How To Kill A Series 101. Itagaki come back home please
Dismemberment still works
This game is a mistake god left on earth
the game that ruined a great series.
If you want to see a showcase of the game that actually makes it look fun, take a look at Iconoclasts' run of it. I think all the Ninja Gaidens are fine. I might give them a better examination later, but they don't really scratch any specific beat-'em-up itches I have.
Un desperdicio de tiempo como el primero, peor gameplay que la anterior entrega, mejor música, historia estupidísima y a reventar de bugs he tenido que hacer varios bosses de 2 a 5 veces
NG3 RE ended up being way better than I expected, but it's still really mediocre in most areas.
The one area where it definitely isn't mediocre though, is the story, because it's just plain terrible. To start with, Ryu feels like a completely different character here. NG3 is torn between portraying him as this nice guy who is admired by his village and an assassin, slaying any human he meets without any remorse. The problem with this is that it's impossible to get behind the latter portrayal when in the prior games, about 90% of the enemies he killed were demons. It's also said by Muramasa that the Dragon Sword only has the ability to kill evil creatures, so the plot point about Ryu being cursed by all the people he has killed just ends up making no sense. Also, Troy Baker just does not fit the character, he makes Ryu sound like any average guy and for a character that's constantly described as this inhuman badass, it just feels jarring. Then there's Canna, who is a plot device written in the most generic and cringeworthy way possible and I couldn't take any scene with her seriously. The only real highlight of the plot is Regent, I think he's the only character in the series to have some personality, and while he is very entertaining to watch, he's not entertaining enough to justify what a muddled, overly serious mess of a plot this game has.
Atleast the combat is still fun, all the weapons from NG2 make a return here besides the flail and tonfa and this time, they have a ton of moves for you to play around with so it never gets old. The new steel on bone mechanic is pretty cool, in RE, it works as a counter where you press heavy attack as the enemy is glowing red to cut them down. It's more of a reactionary, somewhat defensive tool which is cool to see after how offensive based NG2 was, and the sound design for it is extremely crunchy and satisfying, so it's a welcome addition. My favourite part though, is probably the fact that the bow has infinite arrows and has auto aim so the sections where you have to use it are fun for once. RE brings back purchasable upgrades but since there is no essence in 3, RE instead uses karma as currency which is a neat change since it means how much karma you get will be tied to how good you are performing. It also means that the end of chapter ratings actually serve a purpose now.
So yeah, I like the combat, but the one thing that drags it down for me is the enemy variety, of which there is none. You'll be fighting generic soldier type enemies for most of your adventure, and when you're not, you're usually fighting enemies ripped straight out of the previous games. It gets pretty old. The environments are equally bland, and I'll probably forget every level in a few days. The bosses are pretty hit and miss here, with the worst one either being the Dinosaur who has way too much health or the final boss which is the definition of anticlimactic since you spend half the fight just fighting the same enemies you've been fighting for the last 3 hours as a meter builds up and it just takes forever.
Then there's other stuff that just feels unnecessary, like the occasional walking segment or the climbing QTEs. Also, I wish the curse played a bigger role in the gameplay, in RE, all it does is have Ryu fight enemies in this demon realm. It's not really much of a curse if all it does is have Ryu doing what he's best at is it?
The OST also sucks and I can't recall a single theme from this game besides the menu one.
Overall, I wouldn't call NG3 RE a bad game, and I did enjoy parts of it. However, out of the 3 games, this one has the worst story, soundtrack, level design and enemy variety. Throughout the 7 hours that I spent playing this game, I couldn't stop feeling like I wished I was playing NG2 instead since that game, for all its flaws, atleast knew what it wanted to be.
The one area where it definitely isn't mediocre though, is the story, because it's just plain terrible. To start with, Ryu feels like a completely different character here. NG3 is torn between portraying him as this nice guy who is admired by his village and an assassin, slaying any human he meets without any remorse. The problem with this is that it's impossible to get behind the latter portrayal when in the prior games, about 90% of the enemies he killed were demons. It's also said by Muramasa that the Dragon Sword only has the ability to kill evil creatures, so the plot point about Ryu being cursed by all the people he has killed just ends up making no sense. Also, Troy Baker just does not fit the character, he makes Ryu sound like any average guy and for a character that's constantly described as this inhuman badass, it just feels jarring. Then there's Canna, who is a plot device written in the most generic and cringeworthy way possible and I couldn't take any scene with her seriously. The only real highlight of the plot is Regent, I think he's the only character in the series to have some personality, and while he is very entertaining to watch, he's not entertaining enough to justify what a muddled, overly serious mess of a plot this game has.
Atleast the combat is still fun, all the weapons from NG2 make a return here besides the flail and tonfa and this time, they have a ton of moves for you to play around with so it never gets old. The new steel on bone mechanic is pretty cool, in RE, it works as a counter where you press heavy attack as the enemy is glowing red to cut them down. It's more of a reactionary, somewhat defensive tool which is cool to see after how offensive based NG2 was, and the sound design for it is extremely crunchy and satisfying, so it's a welcome addition. My favourite part though, is probably the fact that the bow has infinite arrows and has auto aim so the sections where you have to use it are fun for once. RE brings back purchasable upgrades but since there is no essence in 3, RE instead uses karma as currency which is a neat change since it means how much karma you get will be tied to how good you are performing. It also means that the end of chapter ratings actually serve a purpose now.
So yeah, I like the combat, but the one thing that drags it down for me is the enemy variety, of which there is none. You'll be fighting generic soldier type enemies for most of your adventure, and when you're not, you're usually fighting enemies ripped straight out of the previous games. It gets pretty old. The environments are equally bland, and I'll probably forget every level in a few days. The bosses are pretty hit and miss here, with the worst one either being the Dinosaur who has way too much health or the final boss which is the definition of anticlimactic since you spend half the fight just fighting the same enemies you've been fighting for the last 3 hours as a meter builds up and it just takes forever.
Then there's other stuff that just feels unnecessary, like the occasional walking segment or the climbing QTEs. Also, I wish the curse played a bigger role in the gameplay, in RE, all it does is have Ryu fight enemies in this demon realm. It's not really much of a curse if all it does is have Ryu doing what he's best at is it?
The OST also sucks and I can't recall a single theme from this game besides the menu one.
Overall, I wouldn't call NG3 RE a bad game, and I did enjoy parts of it. However, out of the 3 games, this one has the worst story, soundtrack, level design and enemy variety. Throughout the 7 hours that I spent playing this game, I couldn't stop feeling like I wished I was playing NG2 instead since that game, for all its flaws, atleast knew what it wanted to be.
there are these VERY SERIOUS scenes in gray labs that are VERY SERIOUS because the bad guys are going to do TERRORIST things and the game is VERY SERIOUS. then the level starts and the music sounds like a monster truck commerical
Even in this updated version of the game, it just feels so generic, the soul of the ninja gaiden series is just not present here and it really hurts the experience, it actually bored me into not playing it, it became a chore. It just feels like a very hollow attempt at trying to turn the series into a cinematic story game, like a god of war 2018 gone wrong and it doesnt work. Whoever in particular got Troy Baker to voice Ryu should be fired immediately, its soooo bad.
I fucking hate this game
It's among my favourites
It's among my favourites
my 9/11
this game rocked. was fluid and fun. combat felt great. got a bit repetitive and the final boss was terrible though.
auugh
The game design shits itself at the end.
good closure to the trilogy.
probably the best combat-system out of the 3 games, the gore and sound-design are satisfying and the movement feel smoother than ever and I really like the new "Steel and Bone" counter mechanic.
unfortunely the game can get repetitive after a while, the levels don't offer as much in comparison to previous games and most of them is just an slog of fighting multiple enemies through each arena.
the boss-battles and enemy design are generally frustating and spongey even more so than the rest of the trilogy.
overall if you except an non-stop bloodshed Hack n' Slash Razor's Edge is probably the best the series can offer but don't expect much of it in other departments especially level variety and design choices.
probably the best combat-system out of the 3 games, the gore and sound-design are satisfying and the movement feel smoother than ever and I really like the new "Steel and Bone" counter mechanic.
unfortunely the game can get repetitive after a while, the levels don't offer as much in comparison to previous games and most of them is just an slog of fighting multiple enemies through each arena.
the boss-battles and enemy design are generally frustating and spongey even more so than the rest of the trilogy.
overall if you except an non-stop bloodshed Hack n' Slash Razor's Edge is probably the best the series can offer but don't expect much of it in other departments especially level variety and design choices.
This review contains spoilers
I can't outright say that there's no fun to be had here, in fact I think in terms of in the moment combat it feels pretty nice. It's mainly everything surrounding it.
Bizarre gameplay implementations like new weapons that can be unlocked whenever, unskippable walking segments, QTE's that add nothing to the experience and are just there for needless spectacle, the "steel on bone" mechanic which (while flashy) never really justified its placement next to the far superior essence system which added another layer of depth to the gameplay.
In terms of environments this entry is also quite drab, there's no part of the art direction or environmental design that really popped, when I think back on the look of this game all that comes to mind is how generic everything was. It doesn't help that they reused a lot of the demonic enemies from the second game and have the other type of enemies you fight be "soldier men."
Judging by the story they obviously wanted to take the franchise into a far more introspective and serious direction. Before, Ryu killed demons without a second thought because it was his duty. Now it feels like an entirely new person has taken his place, one who is far more talkative and spends all of his free time lamenting on the killing he partakes in.
It's a very weak concept to hinge the entire narrative over, as not only does it ignore the character that Ryu was until this point it also does not come to ahead in any meaningful way whatsoever. The conclusion to his inner turmoil being another character stepping into frame and telling him "Eh, you're kinda good AND bad"
There is also a scene that was in the original that's been entirely cut from the Razor's Edge version. This being a moment that takes place early in the game of Ryu killing a soldier who had already thrown down his gun and was begging for his life. Pure shock value that means nothing and especially feels tone deaf when two minutes later you're comboing people into Swiss cheese.
Why harp on the story when talking about a character action game? Simple. Because there really isn't much else to talk about.
This is just the prior game but worse in every regard. It's a lose-lose scenario, this game comes out trying to do it's own thing and it gets ripped to shreds by fans. They re-release it with much more enemy variety and weapons and it comes off as a shallow retread that does nothing to improve on the two games that came before it and includes a plethora of pace killing gimmicks.
If pushed to ask if I'd recommend it...I have no clue. It would depend on how big of a fan you are of the series. There's nothing you really lose from playing this, but nothing to gain either.
Actually, I lie. With the knowledge that this was written by the man who wrote the story of Chrono Trigger, it is pretty entertaining.
Bizarre gameplay implementations like new weapons that can be unlocked whenever, unskippable walking segments, QTE's that add nothing to the experience and are just there for needless spectacle, the "steel on bone" mechanic which (while flashy) never really justified its placement next to the far superior essence system which added another layer of depth to the gameplay.
In terms of environments this entry is also quite drab, there's no part of the art direction or environmental design that really popped, when I think back on the look of this game all that comes to mind is how generic everything was. It doesn't help that they reused a lot of the demonic enemies from the second game and have the other type of enemies you fight be "soldier men."
Judging by the story they obviously wanted to take the franchise into a far more introspective and serious direction. Before, Ryu killed demons without a second thought because it was his duty. Now it feels like an entirely new person has taken his place, one who is far more talkative and spends all of his free time lamenting on the killing he partakes in.
It's a very weak concept to hinge the entire narrative over, as not only does it ignore the character that Ryu was until this point it also does not come to ahead in any meaningful way whatsoever. The conclusion to his inner turmoil being another character stepping into frame and telling him "Eh, you're kinda good AND bad"
There is also a scene that was in the original that's been entirely cut from the Razor's Edge version. This being a moment that takes place early in the game of Ryu killing a soldier who had already thrown down his gun and was begging for his life. Pure shock value that means nothing and especially feels tone deaf when two minutes later you're comboing people into Swiss cheese.
Why harp on the story when talking about a character action game? Simple. Because there really isn't much else to talk about.
This is just the prior game but worse in every regard. It's a lose-lose scenario, this game comes out trying to do it's own thing and it gets ripped to shreds by fans. They re-release it with much more enemy variety and weapons and it comes off as a shallow retread that does nothing to improve on the two games that came before it and includes a plethora of pace killing gimmicks.
If pushed to ask if I'd recommend it...I have no clue. It would depend on how big of a fan you are of the series. There's nothing you really lose from playing this, but nothing to gain either.
Actually, I lie. With the knowledge that this was written by the man who wrote the story of Chrono Trigger, it is pretty entertaining.
what the fuck happened.
Fucking trash game. Completed on Hard, and this is the worst game I've ever played
victim of his time
Not as good as ng Black and ng 2 but still fun to play. especially in coop. servers are still open in 2023
Me estressei mais nesse que no primeiro.
Diabo mesmo
Diabo mesmo
Story beats are weak but hey, it's fun!
gosto muito desse jogo, o personagem principal eh muito bonito. infelizmente, as secundárias sao um pouco feia; um outro problema eh que para matar a kanna eh necesario o rifre.... eh muito difícil de conseguilo
fiz um combo mad muito bacana no meu canal soh desse joguinho
fiz um combo mad muito bacana no meu canal soh desse joguinho
Why am I fighting a dinosaur? Why am I fighting a child the size of a skyscraper? Why do I keep replaying Ninja Gaiden 3? The world may never know.
A rough but fun and viceral game.
So in the first chapter, there's a spider tank for a midboss. No matter what I do, I can't seem to effectively beat him, or even make a dent. There's too much shit to pay attention to: cannons, rockets, machine guns, flamethrowers, and EMPs. I go online to see if other people had similar problems, and I find someone who has a strategy that feels more like exploiting the game's mechanics, rather than using what you know to come out on top in a satisfying battle. Then, in the next chapter, I get to the first fight with the mages, and let me tell you, I have NO idea how to handle these fuckers. Their Sonic Colors Cube(TM) magic deflects nearly all of my attacks, and their grabs suck both my health and my Ki. Just like last time, I go online and see if other people are experiencing the same frustrations I am. Yup, it's not just me. Everyone hates this shit.
It's just balls-to-the-walls action, constant sensory overload. There's no room to breathe here, just going from one combat arena to the next, fight a wave of 40 enemies only to move on to another wave of 40 enemies in the room next door. Nothing that needs explaining is properly explained, like the "steel-on-bone" system. The tutorials are incessantly telling you to push the "look, go here you dumb fuck" button, but it's not a good idea to turn those tutorials off because it'll hide the QTE prompts as well. Good luck guessing what buttons you're supposed to push in your constant life-or-death scenarios!
Remember the "lasting damage" system from Ninja Gaiden 2? It's still in this game, but somehow worse! The lasting damage portion no longer stays visible. As you progress through the chapter, you'll notice your health bar getting shorter, and shorter, and shorter still. You'll then come to realize another funny quirk about this game: There are no healing items whatsoever. The only way to recharge your health is to meditate, which is basically suicide to do mid-battle, and it spends your Ki. It feels kinda insulting that you unlock the ability to buy health extensions for collecting the golden scarabs in this game. Your health is never going to be full long enough for those to feel meaningful. Speaking of Ki, it's attached to a one-time use meter! If it's not full, you can't use ninpos. No way to extend it either! Does this sound like a well-designed experience to you? (Don't answer that.)
I have no fucking idea what's going on with the story. Why is Ryu working with the government? Why do I have an MGS-esque team of people tuned into my earpiece at all times? The game keeps droning on about Ryu being a killing machine, like it's some profound moral conflict, but are you just expected to not fight back against the thousands of enemies who want you dead? And then the story just starts going off the deep end with shit like mutants and dinosaurs, and it desperately wants you to take it seriously despite that.
It's hard to describe what compelled me to see this game through in the first place. Sometimes I want to know precisely what causes a series' downfall, and experience it firsthand. I don't go into games like this just to hate on them; Usually I try to find the bright side! This shit was just too much for me though. Here's my word of advice to you, if you've made it this far; Just go play Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Fantastic action game where you play as a cyborg ninja struggling with inner conflict about being a killing machine. The big difference is that MGR is actually fun, and knows not to take itself too seriously.
It's just balls-to-the-walls action, constant sensory overload. There's no room to breathe here, just going from one combat arena to the next, fight a wave of 40 enemies only to move on to another wave of 40 enemies in the room next door. Nothing that needs explaining is properly explained, like the "steel-on-bone" system. The tutorials are incessantly telling you to push the "look, go here you dumb fuck" button, but it's not a good idea to turn those tutorials off because it'll hide the QTE prompts as well. Good luck guessing what buttons you're supposed to push in your constant life-or-death scenarios!
Remember the "lasting damage" system from Ninja Gaiden 2? It's still in this game, but somehow worse! The lasting damage portion no longer stays visible. As you progress through the chapter, you'll notice your health bar getting shorter, and shorter, and shorter still. You'll then come to realize another funny quirk about this game: There are no healing items whatsoever. The only way to recharge your health is to meditate, which is basically suicide to do mid-battle, and it spends your Ki. It feels kinda insulting that you unlock the ability to buy health extensions for collecting the golden scarabs in this game. Your health is never going to be full long enough for those to feel meaningful. Speaking of Ki, it's attached to a one-time use meter! If it's not full, you can't use ninpos. No way to extend it either! Does this sound like a well-designed experience to you? (Don't answer that.)
I have no fucking idea what's going on with the story. Why is Ryu working with the government? Why do I have an MGS-esque team of people tuned into my earpiece at all times? The game keeps droning on about Ryu being a killing machine, like it's some profound moral conflict, but are you just expected to not fight back against the thousands of enemies who want you dead? And then the story just starts going off the deep end with shit like mutants and dinosaurs, and it desperately wants you to take it seriously despite that.
It's hard to describe what compelled me to see this game through in the first place. Sometimes I want to know precisely what causes a series' downfall, and experience it firsthand. I don't go into games like this just to hate on them; Usually I try to find the bright side! This shit was just too much for me though. Here's my word of advice to you, if you've made it this far; Just go play Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Fantastic action game where you play as a cyborg ninja struggling with inner conflict about being a killing machine. The big difference is that MGR is actually fun, and knows not to take itself too seriously.
Revision or no, this game is pretty balls. Where NGII tried to turn the series into God of War with its linearity and setpieces, this one tries to go full Uncharted with horrendous scripted events that even inundate combat, QTEs that function however they want to and new mechanics that seem cool but fall flat. Top it off with terrible performance (on Wii U) and the worst final boss I've ever seen and you have a genuinely bad game that's got its moments.
I don't like the tone i don't like the climbing i don't like the bosses (last boss fucking Sucks) why i can't heal myself with the items i don't even like the gameplay mechanics in this one and red counter attacks by the way why Troy baker is voicing Ryu lol. Meh game i just didn't like it after the 2 games
7/10
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