Ninja Gaiden 3 launch trailer is the beginning of the end

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Of the world, says the trailer – though it could be the beginning of the end of Ninja Gaiden as we know it. the legendarily brutal hack and slash has been reworked for its 3rd game – and has taken a decidedly more realistic turn.

Well, as realistic as modern ninjas can be, really.

In a new developer diary, the Itagaki-less Team ninja describes how they’ve removed many of the previous games’ fantasy elements, making Ryu Hayabusa’s latest blood-soaked adventure one that’s mostly devoid of monsters, mythical beasts and giant spiders. The usually lithe master ninja’s been beefed up as well, his extra muscles adding a sense of weight to him, apparently.  As a fan of the series (particularly Ninja Gaiden Black!) it’d all be enough to piss me off – if the game’s launch trailer wasn’t so good.

I’m ready to slice things to bits. Ninja Gaiden 3 is set for release on March 20th the US,  and March 23rd in the rest of the world. It’ll be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 – and will be released for the Wii U at a later date.

Here’s the trailer – followed by the aforementioned developer diary.