Ben-DutkaWhile Team Ninja claims the latest Ninja Gaiden installment will redefine "slicing and dicing," the game will also make some core gameplay changes…changes the fans may not like.
But first: studio head Yosuke Hayashi told IGN that fans would "experience something new regarding the feeling of cutting people," so in other words, you can expect another level of brutality and gore. The sounds of bones breaking will accompany our deadly assaults and it won't be so easy to dispatch of your foes. Your sword won't just cut through them like a knife through hot butter; the blade will actually encounter resistance as it cuts. Apparently, we'll have to "press buttons" to get our katana to slice through a hapless victim; they're going for authentic violence instead of "just going through entire armies of bad guys."
We'll be looking at a direct sequel in terms of story – the events take place after NGII – and it seeks to explore protagonist's Ryu Hayabusa's darker side. At the same time, they're going for more accessibility:
"We are trying to design the game so that anyone can take on the game and experience the action. You can expect it to be less demanding than Ninja Gaiden II, it won't be as hard as that. It might taste a bit different, but it will still stay Ninja Gaiden, and we don't think the difficulty is a big issue."
Hayashi also mentioned they'd be taking care of the camera issues that have affected past entries. Finally, he said that Team Ninja considers the structure from the first two titles to be "old," and they're "trying something new for the gameplay and starting over from scratch." Well, all right, but just don't lose that loyal fanbase…
Related Game(s): Ninja Gaiden III
