In March, players will be able to assume the role of ultra-deadly ninja Ryu Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden 3. Team Ninja and Tecmo Koei are aiming for a release date in the latter half of the month, perhaps to avoid competing with big name games like Mass Effect 3 or Max Payne 3. Come March 20, television screens will be filled with excessive amounts of blood and violence, portrayed in a hauntingly beautiful way.

Team Ninja’s predominant goal for Ninja Gaiden 3 is to show the emotional impact of what happens when a deadly, skilled swordsman does nothing but kill people. Let’s face it, Ryu does a lot of killing – maybe 95% of what he does is killing people, while the other 5% is relegated to jumping/dodging.

Aside from the thematic changes Ninja Gaiden 3 will be undergoing, Team Ninja also looked at its Dead or Alive games for inspiration, perhaps to make encounters a bit more one-on-one focused, even while Ryu is surrounded by six enemies. Ninja Gaiden 3 screenshots show that graphically, the game isn’t having any trouble looking gorgeous, so players should take a break after a combat and admire the handiwork of the Dragon Sword.

Multiplayer, both competitive and cooperative, will be showing up in Ninja Gaiden 3, a first for the series. More information on that feature will be forthcoming soon.

Collector’s Edition

  • Access to all four Dead or Alive 5 demo stage characters: Ayane, Hitomi, Hayate, and Ryu Hayabusa. “Unmask” Ninja Gaiden 3 art book. Original game soundtrack. “Dual of the Masked” figure.

GameStop Pre-Order

  • Dead or Alive 5 stage demo with Ryu Hayabusa and Hitomi.

  • Dead or Alive 5 stage demo with Ayana and Hayate.

The Collector’s Edition of Ninja Gaiden 3 will be retailing for $99.99. Once again, the maneuver of including a figure not available anywhere else sweetens the pot when it comes to justifying the spending of an extra $40. The pre-order bonuses do seem a bit lackluster, unless the person pre-ordering is a huge Dead or Alive fan.

Looking forward to Ninja Gaiden 3?

Ninja Gaiden 3 releases March 20, 2012, for Xbox 360 and PS3. A Wii U release will be coming later.

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