Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge

I haven’t played the original Ninja Gaiden 3, but Razor’s Edge is a re-release based on fan feedback to attempt to fix the original game. The original release was deemed more streamlined, considered to be aimed at newcomers which is strange when its the 3rd game in a series known for difficulty. Razor's Edge added more gore, more difficult enemies, put moves in the skill tree to unlock, added more weapons, tweaked some audio, and more.

You have a quick attack, strong attack, block, dodge, shurikens, charge attack, and some basic combos. As you progress through the story, you acquire additional weapons like claws, staff and scythe. You also acquire a bow for a ranged attack. In each combat area, there is often someone attacking you from range, You only really have time to quickly tap the lock-on, fire, then dodge.

I found the combat very monotonous, often me using the same button patterns. Only a few enemy types made me change my strategy slightly. One flaw that annoyed me was how the enemies seemed to follow you. If you want me to dodge a lot, don't allow enemies to quickly home in on me mid-combo. If I dodge, I expect them to swing and miss, not turn around and hit me like they predicted my movement and have faster reactions than a ninja.

When enemies are low health, they will go into a rage, so need to be finished off. I think this is when they often grab you, and one enemy suicide bombs and takes a large amount of your health. This can feel unfair when there is a lot going on and don’t have a chance to react. There is a few unfair moments like when a boss attacks you straight out of a cutscene.

There’s a variety of enemy types, usually soldiers at the start, but then you come across different demons.

Graphically, the game has an arcade look, so has basic textures. The graphics take a dip in places, such as the car models in the final level. The gore and decapitations make it more stylish. Ryu wears black, and many enemies are very similar, or dark colours. Since the camera is zoomed in and the combat is fast-paced, it can be hard to keep track of what is going on and you can lose track of who Ryu is. Some levels see you play as a female ninja. She has pink hair and a more distinctive outfit so you never lose track of her and I actually enjoyed these sections more. The women have jiggle physics, even the ones that look like they have padded chest armour.

There are a few “stealth” sections which are activated by walking slowly but I don't think there was an opportunity in the latter half of the game. There’s some minimal platforming: vertical wall climbing, wall jumping and some wall-running. You would think they would make it a bit more involved or visually interesting like a game such as Prince of Persia. To climb the vertical walls, you initially press the left and right triggers to cling on, then alternate them to climb. Some walls have enemies or other dangers which make you leap to the side.

There’s a fair few quick-time events which are often just hammering an attack button, or pressing dodge. The ones that can surprise you usually have a checkpoint a few seconds before so they aren’t too frustrating.

At certain points, Ryu will be temporarily affected by his cursed arm. This takes you to an arena, where Ryu’s health slowly drains, but can be restored by defeating enemies. His rage makes him overpowered so it’s even more mindless than the normal combat. When that finishes, Ryu limps around for a bit in a slow-walking section. These sections seemed pointless to me.

You save your game at save points which is represented by a glowing eagle that swoops in. Here, your health is fully restored.

There’s some gold scarabs to collect which are often hidden behind objects; often in places where the camera won’t naturally pan to.

I think Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge is a pretty average game. It is competent but definitely has its flaws, and is a bit repetitive for my liking.