Ridiculously easy and painfully repetitive, Ninja Gaiden 3 is a stain on the otherwise pristine Ninja Gaiden record.
The story begins with series hero Ryu Hayabusa investigating a new threat: a clan of alchemists who aim to bring about a new world order. While that may sound incredibly derivative, Ninja Gaiden 3 offers a secondary plot featuring Ryu's role as a ninja. Throughout the game, Ryu experiences dangerous effects from a curse given to him by the opposition. Turns out that Ryu's role as a ninja has been given him some bad credibility, as the enemies label him a murderer and give him a nasty curse. The story has a few brief turns, but it's disappointing that the resolution is so flimsy and meaningless. Aside from some minor appearances by series mainstays, the past Ninja Gaiden mythology has been shoved aside for a boring, sci-fi narrative. Ryu's struggle with his killing ways isn't represented very well either. He kills hundreds of enemies throughout the game, but still feels disturbed by it. It just doesn't add up. Ninja Gaiden 3 possesses a meaningless storyline that stands far away from the series' mainstays. It's essentially your typical action game with the Ninja Gaiden license slapped on it.
The Ninja Gaiden reboot on the original Xbox was an amazingly fluid transition from the tough-as-nails 2D action title on the NES to a modern medium, but the most apparent shift was the combat. Those who've experienced the original NES Ninja Gaiden games know that it was not easy in any sense of the word. Team Ninja's Xbox rendition didn't skip a beat in making every enemy encounter a tense and challenging one. The combat took the fast-paced swordplay of Devil May Cry and amped up the difficulty to unheard of levels. But beneath this near-masochistic challenge level was a keen eye for fluidity. Ninja Gaiden was pitch-perfect when it came to dodging, leaping, and slashing up enemies, but Ninja Gaiden 3 does none of that. The combat is sluggish and awkward; there's a noticeable delay between button input and attack animation. While dodges are slick and stylish, the combat situations demand zero skill. Randomly pressing buttons can and likely will be the style of choice for players; even worse, it proves more effective than using any well-timed attacks or smooth defenses. The skill and refinement of the Ninja Gaiden combat system is tossed aside in favor of a quick-time-event-heavy combat system that requires no precision or reflexes.
While the sloppy combat may seem like a way to make the game more difficult, Ninja Gaiden 3 is far, far easier than its predecessors. Enemies can be pretty aggressive at times, but health is doled out at a ridiculous rate. Almost every typical battle follows a tediously designed pattern. Ryu will encounter a group of enemies, the player will repeatedly tap the X button through quick attacks (or more than likely a slew of quick-time events), Ryu will use his overpowered Dragon Sword attack, earn enough energy to use the stupidly devastating Ninpo attack, X button attack again, rinse, repeat. It's a mindless cycle that happens so frequently that even the small changes like using a bow to attack from a distance feel purposeless and dry. Even worse, health is restored after every battle, so running out is extremely rare. The fact that Ninja Gaiden 3 only has one melee weapon, one Ninpo spell, and one ranged skill on the disc (more weapons will be released as DLC) makes the repetition even more prevalent. Ninja Gaiden 3 is bare-bones at every opportunity and doesn't offer a trace of diversity in its already shallow combat.
Ninja Gaiden 3's repetitive combat and dull encounters stretch across a tedious eight hours, but even before the first hour rolls out, you'll already be exhausted from boredom. Not even the available Ninja Trials offer enough longevity beyond the campaign. The multiplayer is also affected by the tedium, so you and your friends can trudge through the online play as a team. Even worse is the infamous Online Pass which shuts you out of the multiplayer unless you pay for it (or buy a new copy). Ninja Gaiden 3's longevity is reasonable for its price, but its underwhelming gameplay makes every mode a slow and boring crawl.
Despite this insane amount of broken gameplay elements, Ninja Gaiden 3 is actually an amazing-looking game. Team Ninja has always been about adding pristine graphic design to their games and Ninja Gaiden 3 follows in that long tradition. The ferocious Ninpo animations are a sight to behold, as are Ryu's insane gliding and attacking animations. Ninja Gaiden, like its predecessors, is a beautifully gory game. Every stream of blood and guts is just as impressive as it is stomach-turning. Though enemy and boss designs are stale and repetitive, the animations are technically superb. The voice acting, on the other hand, overstays its welcome. The cinematic sequences aren't awfully performed, but the quips from the cookie-cutter enemies are. Once one guy says "killing is my business" you'll already be tired of it. The fact that it drags on with nearly every battle doesn't help. The sound effects, though, are brutal and visceral, complimenting the action with intense bursts of slashing and dashing. While the presentation has its ups and downs, it still can't save Ninja Gaiden 3 from being a boring and underwhelming action game.
By eliminating everything that made the modern renditions of the series so exciting, Team Ninja has horribly stained the series' reputation. Ninja Gaiden 3's terribly weak combat and repetitive design are such massive departures from the highly regarded series that (aside from its characters) you wouldn't even know that you're playing a Ninja Gaiden game. A flat and uninteresting plot with a meaningless struggle between Ryu and his shinobi ways make the motivation to continue playing dry and tedious. The campaign, multiplayer, and extras are all hindered by the game's uninspired design. Though its presentation has moments of polish and the game's cinematic, over-the-top appeal has its times of shine, Ninja Gaiden 3 simply can't back its visual style up with respectable and functional gameplay. Team Ninja thought they were modernizing the series for a new audience with Ninja Gaiden 3, but the end result ignores the core followers at every opportunity. Hopefully, Team Ninja will notice the error of their ways and bring Ryu back to where he needs to be in the next installment, because Ninja Gaiden 3 doesn't deserve your attention, patience, or money.