Ninja Gaiden 3

There were several moments that induced frustration-whether due to the wonky controls, throw-happy enemies, or artificial limits on Ryu's ability usage-that were clearly just poor design choices.

Ninja Gaiden 3 isn't what you'd expect from a game about the stealthy secret martial art. It's big and brash but if you have played any of it's predecessors you will know that already. It's like a coin op, it has instant gratification and is visually attractive and would certainly make you throw a pound into it if it was in a cabinet in the local arcade. At home though we need more substance than the glossy exterior for our money.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is a gigantic step back for the series. Team Ninja promised a full scale evolution, instead they delivered a mediocre and repetitive action game, with a simplified fighting system and a weak story, that is saved only by its spectacular scenes and its fun boss fights.

If you love the series this game will disappoint you, but you will enjoy it nonetheless. A decent sword and action game, but doesn't live up to its predecessors.

Every – really every – fan of Ninja Gaiden was probably expecting a different game than this Ninja Gaiden 3.

Ultimately, Ninja Gaiden fans will be the ones who will come away feeling the most betrayed. Team Ninja really butchered this installment in their attempts to make it more assessable to casual action gamers and newcomers to the series.

While it may be too late for Ninja Gaiden 3 to be salvaged, perhaps Team Ninja and Tecmo should consider a "fire-sale" approach and try to sell the rights to all further titles to Itagaki over at Valhalla and see if he can salvage the legacy.

The idea behind Ninja Gaiden 3 was to create a Ninja Gaiden for the Call of Duty generation. The result is a flashy game completely devoid of depth and any challenge. A grave disappointment. [May 2012, p.66]

It simply isn't polished enough to wow casual fans. [Issue#83, p.78]

Ninja Gaiden 3 is the perfect example of how the lack of a strong game designer could crush the spirit of a great franchise. The first "Itagaki free" Ninja Gaiden is just a pale shadow of Ninja Gaiden Black.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is quite spectacular, but not as fun as the first two games.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is not a complete train wreck, but it does suffer from a multitude of problems. The action can be fast-paced and engaging at times, but many design decisions significantly bring down the experience. Dumbed-down A.I., a limited arsenal, the series' notoriously difficult camera, no inventory/currency system, and an incoherent story combine to make this the most disappointing title in the series.

If you're not familiar with the series, or was always put off by its demanding gameplay, this episode might be the one for you. It's simple yet impressive enough. But by sacrificing its hardcore roots to become more accessible, the fans of the originals will feel like it's lost part of its soul.

Ultimately, Ninja Gaiden III is a step back for the series, but it's still better than a number of action games currently on the market. It's a shame that Itagaki is gone, but at least all hope isn't completely lost for a turnaround.

A disappointing affair that simply does not live up to the expectations of its fans. Casual action gamers may find enough here to warrant a play, but even at that, the short campaign and lack of extras really drag down its value. The useless online mode doesn't help matters, and the convoluted story isn't even worth trying to follow.

A disappointing sequel for Ryu's saga, stripped of all the features that made the previous chapters stand out in the action games crowd.

In trying to break free of Tomonobu Itagaki's considerable shadow, Team Ninja crafts a tepid take on Ninja Gaiden that satisfies no one.

All flash and no substance: Ninja Gaiden 3 is a shallow action game with little of the series' challenge and depth.

It's not a bad action game by definition, but it lacks everything that made the series endearing, making it an overall unmemorable outing for fans that fell in love with the white-knuckle action and hair-pulling difficulty found in previous Ninja Gaiden titles.

Ninja Gaiden 3 discards all the elements that made the previous titles popular among players, and the result is a worse and mutilated game.

Team Ninja has carelessly chopped out large parts of the series' foundation by oversimplifying the combat and neutering the most fluid controls to grace an action title. Ninja Gaiden 3 isn't an overtly bad game – it functions, it's completable with a moderate amount of frustration, and you do kill thousands of "bad guys" – but it's the worst Ninja Gaiden game by a healthy margin.

There are worse games, but there are also far better, and there is nothing that this game does to distinguish itself from any other. With Ninja Gaiden III, the series - and likely Team Ninja - has lost its way, and the result is an overdose of style with far too little substance to accompany it.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is all murder and no execution. It places utmost importance on the periphery, neglecting the mechanisms of combat while splashing blood across the screen and desperately sniffing the air for just a hint of remorse from its protagonist. The franchise has never been more accessible as a result, and never more disposable.

Almost everything that you associate with Ninja Gaiden is missing, above all the challenging difficulty level. Furthermore the intensity of the fights has been sacrificed to please the casual gamers. This feels more like a Dynasty Gaiden or Ninja Warriors than a true sequel to the once-feared franchise.