Fans of Ninja Gaiden can look at Ninja Gaiden Razor's Edge as an upgraded port of Ninja Gaiden 3. And hardcore fans of the Ninja Gaiden series today can get the Master Collection released this 2021 to finally replay Ryu Hayabusa's fight against a curse bestowed by the mysterious Regent of the Mask.
Despite being a 2013 game, Razor's Edge remains a hit entry in the series. Aside from its apocalyptic cliffhanger, Razor's Edge does feature immense action that capitalizes on Ryu's shinobi skills. Being a ninja of the Dragon Clan, Ryu can use a wide range of weapons to eliminate opponents with deathly combos. As with any armament, some weapons remain must-haves due to their drastic combat advantage.
8 Dual Katana: Dragon's Claw, Tiger's Fang
Albeit straightforward in appearance, this pair of Dual Katana that Ryu uses are blades forged by the famed Miyamoto Musashi himself. Being Musashi Swords, both the Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang boast incredible craftsmanship allowing Ryu to dish out some of the fastest attacks in the game.
Advantages: Dual Katanas rule the speed department. Their range and wide AOE make them great as crowd control weapons, and are suitable for almost any circumstances.
Disadvantages: Despite their sheer speed, some combos within their toolkit can be rather slow. Some finishers also leave Ryu open to counterattacks.
7 Dual Katana: Blade Of The Archfiend, Jinran-Maru
Wielded by Genshin of the Black Spider Clan himself, the Blade of the Archfiend is the evil counterpart of Ryu's Dragon Sword. Albeit a powerful blade in its own right, using the Blade of the Archfiend will combine it with the Jinran-Maru to form its own pair of Dual Katana. As with its Sigma 2 counterpart, this pairing boasts incredible attack power and speed.
Advantages: Unlike the ordinary Dual Katana, this particular pairing boasts higher damage and greater attack speed.
Disadvantages: Despite its speed, this pair of Dual Katana does retain the limited range of movement like the typical Dual Katana.
6 Jinran-Maru
Similar to the Dragon Sword, the Jinran-Maru has the appearance of a traditional katana. Due to its name, it's implied that the Jinran-Maru — which means Rapid Storm — has a connection to the winds or the storms. When used in conjunction with the Blade of the Archfiend, the tandem's ultimate shows the Jinran-Maru unleashing sharp winds towards the opponent. As a single weapon, the Jinran-Maru serves as the second-level upgrade to the ordinary katana.
Advantages: Due to its nature as a mid-tier weapon, the Jinran-Maru boasts a lot of efficient combos that can sustain Ryu for most levels. It's extremely balanced, giving Ryu a lot of mobility and defensive options with its toolkit.
Disadvantages: Being a katana, the Jinran-Maru does suffer from its rather mediocre range. It can't stun large enemies often, and it's not as potent compared to other late-game weapons.
5 Kusari-Gama
Of all weapons in the game, it's perhaps the Kusari-Gama that's the closest equivalent to an iconic shinobi weapon - save for the rather straightforward Shuriken. In ancient times, the Kusari-Gama became the farmer's answer in a Japan with restricted weapons policies, combining the farmer's sickle with an iron weight. For shinobi with weapons training, a Kusari-Gama can become an extremely potent weapon in combat.
Advantages: The Kusari-Gama is easily the weapon with the greatest range with the game. It's decently fast enough that it can handle whole swaths of opponents at once making it great for mobs.
Disadvantages: Despite its range potential, the Kusari-Gama doesn't boast as much attack power. It doesn't have enough stun against bigger enemies, and a lot of its attacks are quite slow leaving Ryu open to attacks quite often.
4 Lunar Staff
If Ryu isn't in the mood to slice his opponents, then perhaps pulverizing them could work. The Lunar Staff, despite its rather straightforward appearance, is the perfect ranged weapon for Ryu to tear through swaths of opponents with the sheer crushing power of thrusts and jabs. Aside from the weighted part of the Kusari-Gama, the Lunar Staff is the only other weapon in Ryu's arsenal in the game that can crush opponents.
Advantages: The Lunar Staff is a weapon with incredible range, capable of reaching multiple opponents even from afar. As such, the Lunar Staff easily becomes a reliable crowd control weapon. Its toolkit gives Ryu multiple opportunities to stun, making it a well-rounded weapon for almost any situation.
Disadvantages: Despite its usefulness, the Lunar Staff isn't as powerful compared to other weapons in Ryu's arsenal. Its damage is comparably lower than other stronger weapons, and it's not as versatile as other armaments.
3 Falcon's Talons
When Ryu drops his katana, he can always rely on his martial arts to get the job done. And with the Falcon's Talons, Ryu gets a razor-sharp edge to his techniques. Being a set of steel-bladed gauntlets and footwear, the Falcon's Talons exemplifies Ryu's already-incredible martial arts prowess. They boast some of the highest speed in the game, making them quite the fan-favorite among combo lovers.
Advantages: At their core, Falcon's Talons are extremely fast with great delimbing potential. Due to its speed, the Falcon's Talons can take on multiple enemies quickly. Its very accessible moveset will also pave the way to a lot of lovable combos.
Disadvantages: Due to their nature, Falcon's Talons are unfortunately reliant on melee range. Since they rely a lot on attack speed, they not only lack guard-breaking moves but also make them a bit lackluster against stronger and armored foes.
2 Dragon Sword
What better go-to katana should Ryu use than the weapon associated with him the most? The Dragon Sword represents Ryu's membership within the Hayabusa Clan and his access to its stronger True Dragon Sword variant cements Ryu's place as one of the greatest shinobi to have ever lived. Being Ryu's starting weapon, the Dragon Sword is arguably the most flexible out of all weapons in the game.
Advantages: An incredibly versatile weapon, the Dragon Sword has access to a lot of efficient combos that Ryu can use in a variety of situations. Its elemental compatibility alongside its defensive mechanics solidifies its offense/defense balance.
Disadvantages: Despite its decent damage output, it does have average range. It can't stun a lot of large targets, and some of its combos still leave Ryu open to counterattacks.
1 Eclipse Scythe
Members of the Lycanthrope revere the Eclipse Scythe, given its creation associated with the eclipse. Despite its rather simple appearance, the Eclipse Scythe is created out of the fabled Damascus steel, making it nigh-indestructible. Mechanically speaking, the Eclipse Scythe is second only to the True Dragon Sword in terms of sheer battle power. Given its large AOE, the Eclipse Scythe is perfect to pulverize multiple enemies at once.
Advantages: The Eclipse Scythe remains one of the best weapons in the game especially for its sheer damage output. Its DPS can help fight not just entire swaths of enemies, but its combos also make the Scythe great against bosses. Aside from its effective mid-to-long range combat, it boasts the second-largest AOE in the game. Its attack power also makes it great to whip up enemies high in the air.
Disadvantages: Given its size, the Eclipse Scythe is unfortunately a bit on the slower side. Additionally, its rather overpowering damage potential might make playing it not as appealing compared to other weapons.