14 DAY TRIAL // Ninja Gaiden 3 might aim for a more nuanced story than that of previous games, but the developers are saying that the only moral compass that the main character will have will still be his own survival.
Yosuke Hayashi, who is the leader of development working on Ninja Gaiden 3, told Siliconera, “A dark hero wants to do the right things, but sometimes he has to do bad things in order to do good. We want players to emphasize with that and to connect with Ryu. In order to do that, players have to act as Ryu and get their hands bloody.”
He added, “We’re presenting this story with Ryu Hayabusa as a dark hero and for players to feel it we need them to get blood on their hands. We want players to feel a connection to Ryu and to do that they have to have blood on their hands too.”
Ninja Gaiden 3 will force players to take out even those enemies who are leaving the fight because choosing not to attack them will result in a broken combo and less damage dealt to the other enemies on the screen.
Hayashi says that the development team is committed to making players feel the trauma that Ryu himself feels because of his actions and will not allow them to be the hero without getting the guilt that comes packaged with it.
Since Ninja Gaiden 3 was announced, some of the players who are long-term fans have complained that the new game will betray the legacy of the series by making the game less violent in order to appeal to a larger audience.
Ninja Gaiden 3 will be launched first on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 during the first quarter of 2012 and the developers are also working on a Nintendo Wii U version, which will be ready in time for the console’s release.