Ninja Gaiden 3 Set to Revolutionize the Series

Ninja Gaiden 3, the next installment in Team Ninja's long-running hack and slash series, will really revolutionize the franchise by adding lots of new things, according to the head of the studio, Yosuke Hayashi.

The Ninja Gaiden series has been going for quite a long time, and with the most recent, current-generation games, Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, you could really see the influence former Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki had on them.

Now, after Itagaki left the studio, Yosuke Hayashi has taken his place and wants to really revolutionize the series, not just try and make a successor to the previous games.

"I can't emphasize that enough - this is a revolution rather than an evolution, we're going to bring in a new paradigm with this game, a paradigm shift," he told OXM (via CVG).

This revolution won't manifest itself in a few changed weapons or stories, as Hayashi and the rest of Team Ninja want to take the series to a new level.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to say that and then reveal Ninja Gaiden 3 and talk about additional weapons or more dismemberment," he said. "No, not that level of change you expect from a numbered game, something more."

The game is well into development and, so far, the new changes have really benefited the series, while the shift to a more realistic perspective is coming out smoothly.

"It already plays extremely well, I think, though we are constantly fine-tuning it. The visuals have been created from scratch. Ninja Gaiden was a much more colorful game. Ninja Gaiden 3 will be a darker and more realistic world than before," Hayashi explained.

Not a lot was revealed about Ninja Gaiden 3, but, according to a recent teaser trailer, it seems that hallmarks like gore and blood will remain, while leading protagonist Ryu Hayabusa may finally reveal his own face from under the black ninja uniform he's been wearing up until now.

Expect more details about the game in the following months, ahead of a more beefy reveal scheduled for the E3 conference this summer by its publisher, Tecmo Koei.