Excuse me, waiter? You got some 'bullet hell' in my ninja game....
It seems for every Ninja Gaiden, there is a re-release that adds, subtracts, or changes various aspects of the original game. Way back in the day, we had Ninja Gaiden Black then Ninja Gaiden Sigma on the PS3. After the brutal Ninja Gaiden II was released on the Xbox 360, a nicer and kinder retread was released for PS3 in the form of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. In 2012 Team Ninja treated the world to the much maligned Ninja Gaiden 3, which seemed to be the series 'jump the shark' moment, eschewing prettying much everything that made the series great in favor of limp enemies, stripped down gameplay, and a seriously condescending auto-dodge feature in case you sucked (read: I really sucked....)
After a brief time fermenting on the Wii U, Ninja Gaiden 3's retread made it to the other consoles, and the majority of the world was allowed to try their hands at Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge.
Razor's Edge is everything I hoped it would be. Meaning, it wasn't as bad as Ninja Gaiden 3. The extra weapons give the game more variety. The inclusion of female ninja Ayane (who might as well get her own game at this point) breaks up the story in silly ways. The combat is better overall.
So, while the past NG re-releases have added small details, a few new enemies, or nerfed the game(or in the case of Black, added insane difficulty spikes), Razor's Edge practically delivers a completely overhauled and different experience from its source material. So, as an expanded gameplay experience, Razor's Ege is an amazing success.
But in the most important category, gameplay, there are some serious red flags.
First: The game is insanely difficult at times. Carving your way through legions of enemies is typically fun, but Hayabusa handles a bit differently this time around. His animations are slower, he handles more like a tank than a fighter jet. If you are a series veteran but waited to until Razor's Edge to pick up NG3, you'll be surprised at how different it feels. In other words: A lot of little things add up to make the gameplay not quite feel as tight as it was.
Second: The game is insanly difficult. I could understand this better if the difficulty was due to smart AI or powerful enemies. But, while the enemies do play hard to get and they are indeed powerful as the emperor has foreseen, that is not why this game is brutal.
Razor's Edge has more in common with bullet hell titles than fast paced action/adventure titles. Enemies constantly stand off to the side and attack with rocket launchers or bows and arrows. Enemies fill the screen and attack simultaneously (and seemingly with wider damage areas than before). And these enemies always come in multiple waves. Even the big bad fiends tend to attack three or four at a time in two or three waves.
It is disconcerting to see Team Ninja mistake enemy spam for difficulty.
You will die a lot in Razor's Edge. More than likely you will die more in Razor's Edge than in Dark Souls or Demon's Souls. One of the better aspects of previous titles were the moments when Hayabusa had no enemies to fight. Some of the more enjoyable aspects of Ninja Gaiden were the puzzles and the parkour style platforming sections. Those are all but extinct in this game. It is just faster, kill, kill! And all of that all the time....
And the boss battles are just insanely difficult. There are difficult moments in games. There are challenge spikes in games. There are cruel moments when difficulty shoots through the roof.
Razor's Edge's boss battles are the Krakatoa of difficulty spikes. They are sudden, in your face, and shocking. Rage quits will happen. Islands will be destroyed. Controllers will be annihilated.
Third: It gets a bit...old....
Yes, after 10 hours of wiping the floor with the same enemies (and getting wiped out by those same enemies), I couldn't help but think back to the spectacular enemy variety of the original game. This is a bit nitpicky, but still, I caught my attention and somewhat diminished the experience.
Fourth: Shakespeare it ain't....
Yes, Team Ninja decided the wanted to tell a heart warming story of master ninja death dealer meets mute child. It is par for the course for games like this to not make any sense whatsoever. Often there is a lot of charm with a game winks at itself from time to time to say "Don't take this too seriously, we sure aren't!"
Razor's Edge does this quite a bit. From the massage parlor scene to a few cameos later in the game, Razor's Edge seemingly knows when to wink at the audience.
However, each character is a woeful character archetype. We have the old, grizzled samurai-esque leader. We have the sweet but strong (but still not as strong as him) lady/sidekick. We have the villain who talks just like every other Japanese villain in existence. One of the better parts of Ninja Gaiden was the lack of knowledge about what was going on. The minimalist approach to story telling (which I would imagine was purely accidental) allowed for the player to discover things and see (minimal) character developments in real time. Razor's Edge force-feeds these things in cliched cutscenes with cliched characters and cliched plot developments.
But, Razor's Edge knows when to wink, so that lightens the burden of the poor story-telling just enough to not cause your eyes to bleed.
Last Words: I sometimes focus on the negatives a bit too much. There is a lot to like about Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. If you crave a great challenge and great sense of reward after clearing a boss on Normal difficutly, then this is your game. The added content really does make a lot of difference, and in many cases it is quality content. It is still Ninja Gaiden. Despite the wacky and cliched story telling and the strange change in play style, I still enjoy dropping enemies on their heads. It is still great fun to plow through enemies and unleash powerful attacks that shake the planet. It is still difficult to put down once you get into a groove and actually manage to take down swarms of enemies without losing too much of your health meter.
Verdict: Great re-release of a poor conceived game. Uneven at times and feels very different from the meticulous pacing of the first two games. More or less redeems the franchise. Beware the difficulty. Beware the slower hero. Beware the fan service. A good game for fans. Check it out if you are new.