If I recall, I was not the easiest on Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden 3 when it released last year - calling it "nothing short of a spectacular failure." The long awaited return of everyone's favorite Ninja tried to change too much and as a result disappointed a lot of people. Now, one year later - -Tecmo Koei is attempting a bit of a redo, releasing Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge - a newly repackaged version of the game, with a lot of the features fans have asked for worked in. Razor's Edge should be an easy game to recommend then right? Not so fast - somehow the addition of these features has created their own issues, and Razor's Edge ends up just slightly more tolerable than its flawed predecessor.

With the original Ninja Gaiden 3, Tecmo Koei tried to peel back the mask of protagonist Ryu Hayabusa and make him less of a character and more of a real person with emotions and desries. It didn't work. Ninja Gaiden 3 featured an incredibly convoluted story that you were lucky if you stayed with for linger than the first two chapters. Ryu is hired to take out a group of English terrorists known as the Regent of the Mask, who aim to destroy the world if every country in the world doesn't surrender. Seems pretty straightforward right? Somehow the plot involves a T-Rex fight. So yeah.

"Razor's Edge is in ways a return to form for the tenured franchise..."

One thing I was very pleased that was removed from the original game was the awkward moment early on when you were faced with a man pleading for his life. He told you about his kids, and how he's only a mercenary for your enemies for the paycheck. It seemed like you were going to get a morality choice - but there was no choice, and you were forced to violently end his life. The whole experience left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, and the development team made a great choice removing it here.

Razor's Edge is in ways a return to form for the tenured franchise - many fans cried fowl over Ninja Gaiden 3's more simple gameplay, especially the combat. Razor's Edge features a combat system with much more depth; and feels great to try to master. It also thankfully brings back the dismemberment system from previous games, so players will be able to happily chop off limbs and torsos throughout battle. The combat system is also thankfully void of much of the original Ninja Gaiden 3's dependency on quicktime events.

"...the development team decided to just throw more enemies at players..."

There's no question that Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge adds a lot of the challenge from previous games that was missing from the original release - but it definitely feels like its done the wrong way. Rather than beef up the enemy AI, the development team decided to just throw more enemies at players and have them take more cheap shots at players. The result is not the same old accomplished feeling you get when you finish it, but rather an annoyed feeling of "I hope I never have to do that again." Rest assured though, you will.

One thing that Razor's Edge does do right is the inclusion of a ton of new game modes. On top of the return of the dismemberment gameplay, Razor's Edge adds a new playable character, new missions and new modes. There are new weapons as well, but most of them add no real merit or substance to the game whatsoever.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is the perfect example of the classic phrase - -be careful what you wish for. Fans wanted the series to return to the same formula the older games stuck to - they wanted it to be tougher, more brutal - and it is; it's just simply still not that good. The result is a slightly more enjoyable Ninja Gaiden experience, but one that's also infinitely more frustrating.