Overall Score: 7.5
The Ninja Gaiden franchise has spawned various titles across a variety of systems, but this was to be the first under the new Team Ninja with the departure of resident rock start Itakagi. I was more then a little intrigued about what direction the series would take. Already familiar with the game (one of the selling points for me with the original XBox 1).
So how does this title hold up? Is there a departure from the established themes of the series?
To be honest there isn’t much you need to know about the Ninja Gaiden series. It’s an over-the-top series featuring tons of action and one of, if not the, coolest ninja in all of gaming. (Sorry Naruto.) The game goes from 0 to 200mph in under 2 secs.
Let me set the scene: you are a resident bad-ass ninja of the nth degree sit atop a Gargoyle in the rain. How would one enter into to combat, stairs a ladder…. Frak no! You’re Ryu Hayabusa, so this means you are going to jump straight off and glide into your enemy. Now here is the second question: how should you silence your prey. A 1 finger-shush pantomime?
Or perhaps stabbing him in the stomach, flipping him over and ripping him in two? Yeah, that sounds way more ninja-like… at least for the Ninja Gaiden series.
Gameplay
If you weren’t aware, Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge is a hack n’ slash title much like classics God of War and Devil May Cry. The Ninja Gaiden series’ standout feature is the aggressive enemy AI. They seldom wait around for you to attack, and they always attack with a pack mentality. Each battle is non-stop action with a lot of strategy and focus upon skill. The control layout is pretty easy to pick up: light and heavy attacks, a jump, and a dash that doubles as a blocking maneuver – tap once for a dash or hold for a block. The Dash / Block is your best friend, as you will be dodging attacks and riposting for some brutal damage.
Several things have changed in Razor’s Edge. In previous titles you were given very limited health that would only regenerate if you found a health potion. (Yes there are very few in the game, so it meant you had to get really good at not dying.) In Razor’s Edge, your health regenerates after every battle – but that being said, the more times you get hit the shorter the health bar gets, providing some reward for skill. This time around, your Ninpo (Magic, or Jutsu for you Naruto fans) has the bonus effect of healing you as long as you hit your target. I found this to be a nice bonus as it actually encouraged more frequent use of the Ninpo.
However, I wasn’t so keen on some other additions to the title. The wall climb, reused throughout the game, is really difficult to perform and the on screen instructions leave a lot to be desired. It’s also used sparingly so even if you master it, there is a slight chance you might forget the technique before you need to do it again. The same could be said for the sliding – a neat flavor addition for the game’s chase sequences, but used so infrequently that you almost always forget how to do it the next time you need it. As a digital title, there was no instruction manual, and ingame menu didn’t offer many solutions either.
Otherwise, Razor’s Edge is pretty much what you’ve come to expect out of a Ninja Gaiden title. There was only one boss that really made me have flashbacks to the Exploding Armadillo (see Ninja Gaiden 2). This time it was an overpowered T-Rex with AI all over the place, making it one of the most frustrating battles I’ve had in any Ninja Gaiden title.
Sound
One the saving graces in all Tecmo’s titles is the support for Japanese with English subtitles. That’s not to say there isn’t a dub for you dubbers out there. It’s just nice to have both for all types of fans. The soundtrack is pretty decent, and the game features tons of great SFX. (The only odd part was in the desert level, you could hear Ryu walking around, which I found odd considering he’s like a Grade-A ninja…) Nitpicks aside, the sound works well.
Graphics
Having played through every title Ninja Gaiden title, I was pretty impressed with the look of this one. Everything had a nice look to it and it really shows in the action sequences. As more then once it received a giggle from me.
Overall: 7.5
While not my favorite Ninja Gaiden title, I certainly enjoyed it enough to even warrant a second play through. Everything about the title screamed Tecmo, including the over the top blood and gore, mixed with the over sexualized female characters. If you are looking for a action title that doesn’t hold anything back this might be worth a look. Though keep in mind it’s Tecmo so you have to have skills :)