Ninja Gaiden 3's Ryu Hayabusa Is More Relatable but Still a Ninja

Ninja Gaiden 3 will showcase a more human side of its protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, but the developers at Team Ninja haven't forgotten that he's still a powerful Ninja, so we'll still see him slice, dice and do all sorts of things during actual gameplay.

We've been hearing quite a lot about Ninja Gaiden 3, from its lowered difficulty, if you're playing on Hero Mode, or the fact that dismemberment isn't possible anymore, because its combat is going to be a bit more realistic.

Another main topic was the fact that its protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, is going to be fleshed out, with fresh details and actual dialog showcasing new characteristics of the famous ninja warrior.

Speaking with Joystiq, Ninja Gaiden 3 director Fumihiko Yasuda has talked about the new side of Ryu.

"When he has that mask on, he's a ninja," he said. "When you take that mask off, he's not a ninja anymore. He's a human like all of us. To leave that aspect out doesn't make sense. We wanted to show that human under the mask. Who is this guy, why he does things."

And these things are still going to remain proper ninja activities, from slicing and dicing enemies in a few seconds or climbing buildings through all sorts of acrobatic moves, as Ryu is still the same powerful warrior we know and love from previous titles.

"He's a ninja," Yasuda confirmed. "We're not going to hide that, and we have maintained that kind of cool style to the game. We don't want to take that away from Ninja Gaiden, because that is one of the defining factors of what the series is."

While Ninja Gaiden 3 is going to be more accessible for those who aren't familiar with the series, Team Ninja emphasized multiple times that it's still going to be a proper installment in the series.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is out early next year for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and might also appear on the Nintendo Wii U or PlayStation Vita.