree achievements take considerable NinjaCoin investment across a full playthrough.

Master of the Toolbox

Unlock Rate: 31.6% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Use Kage-Hiruko to defeat an enemy launched in the air

How to Unlock: Launch an enemy into the air using any attack, then switch to or continue with the Kage-Hiruko weapon to defeat them while airborne.

Tips: Practice launching enemies with a different weapon first, then quickly swap to Kage-Hiruko to finish them off mid-air.

Master of the Drill

Unlock Rate: 20.0% (Rare)

Requirement: Use Yatousen to inflict massive damage in a short time

How to Unlock: Equip Yatousen and land a burst of high damage output within a short combat window.

Tips: Save Yatousen’s stronger charged attacks for tankier enemies or bosses, since a single large hit is easier to register than several smaller ones.

Master of Yatousen

Unlock Rate: 19.1% (Rare)

Requirement: Learn all Yatousen Weapon Skills

How to Unlock: Spend NinjaCoin and Weapon EXP to unlock every skill in the Yatousen weapon’s skill tree.

Tips: Rotate through different weapons deliberately during regular missions so you’re earning Weapon EXP across all of them rather than just one.

Master of the Hammer

Unlock Rate: 16.1% (Rare)

Requirement: Use Magatsuhi to Bloodbath Kill 5 or more enemies in a short time

How to Unlock: Equip Magatsuhi and chain 5 or more Bloodbath Kills against enemies within a short time window.

Tips: Save this attempt for an encounter with a large group of weaker enemies clustered together, since isolated single enemies make the 5-kill window difficult to hit.

Master of Magatsuhi

Unlock Rate: 15.5% (Rare)

Requirement: Learn all Magatsuhi Weapon Skills

How to Unlock: Spend NinjaCoin and Weapon EXP to unlock every skill in the Magatsuhi weapon’s skill tree.

Tips: This requires significant NinjaCoin investment, so pace your spending across weapons if you’re aiming to max out all 6 weapon skill trees eventually.

Master of Kage-Hiruko

Unlock Rate: 13.8% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Learn all Kage-Hiruko Weapon Skills

How to Unlock: Spend NinjaCoin and Weapon EXP to unlock every skill in the Kage-Hiruko weapon’s skill tree.

Tips: Kage-Hiruko’s toolbox-style utility makes it worth maxing early if you’re planning to use it for the air-launch achievement too.

Master of the Dark Dragon Blade

Unlock Rate: 8.5% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Learn all Dark Dragon Blade Weapon Skills

How to Unlock: Once you’ve recovered the Dark Dragon Blade, spend NinjaCoin and Weapon EXP to unlock all of its skills.

Tips: If the achievement doesn’t pop at what looks like full completion, revisit the skill tree menu and check carefully for any single skill still shown as locked or unpurchased.

Master of Combat

Unlock Rate: 7.8% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Learn all Combat Skills

How to Unlock: Spend NinjaCoin and Combat EXP to unlock every general Combat Skill, separate from the individual weapon skill trees.

Tips: This is a separate skill pool from weapon mastery, so budget your currency across both categories if you’re aiming for full completion.

Raven Gear

Raven Gear: Caddis Wire

Unlock Rate: 80.6% (Common)

Requirement: Use the Caddis Wire

How to Unlock: Use the Caddis Wire traversal gear, unlocked early in the story, at least once.

Tips: This unlocks naturally the first time the story introduces this piece of Raven Gear and you use it to cross a gap or obstacle.

Raven Gear: Dragonfly Glider

Unlock Rate: 58.7% (Common)

Requirement: Use the Dragonfly Glider

How to Unlock: Use the Dragonfly Glider traversal gear at least once after it’s introduced in the story.

Tips: This follows the Caddis Wire in story order and unlocks the first time you use it during exploration or a chapter objective.

Raven Gear: Pond Strider

Unlock Rate: 46.6% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Use the Pond Strider

How to Unlock: Use the Pond Strider traversal gear at least once after it’s introduced in the story.

Tips: This is the last of the three Raven Gear achievements and unlocks naturally as the story introduces new movement tools.

Chapter-Specific Challenges

The Grind Never Stops

Unlock Rate: 7.5% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Clear Chapter 02 without falling once (Auto Movement must be turned OFF)

How to Unlock: With Auto Movement disabled in the options, complete Chapter 02’s rail-grinding section without falling off even once.

Tips: If you fall during a fight section rather than the grinding itself, immediately restart from the last checkpoint rather than continuing, since some players have found a quick restart still counts even after a brief fall.

Free as a Bird

Unlock Rate: 22.1% (Rare)

Requirement: Clear Chapter 06 without hitting any obstacles (Auto Movement must be turned OFF)

How to Unlock: With Auto Movement disabled, complete Chapter 06’s traversal section without colliding with any obstacles along the way.

Tips: Practice the route once with Auto Movement on to learn obstacle placement, then switch it off for your clean attempt.

Surf Ninja

Unlock Rate: 3.4% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Clear Chapter 10 without hitting any obstacles (Auto Movement must be turned OFF)

How to Unlock: With Auto Movement disabled, complete Chapter 10’s traversal section without hitting any obstacles.

Tips: This has been reported as one of the trickier traversal achievements, since some obstacle hits aren’t always obvious from the visual feedback. If it doesn’t pop after what looks like a clean run, try again and watch closely for any near-miss collisions.

Laser’s Edge

Unlock Rate: 4.4% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Clear Chapter 12 without being hit by a laser (Auto Movement must be turned OFF)

How to Unlock: With Auto Movement disabled, complete Chapter 12’s laser-hazard section without being hit by any laser.

Tips: Slow down through laser-heavy segments rather than rushing, since Auto Movement being off means you have full control over timing your dodges.

Collection & Completion

Critter Collector

Unlock Rate: 5.9% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Collect every Gourdy

How to Unlock: Find and collect all 15 Gourdy collectibles scattered throughout the game’s chapters.

Tips: Use a dedicated Gourdy location guide alongside your playthrough, since a few are tucked into easy-to-miss side paths.

Ninja Business

Unlock Rate: 30.7% (Uncommon)

Requirement: Complete 20 Missions

How to Unlock: Complete 20 of the game’s side Missions, out of 55 total (34 chapter-specific and 21 general).

Tips: Chapter-specific missions are only available during their associated chapter unless replayed via Chapter Select, so try to knock these out as you naturally progress rather than leaving them all for later.

Work Horse

Unlock Rate: 3.5% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Complete all Missions

How to Unlock: Complete all 55 Missions in the game, including all 34 chapter-specific missions and 21 general missions.

Tips: Use New Game+ or Chapter Select to clean up any chapter-specific missions you missed on your first pass, since general missions remain available throughout.

Annihilator

Unlock Rate: 5.7% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Complete all Purgatory trials

How to Unlock: Complete all 18 Purgatory Trials, playable at any difficulty for their rewards.

Tips: You can play these on your preferred difficulty for the best rewards; completing them during your main playthrough also automatically counts toward Challenger of Challenges later.

Challenger of Challenges

Unlock Rate: 3.5% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Complete all Challenges

How to Unlock: Complete all Challenge content in the game, consisting of the 18 Combat Trials, 18 Purgatory Trials, and 14 Boss Trials.

Tips: Set Boss Trials to the easiest “Hero” difficulty to make this significantly more manageable, since the achievement doesn’t require a specific difficulty or rank on these trials.

The One Who Obliterates

Unlock Rate: 7.0% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Obliterate every enemy

How to Unlock: Perform an Obliteration finisher on every distinct enemy type in the game, including Black Spider Ninjas, which only appear in Combat Trials rather than the main story.

Tips: This can be done in Training Mode, selecting enemies one by one and performing an Obliteration on each, as long as you have every enemy type unlocked. Watch out for visually similar enemy variants, like the Enhanced Shuriken enemy, which are easy to mistake for a type you’ve already obliterated.

Ninja Fortitude

Unlock Rate: 4.6% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Reach maximum health with Yakumo and Ryu

How to Unlock: Collect all 23 Health Upgrade Items across the game and apply them to fully max out both Yakumo’s and Ryu’s health bars.

Tips: Some Health Upgrade Items are locked behind Combat Trials rather than the main story path, so make sure you’re working through trial content alongside the campaign rather than skipping it.

Difficulty & Endgame

Way of the Master Ninja

Unlock Rate: 4.3% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Complete the game on MASTER NINJA difficulty

How to Unlock: Finish the full story on MASTER NINJA, the hardest difficulty, unlocked after completing the story once on any difficulty.

Tips: Play your first clear on Normal rather than the easiest “Hero” setting to build real practice for Master Ninja, since jumping straight from Hero creates a steep difficulty spike. Also note that if attempting this via Chapter Select as Ryu, you can only access missions #23 and #24 as him; all other missions force you into playing as Yakumo, so plan your full clear accordingly. Auto Movement being left on during traversal sections has been reported by some players as a possible cause for this achievement not triggering correctly, so turn it off for your Master Ninja run.

True Ninja

Unlock Rate: 2.7% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Acquire all achievements

How to Unlock: Unlock all other 52 achievements in the base game.

Tips: Save Work Horse and general kill-count Missions for after your Master Ninja run using New Game+, since this lets you pick up remaining health upgrades and NinjaCoin before your hardest difficulty attempt.

The Two Masters DLC

The Two Masters

Unlock Rate: 8.7% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Complete The Two Masters DLC story

How to Unlock: Purchase and complete the main story content of The Two Masters expansion.

Tips: This is the entry-point story achievement for the DLC and unlocks upon finishing its campaign content.

A Life Dedicated to Duty

Unlock Rate: 9.4% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Reach a later story milestone in The Two Masters

How to Unlock: Progress through a specific story milestone within The Two Masters DLC campaign.

Tips: This follows normal DLC story progression and doesn’t require any special side objective.

The Pursuit of Duty

Unlock Rate: 10.0% (Very Rare)

Requirement: Reach an early story milestone in The Two Masters

How to Unlock: Progress through an earlier story milestone within The Two Masters DLC campaign, likely preceding A Life Dedicated to Duty.

Tips: This unlocks through normal DLC story progression alongside the other narrative achievements in this expansion.

More Machine than Fiend

Unlock Rate: 2.9% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Defeat a cybernetic boss in The Two Masters

How to Unlock: Defeat a specific cybernetic or mechanical-themed boss encounter within The Two Masters DLC.

Tips: This is one of the DLC’s rarer story achievements, so expect it tied to a boss fight later in the expansion’s campaign.

Scornful Mother of the Damned

Unlock Rate: 2.8% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Defeat a late-game boss in The Two Masters

How to Unlock: Defeat a specific late-game boss encounter within The Two Masters DLC.

Tips: This appears to be one of the DLC’s climactic boss fights, so make sure your equipment and skills are fully upgraded before attempting it.

Way of the New Master Ninja

Unlock Rate: 2.4% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Complete DLC content on the hardest difficulty

How to Unlock: Complete The Two Masters DLC campaign on its hardest available difficulty setting.

Tips: Treat this the same way as the base game’s Way of the Master Ninja achievement: build up gear and practice on an easier difficulty first before attempting the hardest DLC difficulty run.

Ultimate Challenge

Unlock Rate: 2.1% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Complete the DLC’s hardest challenge content

How to Unlock: Complete the most difficult Challenge or Trial content added with The Two Masters DLC.

Tips: Expect this to require the same level of preparation as the base game’s Challenger of Challenges achievement, just applied to the DLC’s new content.

Conqueror of the Abyss

Unlock Rate: 1.6% (Ultra Rare)

Requirement: Complete a specific DLC completion milestone

How to Unlock: Fully complete a specific DLC-exclusive challenge area or gauntlet, likely themed around an “Abyss” location added in The Two Masters.

Tips: This is the rarest achievement tracked for the DLC, so treat it as a genuine endgame goal reserved for after you’ve cleared the rest of the expansion’s content.

5-Phase 100% Completion Roadmap

Phase 1: First Playthrough on Normal Play through the full story on Normal difficulty rather than Hero, since this builds real practice for Master Ninja later. This unlocks all story-progression achievements naturally, along with early weapon mastery and Raven Gear achievements as you encounter them.

P2: Collectible and Mission Cleanup Use a collectible guide to gather all 15 Gourdies, 18 Purgatory Gates, and 23 Health Upgrade Items, and work through as many of the 55 Missions as you can, including chapter-specific ones before you move past their associated chapter (or via Chapter Select afterward).

P3: Weapon and Combat Skill Grind Spend accumulated NinjaCoin and EXP across all 6 weapon skill trees plus the general Combat Skills tree. Set Boss Trials to “Hero” difficulty and clear all 18 Combat Trials, 18 Purgatory Trials, and 14 Boss Trials for Challenger of Challenges.

P4: Chapter-Specific and Obliteration Cleanup Use Chapter Select to attempt the deathless chapter run (Shadow Incarnate) and the Auto-Movement-off traversal challenges (Chapter 02, 06, 10, and 12). Use Training Mode to obliterate every enemy type, including trial-exclusive Black Spider Ninjas, for The One Who Obliterates.

P5: Master Ninja Run and DLC With full health upgrades, maxed weapon skills, and practice from your Normal playthrough, complete the full story on MASTER NINJA difficulty with Auto Movement turned off throughout. Finish any remaining Work Horse missions on New Game+, then move into The Two Masters DLC for its own story and challenge achievements.

Conclusion

Ninja Gaiden 4 keeps its achievement list more approachable than past entries in the series, with almost everything achievable through a thorough single playthrough plus a dedicated Master Ninja run. The real time investment is in the numbers: 55 Missions, 18 Purgatory Trials, 18 Combat Trials, 14 Boss Trials, and 6 full weapon skill trees. Build your practice on Normal difficulty first, clean up collectibles and challenges before your hardest run, and Master Ninja becomes a test of preparation rather than surprise difficulty spikes.