It’s not every day that Dallas, TX has the pleasure of seeing an exclusive demo of a recently announced game. With A-kon 22 being a cultural focal point for Japanophiles across the southwest, Team Ninja kindly stopped back on their way home from L.A., to let us Texans play Ninja Gaiden 3.

The Japanese government has sent Ryu Hayabusa to resolve a hostage situation in London, at the behest of their English counterparts. Details on the deeper meaning behind this request are sparse, but the blood is not. The amount of arterial spray that can be found in Ninja Gaiden 3, more than makes up for its lack of human dismemberment. In Ninja Gaiden 2, fans will recall that for every well measured slice of the Dragon Sword, the player would be rewarded with a comparable limb or head. In this new iteration; however, the limbs are replaced with arching streams of blood, spraying from their opponents’ wounds on every execution. Combat feels tight, with a few updates to make it more visceral. Quicktime events are used to signify the end of a combo/grab, if executed correctly, results in the expedient death of an enemy. The animation is brutal as Ryu tears through is enemies. These QTEs also translate into some stealth combat and aerial maneuvers, allowing Ryu to get the drop on his opponent, both figuratively and literally. 

In addition, a new slide mechanic replaces the previous dash. The slide seems to work better in not only eliminating the distance between Ryu and an enemy, but also in maneuvering obstacles in the environment. Ryu’s charge attack has been integrated with some sort of infection in his arm. As his enemies fall, his arm burns a bright red with the deaths of his enemies. This bright red power can be released through his ultimate technique, which instantly kills up to three enemies on screen at anytime. Ultimate techniques are still executed by charging the strong attack, but the devastation has been amplified. Enemies were mostly human, save a short boss encounter with a large mechanized spider. Other final changes include a new system for showing Ryu his next objective (press L3) and a save system involving an eagle (a departure from previous Dragon statue save stations). 

Anyone who has followed the Ninja Gaiden franchise should keep this in their line of sight. It will not release for some time, but fans should pay attention to new announcements as they are released. It would appear Team Ninja has a new vision for what Ninja Gaiden can be. 

Thanks @gueroguerinche and @TeamNINJAStudio for coming out to A-Kon 22!