Not everyone is going to be accepting
of the fact that Ninja Gaiden 3 exists without the assistance of former
Team Ninja leader Tomonobu Itagaki. For the longest time, this producer
defined what the hardcore ninja experience is supposed to be, and since
his hasty departure from Tecmo Koei’s camp, many were wondering how the
legendary Ryu Hayabusa would fare without him. Well, now that the
game’s here, we can honestly say that, yes, it is a different venture
for him, but that doesn’t mean it sucks. In fact, this ninja is still
as sharp as ever, mind a slight misstep or two.
The
third chapter follows Ryu as he carves his way through an enemy army,
before coming face-to-mask with an evil alchemist who has a trick up his
sleeve in the way of sorcery. Following a fierce battle, Ryu finds his
arm infected with a strange demonic force. Desperate to get back to
his normal self – and save the world in the process – Ryu sets out on
his most difficult task yet, stopping this madman and his mutant army.
Yeah,
the story goes off the rails at times, but that’s just part of the fun.
One minute, Ryu finds himself in a test facility, facing off against
mutating creatures and narrowly escaping death by jumping across chasms;
the next, he comes face to face with a robotically enhanced T-Rex,
charging at him from all directions and then, just when you think he’s
disposed off, popping up again. This is probably the most lively we’ve
seen the Ninja Gaiden series be, even if it’s slightly unbelievable.
To
make the gameplay feel a little more fleshed out, Tecmo added a few
things to the sequel. For instance, you can now climb up walls using
your daggers, and while it takes a bit of practice (one hand needs to be
firmly planted or you’ll lose grip), it’s an interesting new technique.
You can also call upon occasional dragon ninpo to clear the screen in
an explosion of brightly lit fire, or use your demon arm to cut some
enemies to shreds in a hurry. There are quick-time events too, though
they aren’t nearly as annoying as we’ve seen in previous games. In
fact, some are pretty damn slick, particularly when you’re getting the
jump on a surprising enemy, stabbing him without looking.
The
controls retain the same hack and slash action we’ve gotten used to.
While we’re a bit sad that you can’t chop off limbs like you could in
Ninja Gaiden II, there’s still plenty of blood to spill, which is a good
thing. And while things do get slightly repetitive (you’re stuck with
the main sword at first, though more weapons are coming via DLC), it’s
still quick, ninja-enabled fun, so if you’re a fan of that, it’s still
intact.
Graphically,
Ninja Gaiden 3 may not have evolved much from the previous game, but
parts of it still look quite fantastic. Both the indoor and outdoor
environments look great (particularly the dusty deserts of Saudi
Arabia), and the animation is razor sharp, right down to Ryu’s cool
little “ghosting” ability with some attacks. There are times the frame
rate drops a bit when the combat gets somewhat heavy, but never to the
point that it becomes lackluster. And the camera manages okay, though
there are slight occasions it gets stuck behind a wall. No biggie.
As
for the dialogue, it’s acceptable. Not to say it’s not cheesy at
times, as enemies repeat the same thing over and over (“Damn ninja!”)
and the alchemist is a little too show-offish for his own good, but
we’ve heard worse.
Along
with a main story mode, which will take you a few hours (maybe longer
on Hardcore difficulty), you also get some pretty good online content. A
co-op mode has you team up with a fellow ninja for various Spec
Ops-style missions, relying heavily on teamwork. There’s also a cool
little four-on-four team deathmatch kind of mode, which may not be heavy
on strategy, but still packs plenty of bloodshed. Nothing wrong with
that.
So
maybe Ninja Gaiden 3 doesn’t raise the bar like some fans may be
expecting it to be, but overall, it’s still a worthwhile sequel,
especially when it comes to its crazy boss battles (I'm telling you,
that T-Rex is NUTS), great online compatibility and an above-average
presentation. What it lacks in the “Itagaki touch”, it more than makes
up for with some impressive “slice-and-dice”.
