Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge Review

Developer: Team Ninja
Price: $40
Platform: PS3/Xbox 360
A PSN code for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge was supplied to us

Last year Team Ninja released Ninja Gaiden 3 to some pretty damn mixed reception, but the Razor’s Edge version of the game got some more positive praise. Now it’s time for PS3 and 360 owners to get a taste of what the Wii-U has had.

I think the best way to describe the plot in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge is that it does indeed have one. I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t really care how stupid or goofy a story is in a game as long as the gameplay is top-notch, so unfortunately when your game involves a slow hallway crawl through waves of boring enemies it just makes the terrible story stand out even more. Master ninja, Ryu Hayabusa, is called in to help take down a terrorist organization known as the Lords of Alchemy. As you play through the game the motivations of the villain will shift from doing it for fun, doing it for business, and doing it because genocide is awesome. You’ll rapidly switch settings for no apparent reason other than to fulfill the developer’s need for a quick change in scenery as you go to a dinosaur cloning facility, to a desert, to a VR simulator, and to your old village to randomly fight the spider clan for no apparent reason.

Now if I had to describe the gameplay I’d say it’s frustratingly smooth. You’ll go through waves of enemies through the same looking areas and it starts to get quite a bit monotonous, but the frame rate impressively keeps up with all the crazy stuff that’s happening on-screen. Razor’s Edge is definitely stepped it up in the difficulty department compared to NG3 but it’s still not as hard as Black or NG2. You could blast your way through most of the fights by spamming the slide dodge and mashing buttons which will pretty much guarantee you never get hit. The bosses are also incredibly mediocre and there wasn’t a single moment I had fun with one which makes me sad since one of the bosses is a robot T-Rex. None of the enemies offer enough variety between themselves to make me care when a new one shows up and the way the camera sweeps around makes it seem like they made it an enemy for you to fight too. If the camera wasn’t annoying enough, a curse is put on Ryu early in the game that causes him to hallucinate or something and you’re thrown into some place where you have to kill enemies before your health drains all the way. It blows me away that someone actually thought these moments were good and not just an obvious as hell way to pad out the already short game length. With 7 levels (9 if you add Ayane’s) each taking 30-50 minutes each you’ll likely be able to finish this game in a weekend. It’s disappointing how great of a first impression the game gives you and then doesn’t do anything to give you a reason to keep playing. The combat is smooth as hell and there’s enough depth to make you want to take some time looking at the movelist, but I really hope you don’t care about variety because you won’t get a bit for the next few hours.

Team Ninja spices things up with the inclusion of Ayane in the campaign with two levels focused entirely on her. She’s a lot faster than Ryu and offers enough change in the way she plays to be a welcome breath of fresh air; it’s a shame you’ll just go through the same reused levels and enemies. Some of the other changes include more weapons such as the dual blades, scythe, staff, and some more ninpo magic. You’ll be able to upgrade all of these through the karma system that rewards you for doing well during a fight. Chaining together sick nasty combos, not getting hit, and doing it all as fast as possible all contribute to netting a high karma score.

The co-op from NGS2 is back and it’s a decent enough diversion where players can play as Ryu, Ayane, Momiji, Kasumi, or their multiplayer ninja as you and another player fight through waves of enemies. Multiplayer returns but with all the DLC from NG3 included. It’s a neat idea that works well whenever you’re fighting against one or two more guys, but when you get all eight players together it becomes a chaotic mosh pit of ninjas. Too many times I’d wonder where my ninja was in the sea of blood & steel, and I’d question when I got that kill I just got rewarded for or who killed me. When you do get a small game going it’s a complete blast though; there’s even a solid amount of customization options for your ninja which I love.

Razor’s Edge won’t be impressing anyone with its graphics unless you’re playing the game in front of an old person who thinks they’re watching a movie. The levels are fairly bland, the textures are muddy, and there’s some noticeable aliasing but with a game that moves this fast can you really complain about it when you’ll mostly see a blur of carnage?

The Final Word
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge isn’t a bad game, it’s just not the sequel I’m sure everyone was hoping for. All the changes are welcome, but just because you put sprinkles on gas station sushi doesn’t stop it from being gas station sushi.

– MonsterVine Rating: 3 out of 5 – Average