Ninja Gaiden 3

 Xbox 360
User Score
4.5

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 146 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 146
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 146
  3. Negative: 71 out of 146
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  1. Deezie313
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    This game is not terrible!! It's just not fun. As someone who best Ninja Gaiden 2 on master ninja difficulty (xbox) I enjoyed the punishing difficulty. This game is a dumbed down version. Those who thought the previous games erred too hard, are going to love this. One sword, one nimpo. I started the game in hard and I've yet to have one problem. All the gore is gone. You walk to one ares,This game is not terrible!! It's just not fun. As someone who best Ninja Gaiden 2 on master ninja difficulty (xbox) I enjoyed the punishing difficulty. This game is a dumbed down version. Those who thought the previous games erred too hard, are going to love this. One sword, one nimpo. I started the game in hard and I've yet to have one problem. All the gore is gone. You walk to one ares, press the x button, kill everyone and move to next area. Same thing over and over. Theres some stealth in the game, which is really cool. But there aren't enough moves. Fighting got boring during my first fight. Ultimate attacks are lame. They're just one hit one kill sword slashes. All in all, this new guy ruined this game. He removed everything that was fun. Like I said...its not terrible. Just not fun..wait until the price goes down. I forgot, online is ok......death match and team death match. Same thing...mash x.… Expand
  2. x3leggedracerx
    Mar 31, 2012
    1
    Note to everyone that reads this, I've played Ninja Gaiden Black,2, Sigma and Sigma 2. Nothing or no where near like the old ones and everyone who thinks this is better clearly never beat any of the games or fully understood them. This is dumbed down polished piece of trash. Was a huge fan of the series and this game made me lose all respect for it. I had to make an account just to say notNote to everyone that reads this, I've played Ninja Gaiden Black,2, Sigma and Sigma 2. Nothing or no where near like the old ones and everyone who thinks this is better clearly never beat any of the games or fully understood them. This is dumbed down polished piece of trash. Was a huge fan of the series and this game made me lose all respect for it. I had to make an account just to say not a whole lot. Dull and repetitive combat. No use of even looking up the move list when most of it is just spamming square or X depending which system. One ninpo. Story is ok. Ryu is soft. The unmasking and "sword to bone" gimmick gets old. It seems like you obliterate technique enemies in every single fight and the dumb idea of not having items and depending on wash, rinse and repeat gimmick of getting ninpo to heal and kills enemies gets really old. Most of the game is fighting almost never ending humanoids stuck in rooms full of them seems like more of a chore than playing a game. Glad I rented this instead of buying it… Expand
  3. grassninja
    Apr 20, 2012
    2
    As a successor to Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 this is a tragedy. I am extremely disappointed with this purchase. Note: I started playing the story after the claw and scythe were made available, but while they definitely do add to the game it's simply not enough. This is not a Ninja Gaiden sequel. This is Call of Duty: Ninja Gaiden. The game plays like this. Walk forward, respond to quicktime eventAs a successor to Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2 this is a tragedy. I am extremely disappointed with this purchase. Note: I started playing the story after the claw and scythe were made available, but while they definitely do add to the game it's simply not enough. This is not a Ninja Gaiden sequel. This is Call of Duty: Ninja Gaiden. The game plays like this. Walk forward, respond to quicktime event (QTE), walk forward, mash the X button to defeat wave of enemies, climb wall, mash X some more, jump down, mash X even more,defeat boss, watch uninteresting cutscene, repeat ad nauseum. At no point did I feel like I was truly in control of Ryu. The combat has been extremely dumbed down. It's almost impossible to pull away from a group and target a single enemy since the game pretty much decides that for you. Seriously, all you have to do is hammer X repeatedly for 8 hours with a few slides thrown in here and there- there's absolutely no challenge. On the higher difficulties I found myself dying constantly, but only because of my inability to triage thanks to the games autotarget taking nearly all of the control out of my hands. I have no idea how many times I would go out of my way to rush the guy with the rocket launcher only to have Ryu spin on his heels and the attack the dude chasing directly behind me as soon as I made an attack input simply because the game decreed it so.The skilled and tactical approach to each encounter from the previous games has been entirely erased. Slam on the X button, if you get surrounded slide out of the huddle, then slam X even more. When your arm glows red hit Y. You just beat the game. There's no need to jump off of walls for more powerful strikes, no need to memorize combos, no need to know what weapons work best in what scenarios - just beat the living hell out of the X button. There are WAY too many QTEs and they seriously break the game's flow, and even a few hours in the game constantly reminds you to press LT to block/X for light attack/Y for heavy. If you turn these off in the menus it also turns off the QTE prompts leading to you having to guess whenever one pops up (every 2-3min). Kunai climbing is annoying, rope climbing is entirely pointless, I could go for days. On top of all of this the framerate is horrible, the camera is way too close making it worse than it ever was, some parts of the game are extremely underlit and it took forever to get the brightness settings correct, the game is so easy the only way you'll really die is from enemies with cheap and unblockable throw attacks, there isn't much variety to the enemies, etc etc. It's obvious this game was simplified and streamlined to attract the casual crowd which was a failed attempt unless you're looking for a completely mindless action game, and a ton of emphasis was placed on actually telling a story. Unfortunately that doesn't bode well either as this one, like the previous two, is nonsensical and forgettable. This game sucks and doesn't deserve to bear the Ninja Gaiden name. What little fun to be had here is marred by extremely shallow combat, technical shortcomings, an asinine attempt at a story, and complete lack of legitimate challenge. The first 2 NGs were deep, challenging games that I initially sucked at only because I wasn't good enough... yet. As the games went on they seemed to get easier, but the truth was that I was just getting better. NG3 lays down and spreads its legs for you as soon as you put the disk in the tray without making you earn it. Just keep pressing X. I want my money back.… Expand
  4. Lancerguy
    May 1, 2012
    2
    I don't know HOW people are giving this passing scores. This game is terrible as a Ninja Gaiden. And YES, I did play through to the end, on hard no less. In comparison to the other 2, it falls flat on it's face. It's designed to take a hard-core, combo-based, intense, intelligent battle system and mainstream it for the more casual crowd. There is no need to learn the combos at all, theI don't know HOW people are giving this passing scores. This game is terrible as a Ninja Gaiden. And YES, I did play through to the end, on hard no less. In comparison to the other 2, it falls flat on it's face. It's designed to take a hard-core, combo-based, intense, intelligent battle system and mainstream it for the more casual crowd. There is no need to learn the combos at all, the action is all based around cheaply exploiting big multi-kill moves, the story is terrible, any RPG element felt in the other 2 (upgrades and items and stuff) is completely gone....I could go on all day. Point is, terrible game. NG 1 or 2, pre-owned, will end up being more valuable than this bargain-bin game. Don't waste your money.… Expand
  5. GidBix
    Apr 5, 2012
    4
    This game blew me away with its ability to come on strong and make me think "Wow! This game is going to be awesome!' However, about half way through you realize you have learned all the moves, seen all the character types, and have experienced everything the game has to offer. You basically do the exact same thing for 6 hours! Absolutely one of the most repetitive games I have ever played!
  6. gordofredito
    Mar 26, 2012
    0
    the difference with this game and Mass Effect 3 is that: people are angry at ME3 because of it's ending, and they can't deny it was fun and intriguing from the beginning to the last 30 minutes of the game, THIS game on the other side... it's just not fun from beginning to end, and the camera glitches a lot. The only thing in common with this and Ninja Gaiden 2 is the main character
  7. Bjoggo
    Mar 29, 2012
    0
    All out disappointing game. Words canot discribe how bad this NG 3 is. This was my favourite game and waited months for this one. To bad I had to buy it on the first day. it came out. My advise to all the the real NG fans out there don't wast your money.
  8. SonicofEden
    May 20, 2012
    0
    I feel bad for the Ninja Gaiden series now that Itagaki left. I had a little bit of faith this game would be good, but I was wrong. Ninja Gaiden 3 is by far the worse Ninja Gaiden video game ever. In Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, I absolutely loved the combat, weapons, and the frustratingly awesome and addictive difficulty. It made me feel like I accomplished something when I managed to getI feel bad for the Ninja Gaiden series now that Itagaki left. I had a little bit of faith this game would be good, but I was wrong. Ninja Gaiden 3 is by far the worse Ninja Gaiden video game ever. In Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, I absolutely loved the combat, weapons, and the frustratingly awesome and addictive difficulty. It made me feel like I accomplished something when I managed to get through the tough, and sometimes cheap battles of both games. They were tough and made me what to rage quit but something about how Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 played made me want to continue. However, Ninja Gaiden 3 ditches everything that made Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 so great. Before you start making assumptions I'm a Ninja Gaiden fanboy and don't want anything to change, let me explain. This new guy promised Ninja Gaiden fans that NInja Gaiden 3 would be the best action game ever (which could never really happen but it translated to me that this game would at least be awesome) I was mad about the removal of dismemberment at first but then I began thinking I was being a little unreasonable. Then he stated that NG3 would retain the difficulty of the previous two while having something for newcomers. When the game released, I was going in thinking, well since there is Hero difficulty I'm assuming Normal is tough. I was wrong. Hero mode might as well be a movie for 10 hours that you don't do anything but watch. Normal is easy. NG 1 and 2 Normal might as well be called hard. I was playing NG3 like how a NG game should be played. Waiting for your enemy to attack, dodge, look for an opening and trying to survive. However, the trying to survive part was missing. The Steel on Bone none sense feels pointless. All it is is giving you either motion sickness or a close up view of what Ryu is doing. It really has no purpose but to make the game look flashy. After a while, I began to realize enemies take forever to attack. So I held the controller with one hand, mashing on the x button while on my iPod was in the other searching the internet. Guess what? I didn't get hit once. When I paid attention to the screen, enemies were literally lining up for Ryu to kill them. No vicious counters, no grabs, they ran up to Ryu and stood there waiting for him to kill them. I was bored within a few seconds of a battle simply because of how easy it was. Then the battles are all wave based. Once you clear out one group of enemies, ten more spawn from nowhere, then another ten. And the harder difficulties uses the wave combat even more. Face ten soldiers then another ten with rocket launchers, then three mages, then more mages with soldiers, and so forth. They attack just as much as on normal but do three times the damage. Gee, all of this sure sounds like Ninja Gaiden alright. (Yeah right) Also, the story is great....in how terrible it is. It tries to emphasize how Ryu is a coldblooded murder but a ninja who actually cares about who he murders....so why is he going through all this places to kill everyone? Not only that the story overall doesn't make sense. Stuff just happens to happen. Even if they wanted to use this story and made it make sense, it wouldn't work for an action game considering action games involve KILLING THINGS. If your looking for a good action game, get NG2 instead. Its miles better and really cheap since its four years old now. NG3 is just a terribly boring action game that tries too look cool to cover up how shallow everything is. This Hayashi guy is doing nothing but making a weak attempt to imitate the greatness that Itagaki created for the Ninja Gaiden series.… Expand
  9. RaYsoms
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    Worst NG game of the 3. Feel really ripped off. To bad they screwed up my favorite action game. Story wise its a really bad story. 1 & 2 didnt have a really good story but they made it up by killer gameplay. This time they `focus` a lot on the story but its horrible.

    Game has been simplified. If you enjoyed the first 2 games, stay away from this one. If youre a casual gamer that wants    Worst NG game of the 3. Feel really ripped off. To bad they screwed up my favorite action game. Story wise its a really bad story. 1 & 2 didnt have a really good story but they made it up by killer gameplay. This time they `focus` a lot on the story but its horrible.

    Game has been simplified. If you enjoyed the first 2 games, stay away from this one.
    If youre a casual gamer that wants to finish a game by only pressing one button, than maybe youll enjoy the game.

    I at least feel really ripped off.    … Expand
  10. McSteamy
    Mar 21, 2012
    3
    I'm so disgusted by this pseudo-Ninja Gaiden game. What a letdown! The developers ruined almost every aspect that I love from NG2. Big fail, Team Ninja!
  11. 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 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.
  12. rotsujin
    Mar 22, 2012
    0
    This game would be a light, inoffensive Ninja Gaiden clone, if only it didn't have the name on it. As it stands, it adds nothing to the core experience and takes away so much, even having the gall to hold some of it at arms length in the form of DLC, that it can only be viewed as an enormous step backwards for the franchise. People new to the series should go find a copy of the originalThis game would be a light, inoffensive Ninja Gaiden clone, if only it didn't have the name on it. As it stands, it adds nothing to the core experience and takes away so much, even having the gall to hold some of it at arms length in the form of DLC, that it can only be viewed as an enormous step backwards for the franchise. People new to the series should go find a copy of the original and play that to see what a real action game is.… Expand
  13. PsyEd
    Mar 24, 2012
    3
    When it comes to NG series this is the WORST one...not to mention the ugliest one strangely enough. It's not a bad game given that a gamer never played the previous titles but to a series follower it has EPIC FAIL written all over it. It's a complete bore to the end...apart from few boss fights the game feels like a chore. The sense of any adventure is completely gone...you move from A toWhen it comes to NG series this is the WORST one...not to mention the ugliest one strangely enough. It's not a bad game given that a gamer never played the previous titles but to a series follower it has EPIC FAIL written all over it. It's a complete bore to the end...apart from few boss fights the game feels like a chore. The sense of any adventure is completely gone...you move from A to B....kill the SAME bad guys over and over again till a boss shows up. Not to mention you now have ONE sword(re-skinned 3 times in the game) and magic/ninpo move....it's like ninja gaiden series got neutered or something.

    And ps3 was the lead platform...the game sucks in that too but on 360 it has added washed out gfx and vsync galore. The production value is extremely low when compared to previous titles. I just don't know how the hell Tecmo allowed such bastardization of the series which was regarded as the king of action games.

    This game is a rent at it's best and probably no will care about it in month's time.    … Expand
  14. bonobon
    Mar 26, 2012
    0
    THE GAME IS HORRENDOUS, the screen tear found in the xbox version is HORRENDOUS, the gameplay is like dinasty warriors, enemies attack with no grace and skill, all charging at you at once like DW, both versions looks and PLAY like crap, if you like to play with Ryu Hayabusa, from prevoius NG tittles, you wont see him in NG3 fighting with grace and acrobatic style, using button comnibationsTHE GAME IS HORRENDOUS, the screen tear found in the xbox version is HORRENDOUS, the gameplay is like dinasty warriors, enemies attack with no grace and skill, all charging at you at once like DW, both versions looks and PLAY like crap, if you like to play with Ryu Hayabusa, from prevoius NG tittles, you wont see him in NG3 fighting with grace and acrobatic style, using button comnibations to enjoy the huge combo list each weapon used to haveâ… Expand
  15. MenjiCA
    Mar 20, 2012
    4
    As a long time Ninja Gaiden fan this game is a let down. I pre ordered both PS3 and Xbox 360 versions months ago, it shows how much i love this franchise. I own all other version of ninja gaiden on Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS3 and played the hell out of them. The controls are unresponsive and feel detached from the action on screen compared to previous NG games. I hate the zoom in that theAs a long time Ninja Gaiden fan this game is a let down. I pre ordered both PS3 and Xbox 360 versions months ago, it shows how much i love this franchise. I own all other version of ninja gaiden on Xbox, Xbox 360, and PS3 and played the hell out of them. The controls are unresponsive and feel detached from the action on screen compared to previous NG games. I hate the zoom in that the camera does when a "Steel on Bone" Technique randomly triggers it's disorienting also slows down the momentum. The finisher move are way too long to execute and trigger randomly, they can be 4-5 seconds long. There's no more Health bar in BOSS fights, and they are now loaded whit QTE. Dismemberments are gone, it would have been awesome to have dismemberment after a finisher move and/or a Steel on bone. I also encountered many slowdowns when there's lot of action on the screen. The only good thing about NG3 that I can think of are the Graphics, they are very good compared to previous NG. I hope that these issue can be fixed in the Wii U version or maybe in a Ninja Gaiden 3 Sigma release if that ever happened. 20th March 2012 is a very sad day for a Ninja Gaiden fan. Marc-Etienne Fournier Quebec, Canada… Expand
  16. Silversgreen
    May 11, 2012
    2
    I have now played through this twice with an open mind to see if I've missed something. I don't believe that I have. This game is extremely repetitive and without any of the leveling up of weapons, health bar or ninpo, lacks any sort of payoff. The control is sloppy and the enemies, when difficult (which is very rare) are only difficult due to what feels like AI cheapness. In the previousI have now played through this twice with an open mind to see if I've missed something. I don't believe that I have. This game is extremely repetitive and without any of the leveling up of weapons, health bar or ninpo, lacks any sort of payoff. The control is sloppy and the enemies, when difficult (which is very rare) are only difficult due to what feels like AI cheapness. In the previous games, when you died, you at least felt like it was fair. I didn't block in time. I should have dodged away etc. In this, I felt as though I kept cursing the design, rather than the enemies or their tactics. In my opinions, Ninja Gaiden Sigma was the best iteration of the original. It had all the content of Black with better graphics and tons of extras. They cut out nothing. In Sigma 2, you were given an extra sword and a few throw away levels but so much was cut out (including the blood). If this progression is to be expected from the new Team Ninja, Ninja Gaiden 4 will be an empty box with no game and you will have to purchase every level and pay with points whenever you want to save. This is a failure.… Expand
  17. jj350
    Mar 20, 2012
    0
    So awful! I don't know how or why this happened, Tecmo really screwed up beyond belief on this one, which comes as a major disappointment to me considering the fact that I have always been a fan of the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden fan.

    No joke, stay with the old Ninja Gaiden, Amazingly even the original is a better looking game if you get the PS3 version. If you've already played    So awful! I don't know how or why this happened, Tecmo really screwed up beyond belief on this one, which comes as a major disappointment to me considering the fact that I have always been a fan of the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden fan.

    No joke, stay with the old Ninja Gaiden, Amazingly even the original is a better looking game if you get the PS3 version. If you've already played through that, get Ninja Gaiden 2. If you have played through that, then tough luck, as Ninja Gaiden 3 is a broken mess of a game. I can't get over how bad this thing is, I thought for sure there's no way it could disappoint considering how much I enjoyed the original 2, but sure enough they found a way to screw everything up. Avoid by all cost unless you want to be disappointed.    … Expand
  18. sumguitardude
    Sep 8, 2012
    0
    The only feeling i have is disgust, bring back Itagaki and make him make a proper game like Ninja Gaiden game next time or consider this series dead!
  19. WyattTheAwesome
    May 30, 2013
    4
    This game was VERY disappointing and I'm shocked there would be a bad Ninja Gaiden game. Why is it so bad? The lack of weapons you had in the previous games, boss fights that fail to impress, showing Ryu's face and making him a pretty boy and the bland storyline. I liked Ninja Gaiden because I enjoyed saving the world from demons and stuff, but this game just took a dive in creek and isThis game was VERY disappointing and I'm shocked there would be a bad Ninja Gaiden game. Why is it so bad? The lack of weapons you had in the previous games, boss fights that fail to impress, showing Ryu's face and making him a pretty boy and the bland storyline. I liked Ninja Gaiden because I enjoyed saving the world from demons and stuff, but this game just took a dive in creek and is just inexcusably bad. The gameplay is the same, but this is a huge step back from NG1 and NG2. Don't buy this game unless you just want to finish its joke of a storyline.… Expand
  20. Cheatman
    Aug 1, 2012
    2
    Wether or not you compare Ninja Gaiden 3 to previous Ninja Gaiden game is a bad game, it is not only stripped from the elements that made NInja Gaiden such an awesome franchise, but as far as the game as a whole goes, it just doesn't work, bad controls, extremely repetitive gameplay, etc. Sometimes I even get the thought that somebody in Team Ninja simply decided to deliberatly mess theWether or not you compare Ninja Gaiden 3 to previous Ninja Gaiden game is a bad game, it is not only stripped from the elements that made NInja Gaiden such an awesome franchise, but as far as the game as a whole goes, it just doesn't work, bad controls, extremely repetitive gameplay, etc. Sometimes I even get the thought that somebody in Team Ninja simply decided to deliberatly mess the game up as hard as possible for some reason, i know it's weird thought, but the game is that bad.

    Compared to NG1 and NG2 the game simply isn't in the same league, but even then i'd grab most any'ol generic hack'n slash game over NG3 almost any day.    … Expand
  21. kiwijinxter
    May 22, 2012
    3
    I'm not too unhappy about the linearity of the game. I'm not even unhappy about the repeate-and-rinse hack and slash. I'm REALLY unhappy about the cheap deaths. Some of the bosses are really cheap in that you only have 1 way to run, and that's what makes this a failure. If all bosses gave you much more room to move and out-think it a little, then I would've given this a 5 or 6. As itI'm not too unhappy about the linearity of the game. I'm not even unhappy about the repeate-and-rinse hack and slash. I'm REALLY unhappy about the cheap deaths. Some of the bosses are really cheap in that you only have 1 way to run, and that's what makes this a failure. If all bosses gave you much more room to move and out-think it a little, then I would've given this a 5 or 6. As it stands, it's just a game that's not worth the full price. Just rent it.… Expand
  22. g0ld2k
    May 16, 2012
    2
    An utter disappointment. Ninja Gaiden has always been a very elegant game when it comes to fighting. The fighting was almost graceful, where you had complete control over what you did. Ninja Gaiden 3 took a crap on that idea and produced a button masher with almost no control over what is really happening. Also I found the fighting to be so jumpy that several times I found myselfAn utter disappointment. Ninja Gaiden has always been a very elegant game when it comes to fighting. The fighting was almost graceful, where you had complete control over what you did. Ninja Gaiden 3 took a crap on that idea and produced a button masher with almost no control over what is really happening. Also I found the fighting to be so jumpy that several times I found myself completely confused as to where I was at in the fight. I have loved Ninja Gaiden since the NES, and I bought every version of the Ninja Gaiden reboot; but this was an utter disappointment and may spell the end of a great gaming franchise.… Expand
  23. AdderTude
    May 21, 2015
    4
    I picked up NG3 expecting to have a similar frustrating experience at my own failure to do something (i.e. not being "ninja" enough) as I did back in Ninja Gaiden 2 (still haven't finished it on Path of the Acolyte because the game is *that friggin' hard*...and because of not being ninja enough). Here, the entire experience is, as everyone has said, incredibly dumbed down. What happened toI picked up NG3 expecting to have a similar frustrating experience at my own failure to do something (i.e. not being "ninja" enough) as I did back in Ninja Gaiden 2 (still haven't finished it on Path of the Acolyte because the game is *that friggin' hard*...and because of not being ninja enough). Here, the entire experience is, as everyone has said, incredibly dumbed down. What happened to chopping off limbs and heads? What happened to the level of ultra violence that was present in past games that the series was known for? What happened to the tight responsiveness of fluid combat present in Ninja Gaiden 2? All these questions can be summed up with one answer: they've all been cut out.

    In Ninja Gaiden 2, I've rarely had to yell my lungs out at the screen in frustration due to getting killed by the same attack I keep failing to dodge "that one time." Here in Ninja Gaiden 3, I've been repeatedly yelling again and again and again at getting hit by a myriad of attacks without being able to effectively dodge them. Case in point: boss battles. One of the worst offenders in this game are the barrages of homing missiles. These attacks in particular fake the difficulty by giving you a slew of exploding projectiles that are nigh impossible to escape from without a scratch. On top of that, the variety has been cut out, both in weapons and ninpo.

    After all that's been said and done, Ninja Gaiden 3 is supposed to be fun; it clearly isn't. It's a humongous disappointment. Play it if you want, but my advice is to simply skip it.    … Expand
  24. zmmby
    Aug 25, 2013
    2
    Wow, just wow. I've completed the game now and im speechless.

    This has the be one of the biggest letdown i've seen. The game is just stupid. AI is just a big laugh, enemies misses you with the gun even if your standing still. The menu and the items are gone, no secret items. Nothing that gives you a rush to continue the game. Its just similar action for stupid rich kids who arent    Wow, just wow. I've completed the game now and im speechless.

    This has the be one of the biggest letdown i've seen. The game is just stupid.

    AI is just a big laugh, enemies misses you with the gun even if your standing still.

    The menu and the items are gone, no secret items. Nothing that gives you a rush to continue the game.
    Its just similar action for stupid rich kids who arent a real hardcore game. Its a huge copy of God of War.

    Just quicktime events on bosses and enemies, stupid events all the time.

    And i hate quicktime events, its the most stupidiest thing i've experienced. You just press X all the time in the entire game then finishes it off with some lame quicktime buttons.

    Im so dissappointed now and I WILL sell the game forward, im not usually someone who sells my game but this is just embarrassing to keep in my collection.

    Hands down, if your a true Ninja Gaiden fan you wont bother with this game.

    If your a incompetent little who likes everything served on a plate enjoy.    … Expand
  25. shootingstars99
    Sep 1, 2019
    1
    Let's be real here, if you have any experiences at all with Ninja Gaiden 1 or 2, you will think this game sucks. This game's engine feels like Dynasty Warriors, and the difficulty feels artificial due to the sheer amount of enemies, and how many hits you have to land on them before they finally die. Making 10 basic enemies into total damage sponges doesn't make a difficulty that isLet's be real here, if you have any experiences at all with Ninja Gaiden 1 or 2, you will think this game sucks. This game's engine feels like Dynasty Warriors, and the difficulty feels artificial due to the sheer amount of enemies, and how many hits you have to land on them before they finally die. Making 10 basic enemies into total damage sponges doesn't make a difficulty that is engaging, challenging and rewarding to overcome, it just shows that since the Koei-Tecmo merger, the new Team Ninja does not understand what made the past titles instant classics. The combat feels like a slowed down and less deep version of what Ninja Gaiden 2 has to offer, so you are better off playing that, you know, a game that is actually fun and rewarding to conquer. Oh, and this game has quick time events galore, I hope you liked the Asura's Wrath boss battles more than the ones in Ninja Gaiden Black, because these follow the same spirit...

    On to the plot. My thoughts can only be summed up as, "Holy hell, whoever wrote this was just begging for Linkin Park and Papa Roach AMVs to be made of this game". Hayabusa's personality in this one is nothing like Ninja Gaiden 1 or 2, and he's actually made out to be kind of a dick in this one (something he is certainly not, anyone who has played previous Ninja Gaiden or DOA games would see the huge 180 in characterization). The plots of previous Ninja Gaiden games felt like an action movie and were simple fun; while the plot of Ninja Gaiden 3 feels more like a sh!tty Shonen Jump manga.

    With talks of Ninja Gaiden 4 rumors looming on the horizon, after playing this I don't even want it, just let the franchise rest. The post-Koei merger Team Ninja has proven themselves time and time again as inadequate in just abut every aspect of game design and marketing. Ninja Gaiden 3 sucked, Ni-oh sucked, Dead or Alive 6 sucked, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z sucked, the Dynasty Warriors games have always sucked; in fact, the only games I genuinely thought were great from the post-Koei merger Team Ninja were Dead or Alive 5, the Razor's Edge update to this game and Deception 4...

    Back to the topic at hand, if you like the old Ninja Gaiden titles, stay far away from this one, it's a worse blemish on the legacy of the series than Yaiba... However, if your favorite band is Linkin Park, you love Naruto and other generic shonen manga, and you mom doesn't quite understand you, this might be your new favorite game!    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 39
  3. Negative: 6 out of 39
  1. Thunderbolt
    Jun 20, 2012
    50
    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.
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  2. GamingXP
    May 29, 2012
    62
    Every – really every – fan of Ninja Gaiden was probably expecting a different game than this Ninja Gaiden 3.
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  3. Eurogamer Portugal
    May 2, 2012
    50
    Ninja Gaiden 3 discards all the elements that made the previous titles popular among players, and the result is a worse and mutilated game.
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