'Ninja Gaiden 3' Release Date, Pre-Order Bonuses & Collector's Edition

Game Rant

By GR Staff

Published Dec 15, 2011

The official release date for 'Ninja Gaiden 3' has been revealed, and Tecmo Koei is offering a bonus for pre-ordering the game: an early taste of 'Dead or Alive 5.'

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.

The game's March release was revealed earlier in the month, but it's nice that Tecmo has finally given Ninja Gaiden 3 an official date. Players interested in pre-ordering a copy of the game can look to both GameStop and Amazon. A Collector's Edition will also available for purchase, details below.

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.

Amazon Pre-Order

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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