In Ninja Trials (both co-op and solo), you will not play as Ryu but, instead, a customized Ninja. By default, the customization options for your Ninja are limited. More of the accessories and outfits will be unlocked as you play through the Ninja Trials. Also, a leveling system has been implemented within the Ninja Trials. Your Ninja might start off with a weak arsenal, but, as you level up, you will be able to learn more techniques and make the ninpos more powerful. Playing the Ninja Trials are fun, but it’s better if it’s played with a friend.
Quick Time Events
To make the action more interactive, there will be quick time events pretty much every time you fight an enemy. From beginning to end, quick time events are a necessary part of survival. Boss fights are the one that usually require the use of this feature. While QTE’s don’t work in some games, the ones in Ninja Gaiden are just right, as it’s always great to see how Ryu will perform his finishing move.
NOT
Not Challenging Enough
The Ninja Gaiden series has been infamous for its difficulty. With the new direction that Ninja Gaiden has taken, one of the things that is changed is the level of challenges presented in the campaign. Under normal difficulty, veteran players will find it too easy and that it feels like Ninja Dog mode from the previous games. Those who love the challenge found in the previous two game, starting on hard is recommended, although it’s still not very challenging. Basically, the hardest known action game in the industry has now been dumbed down to a point where it is sure to disappoint a lot of fans of the series.
New Changes Might Not be for the Fans
Ninja Gaiden 3 has undergone so many changes that it’s not quite the Ninja Gaiden game we remember. Since Itagaki left, the things we loved about Ninja Gaiden are gone; like the challenge it once had. Those who are fond of changing weapons and customizing Ryu’s arsenal in the campaign will be disappointed, as this feature was removed. Throughout the nine stages, Ryu is limited to two weapons: his sword and a bow. There’s now no way to equip Ryu with some armlet to increase his attack or even use beads to increase his life bar. The game has become very streamlined, where you simply jump in and get the objective (killing LOTS of enemies) done.
Another change that’s in Ninja Gaiden 3 is the removal of Muramasa Shop, where you buy items to replenish the HP bar. One of the things that makes Ninja Gaiden 3 much easier is that HP is refilled after every wave of battle. There’s also no need for fans to collect essence in order to restore your HP bar, gain currency to buy items or restore Ninpo slots. Speaking of Ninpo, there’s now a bar below the HP bar which you have to fill up to use. Once full, you can then launch a fire dragon attack that can kills all the enemies on the field. The following changes were done to make the game somewhat more bearable and easy.
Bosses Aren’t Memorable
Another disappointment I have with Ninja Gaiden 3, is that bosses are no longer memorable. While fighting bosses, you will notice that they no longer have life bars. Simply keep on attacking and, depending on what difficulty your playing, they will go down in no time. One of the better bosses is a giant witch, which somewhat resembles the Titan fight in God of War 3. As for the rest of the bosses, they are forgettable and easy.
Dull Online Clan Battle
In addition to co-op, there’s also a competitive mode called Ninja Clan Battle within the game where you can compete with up to eight players online and perform kills. Divided into two groups, the main goal of the Clan Battle is eliminate the opposing side under a certain time limit. Think of this mode as a Team Deathmatch with swords. Between the Co-Op Ninja Trials and Clan Battle, I find co-oping with someone a lot enjoyable because Clan Battle is just simply a mindless hack and slash with no depth at all. As for the connection, it’s smooth and noticed no lag on a full eight player match. While it’s not necessary to play it in order to enjoy the game, it’s there for anyone who wants to get more out of the game.
VERDICT
Veteran players of the Ninja Gaiden series, will be extremely disappointed with Ninja Gaiden 3, mainly due to the plethora of changes. The biggest change coming in the form of the dumbed down difficulty. While that may be a big change for fans, it’s hard to deny that Ninja Gaiden 3 still succeeds in delivering the solid action gameplay that the series has been known for and finally delivers a story that fans will care about. When it comes to weighing the pros and cons of the new Ninja Gaiden game, it is still a solid title that long-time fans and newcomers to the franchise shouldn’t miss.
[Editor’s Note: Ninja Gaiden 3 was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
Didier
March 20, 2012 at 7:21 PMThe game sucks and you dare to give it an 8?! This is by far the worst review on the internet.
Too bad, I was beginning to like this site and all of a sudden, this review comes up.
Byebye.
Grant Gaines (大将)
March 20, 2012 at 7:31 PM@ Didier or anyone with a complaint
Reviewing some games are HARD. Just because the game isn’t “Ninja Gaiden”, doesn’t mean its bad. Just like if Resident Evil 6 becomes a run and gun game, over the traditional survival horror. Sure it won’t appeal to long standing fans, but we can’t hold that against it to an extreme degree. These are all key elements to being a creditable review site, over being an annoying fanboy nerd raging.
big ninja gaiden fan
March 20, 2012 at 8:27 PM@grant gaines great review you show the good and the bad points about this game i am a die hard fan that loves fast moving games that runs at 60fps and i own ninja gaiden 1-2 for ps3 i even own ninja gaiden 2 for xbox i for one love most of the changes that in this version of the game i hated the yellow essence it was so gamini plus ninja gaiden 1 was far better then two without the limbs falling off… once again great review
James
March 20, 2012 at 11:25 PMI’m with didler on this one. Ninja gaiden is supposed to be hard. It’s a hard games and if itagaki was part of the team, none of this crap would be happening, from horrid controls, to ripping off mini game ideas with zero originality, this game is a joke to the entire series. The fact is, this is supposed to be ninja gaiden.a hard series. Not one tailored to the sissy gamers who can’t muster up a pair and play 1 or two on a harder difficulty.
Mike
March 21, 2012 at 12:54 AMI thought the review was good, and I appreciate it as it answered the main questions I had about the game and was honest. @James nothing was more amazing then beating the first ninja gaiden, a game many people couldn’t beat the training level, and a game that was so hard they had to rerlease it with an easy difficulty(and a ton of other awesome extras) but let’s face it. Ninja Gaiden 2 sucked and itagaki was apart of that and quit. Doa has sucked since doa3 all he was good for was graphics, an adding sex appeal.
Michi
March 21, 2012 at 5:46 AMGuys i’ve played till death the other 2 chapter of NG , that i’m big fan, and was waiting to put my hand on this one … Yesterday i did …. and with my big disappointment i have to say that this one is very CRAPPY ! I don’t know how could team Ninja develop a game like this , damn did they try it before ?? They take out the soul of NG and destroyed the complete saga … if love ninja gaiden and u think that this will be the sequel of the 2 previus chapter … well STAY AWAY form it!
danske
March 21, 2012 at 11:39 AMI have played every Ninja Gaiden on both the ps3, xbox, and xbox 360. I have logged hudreds of hours playing Ninja Gaiden, NInja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden II….ect. I am sad to say Ninja Gaiden III is by far the worst i have ever played. There is nothing to Ninja Gaiden III. Nothing to find, no puzzles, no fun!!!! I should try and return it but I will keep it for my collection. Once again it is a disgrace to the name NINJA GAIDEN!!!!!!!!!!!
Dustin
March 22, 2012 at 4:38 AMI give the game a six out of ten. The graphics were good and the bosses are pretty cool but the worst thing about the game and in my opion a lot of recent games is you don’t get rewarded for playing. In the previous games there were a ton of weapons and ultimate techniques. Using the different weapons and leveling them up was half the game. Hidden items to find also made the game worth playing. Again it all comes back to the kick ass weapons though and in NG3 you only have one two if you count the bow. I’m glad to have it in my collection just cause I am a huge fan but I used to like the series better than God of War and NG3 changed my opion.
MrTushy
March 22, 2012 at 1:01 PMVery good review! People don’t like change but this game should be judged as a game and not according to its previous installments. No way does it deserve the 3s and 4s it’s getting…. Get over the butthurt ppl….
anonq
March 23, 2012 at 4:55 PMGame seems like utter trash, and it’s made worse by its legacy.
John Benedict Alcantara
March 25, 2012 at 3:26 AMI agree on the nots, but you should have give it a seven instead of eight. Many fans are not amused by the changes which the programmers and designers did to the game. I love Itagaki when he create Dead or Alive on the PS1 for both markets. At first, he created it on the arcade and the Sega Saturn except the Sega Saturn version is only for the Japan market. Dead or Alive 2 is his last Sega made game and he’s disappointed with the performance on the Hardcore edition for the PS2. When he transited to the Xbox as a replacement to the Dreamcast, it got the best of him. Dead or Alive Ultimate came out with the original Sega Saturn version of the first Dead or Alive and an enhanced remake of Dead or Alive 2 utilizing the Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball graphics engine and the Dead or Alive 3 fighting mechanics. Ninja Gaiden II is Itagaki’s last epic game to be made involving him. The third Ninja Gaiden is never with him and neither Dead or Alive 5 will include his involvement because all his games are based on his portfolio. Fighting games are his specialty.
Thanks to the former CEO of Tecmo, Itagaki goes on to make a third person shooter, Devil’s Third for THQ. Tecmo became Koei Tecmo after a merge. The whole team remaining who didn’t left are now FSU’d. Challenges and non-linearity is the key. As being said, you may want to change the rating to seven for this game. Seven out of ten isn’t a good score as it’s an C-, but it’s good enough to meet this game’s qualifications. I played Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox before. It’s hard, but it’s hella worth playing.
danske
March 25, 2012 at 10:51 PMNG3 is not a seven its not even a five. If your going to call a game Ninja Gaiden it better be Ninja Gaiden!!
John Benedict Alcantara
March 26, 2012 at 3:06 AM@Danske
It deserves a seven, you ****. C- is a bad score. Do you even go to college? If you’re going to know games and because of this shit easy difficulty, you have to know game design. Why? Because I go to school for that! It’s not Ninja Gaiden without Tomonobu Itagaki and his games are an A-grade material. This game is by a Ninja fag named Yosuke Hayashi. The last two are by Itagaki while the last two Sigmas are by Hayashi. Hayashi fucked shit up the game, so his games are just Cs and Ds material. I’m not some kiddy gamer to play games easy, but I can make games to know their pace without rubberbanding like hell. Difficulty settings are for pacing the game and their players. The harder the game, the faster the player will play the game.
What’s not to understand, Danske? No shit, it’s not Ninja Gaiden. It’s not even a five? Why? You want to play a zero graded game? That’s when Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing will face that rating! The game works, that’s good and there are people complaining about the difficulty, so from my perspective, C- is all I have. You want a five or even less than this game’s rating? Dead or Alive Paradise is the one. It will be Ninja Gaiden with Itagaki, PERIOD.
John Benedict Alcantara
March 26, 2012 at 3:30 AMKeep in mind, Danske. If Itagaki would have worked on Ninja Gaiden 3, it’ll be ten times better than this. With Itagaki around, it deserves 9 or 10. When he’s not, 6 or 7 deserves it. Who the fuck this reviewer would give Ninja Gaiden 3 an 8? You’ll see in the reviews lineup that the reviews of the remaining installments are all from Hayashi’s work. Meaning there is no Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden II listed. A 5 or lower rated game will be a broken shit game. That’s why Battle Fantasia did the best out of me.
danske
March 26, 2012 at 8:43 PMHey dipshits in computer world your missing the point! Yes if the game was called anything else besides Ninja Gaiden it would be an average game. But when you label a game Ninja Gaiden it is held to a higher standard and a different score to a true fan of the game. So I don’t give a shit that you’re going to college for this; which means you have no real world experience. Why dont you listen to the fan and stop making excuses or saying its a good Ninja Gaiden game. Simple fact is its not Ninja Gaiden and it needs to be named something else
Hephaistos
June 9, 2012 at 3:03 AMLess violence and less sex-appeal equals no buy! :D
Bring Itagaki back and pay him three times as much as he did get before!