Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 24
  3. Negative: 2 out of 24
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  1. Digital Chumps
    Apr 9, 2013
    84
    Razor's Edge mixes up tradition in the Ninja Gaiden franchise enough to make it a worthy purchase. A great story (even with action cliches), gameplay improvements, more dismemberments, and online modes. Problems with the camera, glitches, and invisible walls still plague the series. At $40, there is plenty of value to consider this worthwhile.
  2. Play UK
    May 27, 2013
    80
    It's challenging, brutal and rewarding, so self-professed hardcore gamers should be all over this noise. [Issue#231, p.84]
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  3. Game Over Online
    Apr 24, 2013
    80
    All in all, if you’re one of the lucky ones that avoided the first version due to low scores or bad word-of-mouth, then this one might just do it for you.
  5. Game Revolution
    Apr 15, 2013
    80
    If you're hankering for some highly difficult, ninja-dismemberment action that prizes precision play, it's a pretty good buy. If high difficulty annoys you or you prefer to play as a damage-tank who can soak a lot of hits, avoid at all costs.
  6. Hardcore Gamer
    Apr 5, 2013
    80
    Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge is a must-buy for anybody who skipped the initial release, or those still burned by a likely swift trade-in of the flawed original. It’s only forty bucks at launch and offers up a lot of fun gameplay that is back to feeling what it should feel like instead of a neutered version of it. This is the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 3, and fits in nicely with the best versions of NG and NG II for scratching that action-platformer itch when you’re in the mood for some ninja-based killing sprees.
  7. Vandal
    Apr 2, 2013
    78
    This is what Ninja Gaiden 3 should have been when it was first released. It's still far from perfect, but it brings back some of the feelings the series used to have.
  8. Meristation
    Apr 2, 2013
    76
    This version of Ninja Gaiden 3 is the best. It's complete thanks to new modes, Ayane special missions, the free DLC with Kasumi, more violence and, of course, it's more challenging. However, it still has fundamental mistakes.
  9. PlaySense
    Apr 12, 2013
    75
    With some extra features Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is certainly recommendable. The gameplay is fine and the visuals are nice, even if they're at times a little bland. The voice-acting's also a bit hit-and-miss. On top of that, fans won't like the low difficulty this game displays. Consider these complaints before buying a copy.
  10. LaPS4
    Apr 2, 2013
    75
    Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is, without a doubt, what the original game should have been in the first place. The AI and battle systems have been nicely revamped, and it also includes all the DLCs that have been released since the original Ninja Gaiden 3 came out. Nonetheless, the absence of Tomonobu Itagaki will still be quite evident for those who faced the extreme difficulty of the first and second titles.

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Best PS3 Game of 2013
67
#67 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2013
44
#44 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 96 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 96
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 96
  3. Negative: 14 out of 96
  1. Key_Notes88
    Feb 19, 2017
    5
    Geez, The Health System:
    The amount of cheapness in this game is REDICULOUS! I loved Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 and the Sigma remakes, but this one    Geez, The Health System:
    The amount of cheapness in this game is REDICULOUS! I loved Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 and the Sigma remakes, but this one did the health system ALL wrong. Basically, during fights, your health bar would get permanently decreased until you reach a savepoint, where it refills, but some savepoints would be way before a boss fight, so taking damage from the minor enemies beforehand would leave you with maybe half a bar to do the boss battle with.......and no way to refill it unless you're willing to restart in the level. Not to mention some bosses could be up to 3 bosses at a time or 4 different forms in one boss battle. With a cheapened health bar, this makes for a very unfair advantage. The formula was already there with the first 2 in the health system, why screw this one up. And I can understand wanting to take risks and try something creative *cough* Yaiba *cough* *cough*, but this wasn't the one to do it. Having never played the original Ninja Gaiden 3, I can't speak to all of it's flaws, but I can say for a certainty, this is the cheapest and most frustrating (in not a good way) release.

    Difficulty:
    From what I've read, the original NG3 was too easy. I can safely say that's not the case with this one. However, the difficulty for this version is not in the same way as that of the previous two games. They basically just keep throwing enemies at you over and over again until it starts to wear on your psyche. However, developing a certain rhythm happens over time as you keep fighting with a particular weapon, and once it's developed, it will make most of these situations a breeze, it's just annoying at how one can keep chopping away only to have 2 more spawn in 1 enemies place. This "difficulty" isn't a satisfying take on the series, it's just tiring, so much so, that once you get to the boss, you may have to put the game down for awhile (only if a savepoint was nearby) just so you can regather the motivation to beat the boss. Comparing this to the original two games is different in the sense that the originals had challenging enemies that could be understood with time and defeated with skill. There's a certain cheapness that exists here where button mashing will definitely get the job done, and efficiently so once you get that rhythm down, in other words, I didn't bother to learn any of the actual moves in the game and I was still able to beat it, (only performed the Izuna drop once for crying out loud).

    Story:
    Throw away.

    Graphics:
    What you'd expect

    Presentation:
    CAN I GET BUTTON PROMPTS FOR QUICKTIME EVENTS!?!?!?!! GEEZ    … Full Review »
  2. blue-ninja
    Apr 4, 2013
    9
    Team Ninja still have soul since Itagaki leave, & yes this games is look amazing with great graphic, new story, new char playable, if you fansTeam Ninja still have soul since Itagaki leave, & yes this games is look amazing with great graphic, new story, new char playable, if you fans ninja gaiden don't miss it… Full Review »
  3. T4nderG4mer001
    Apr 3, 2013
    10
    Maybe this game is not better than ninja gaiden and ninja gaiden 2 but I am glad that team ninja yave corrected the errors in ninja gaiden 3
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