Ninja Gaiden 3

 PlayStation 3
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 43 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 43
  3. Negative: 11 out of 43
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  1. Official PlayStation Magazine Benelux
    Apr 2, 2012
    85
    When it comes to action, Team Ninja pulls out all the stops. One moment you're jumping out of a C-130, ripping apart Apache helicopters, pile driving K9 bloodhounds into the concrete. The other, you're escaping an exploding lab, being chased by a T-Rex. [April 2012, p.68]
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  2. Gamer.nl
    Apr 14, 2012
    80
    Ninja Gaiden 3 abandons its predecessors completely and draws its own plan. This is an in-your-face spectacle, which is very accessible and lets players randomly hit buttons until their fingers go numb. Does that make this game bad? No. It does well enough on its own terms. But fans beware: this is not the Ninja Gaiden you remember.
  3. Hyper Magazine
    Apr 12, 2012
    80
    By far the most thoughtful game in the series and also the most accessible. Is that a good thing? I obviously think so; purists may beg to differ. [May 2012, p.58]
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  5. PSM3 Magazine UK
    Apr 9, 2012
    80
    Best Gaiden yet, but not as accomplished as Bayonetta. It is less hardcore than previous games, making solo play enjoyable, but the online is a misstep. [May 2012, p.96]
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  6. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    Apr 3, 2012
    80
    Ninja Gaiden 3 isn't just a great hack-'n'-slash action game, it's a great Ninja Gaiden game. [May 2012, p.78]
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  7. Metro GameCentral
    Mar 18, 2012
    80
    An impressively courageous reboot that channels the hard-edged heart of the series while discarding its more antagonistic baggage.
  8. 3DJuegos
    Mar 19, 2012
    75
    Ninja Gaiden 3 offers fast-paced ninja action, though it's not as breathtaking as the originals.

Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
53
#53 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
5.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 172 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 172
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 172
  3. Negative: 78 out of 172
  1. Ironbat92
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    I'm a fan of action games. I love games like God of War and Devil May Cry were your given a budging weapon, like a sword or duel-wieldingI'm a fan of action games. I love games like God of War and Devil May Cry were your given a budging weapon, like a sword or duel-wielding daggers, and force you to kill X amount of enemies in the most bloody, over-the-top violence that only video games can do. One of my favorite action franchises has to be Ninja Gaiden. Now Ninja Gaiden 3 has been released and it's the first in the series to not be any fun at all. The story of Ninja Gaiden 3 has Ninja-badass-extraordinaire, Ryu Hayabusa, as he joins the Japan Self-Defense Force to save London from an unknown terrorist group. While there, he's confronted by someone calling himself "the Regent of the Mask," who forces Ryu's trusty Sword, The Dragon Sword, to be absorbed into his arm, cursing him to feel the anger, pain, and suffering it's dished out over the years. Ryu must now go on a quest to find the Regent of the Mask to undo the curse and save the world from him. Ninja Gaiden games have always had plots so ridiculous, they're fun to experience, but the plot here is so ridiculous it's just downright bad. It tries to play itself straight and serious, rather than accepting the goofy camp, and the results are poor. The story is so badly written, you'll want to skip every cutscene as it goes off into generic and poorly done action movie story plots. It shame, as the idea of Ryu feeling the suffering of his enemies could have been interesting, but it sadly comes off as a missed opportunity as he just goes off and kills more enemies. The game looks decent enough. The game runs on the same engine that powered Ninja Gaiden 2 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma, but somehow looks dated. Animations are fluid and fast passed and there's a lot of blood being spewed by enemies, but the frame rate drops here and there, the environments are bland and uncreative, and invisible walls are abound. Enemy variety is also lacking as you'll mostly be facing the same enemy types over and over again. Yeah, they may look different, but most fall in the same pattern of weak enemy soldier or ninja to enemy soldier or ninja with something like a gun, rocket launcher, jet pack, shield, and magic. Some of the bosses look cool, but you'll be fighting Robot Spiders, T-Rexes, and Helicopter to the point where you'll be sick of them. The audio fares a little better, but not that much. The music is your typical techno punk rock and it's completely forgettable. One the positive side, the voice acting is decent, but enemies will constantly yelling at you to the point where you'll want an option to mute them, which there isn't. Ninja Gaiden has always been about razor sharp, fast passed combat with difficult enemy A.I that could take out 2/3's of your health bar in mere seconds. Here, the developers took out the difficult A.I, and replaced it with dumb as all hell A.I. Enemies try to attack you, but you can dodge and counterattack so easy it's not even funny. You also have so much health, and when you use your magic attack, your health regenerates. In past games, you could switch up your weapons by purchasing new ones at a shop or get them on the way, weapons like Talons, nun chucks, battle staffs, scythes and more. But no, all you get is a sword and an auto-targeting bow and arrow. You also can use your Magic attack, which is just a dragon is made of fire that eats most enemies. It's cool at first, but loses its appeal as you're forced to use it multiple times. Outside of that, that's it for weapons. Nothing more, nothing less. There are weapons coming in the form of DLC at the time this is being written, but there's no excuse to have like that. Either give me the weapons through game progression, or don't at all. It's insulting that new weapons aren't in the finished product, and even more insulting that you have to wait to download them. Level design is even worse, as all you'll be doing for 8 hours is walk down a path, get stuck in area till you kill x number of enemies, and boss fights that are just "hit the glowing weak point x amount of times." Ninja Gaiden 3 has all but lost the essence of the series in an attempt to streamline the gameplay to make things more accessible for the casual audience. However, the creators streamlined too much for its own good, and have created a soulless, repetitive, and just plain boring action game.… Full Review »
  2. Thorgal
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    As a Ninja gaiden fan this is a major disappointment. I am so angry and sad they killed this game. Everything what made NG and NG2 good gamesAs a Ninja gaiden fan this is a major disappointment. I am so angry and sad they killed this game. Everything what made NG and NG2 good games is removed, and what they have added is dull, like stupid kunai climbs (30 or more), QTE and a dull stupid non ninja story. I was really bored when playing this game. I was glad when I finished it. I will never pop it in my console again.… Full Review »
  3. Selaphiel
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    Poorly designed casual trash. This is the Cars 2 of Team Ninja. Ninja Gaiden is terrible without Itagaki, let's hope Nu-Team Ninja doesn't doPoorly designed casual trash. This is the Cars 2 of Team Ninja. Ninja Gaiden is terrible without Itagaki, let's hope Nu-Team Ninja doesn't do the same to the Dead or Alive franchise.… Full Review »
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