PixlBit

Ninja Gaiden Razor’s Edge is a slow burn. When you first load it in you notice it seems like a pretty cookie cutter action game. These clichés immediately make themselves known.

1. Wall running & acrobatics ala Prince Of Persia and Tomb-Raider (Minus the satisfactory challenge)

2. Weapon accumulation and leveling up system quite similar to Devil May Cry

3. Linear levels where your sole goal is killing everything in an area before moving to the next area.

4. Mini-bosses that become “common enemies” in future stages.

5. Quick time events that attempt to make certain scenarios “more epic” but in truth don’t enhance the game in any shape or form.

6. A wonky difficulty scale where hero mode (easy) makes you invincible and “Normal mode” is the equivalent of  eating gravel, slamming your head against a steel safe, and submerging your hands into  molten lava.  (Seriously, think Dark-Souls on Speed and heroin)

Swing the chain,bring the pain!

Personally I would have appreciated a tried and true “normal mode” that was challenging yet not rage inducing . However, I’m sure some masochists out there actually appreciates NG:RE’s tendency to be a relentless cheap bastard. That’s my biggest beef with the game so far. NG:RE borders on being unfair at times. For one thing, enemies are not effected by friendly fire. Bullets and missiles will whittle you down quickly but they seem to have no effects on the generic thugs rushing you from all sides. It would have been nice if Ryu could strategically turn his foes against each other but sadly no such option exists. Oh, and those generic thugs? They move akin to ninjas themselves! Some of them will even bum rush you, tackle you, and pull off their best impression of an eager suicide bomber. When you finally clear out a room of these methodical madmen you are left wondering if it was by skill or by luck.

This is not to say the game isn’t fun. It’s a guilty pleasure to cut people and monsters in half at their torsos as flying limbs, disembodied heads, and fountains of blood explode around you in a cornucopia of gorey goodness! If you love graphic violence, NG:RE will satisfy!

Time to mercilessly murder yet another potty-mouthed douche bag!

Matter of fact, NG:RE absolves you of any potential guilt by making the mercenaries you face off against exceptionally foul mouthed. Whereas before these blokes would tell you about their families back home and plead for their lives, now they fire off F-bombs and S-bombs even when they’re missing an arm or a leg. Personally I don’t know if this is a good thing. I kind of liked how the original NG 3 made you question Ryu’s actions. You got the feeling you were killing actual “people” and even though it was more or less justified, it simultaneously added a nuanced gray area to contemplate. Now any pretense of such subtlety is gone.  The “refurbished soldiers” act despicable to the point they’re utterly evil in the most clichéd and boring ways imaginable.  No doubt this was done to make Ryu that much more “heroic” as a stark contrast to his enemies. Some gamers will appreciate this simplicity. Regardless, I thought it would be nice to see a NG game address the fact that battles and the people who fight them cannot always be labeled under the narrow classifications of “100% right” and “100% wrong”.  I don’t expect NG to be Shakespeare. That stated, it’s a positive merit when a game makes us reflect upon the killing we do within it. NG3 seemed to toy with this premise before dropping it entirely in its‘ follow-up expansion. To me it’s veiled misandry whenever a game dehumanizes all the male soldiers just to make them easier to kill. Oh, I do understand “why” developers implement this tactic. In most of these stories we’re supposed to be the “good guys/good girls” and heaven help us if we do questionable things within a fictional setting that puts our moral superiority into doubt! Ironically, it’s this same crutch that prevents story-telling from evolving within the gaming medium.

A lot of people complained about NG3’s plot but at the very least I was able to get attached to Mizuki and her foster daughter Canna. I also did a nostalgic “hell yes” when it was revealed Robby (From the nes version of Ninja Gaiden 2) was one of the fighter pilots. (He even has the trade mark blonde hair and sunglasses) Oh, Irene Lew is helping Ayane on the side but she’s changed a lot. I don’t know how she went from being a respectfully dressed redhead (She originally looked like a cuter version of Dana Scully from the X-files) to a platinum blonde dressed in kinky leather fetish ware. No doubt these were changes Itagaki put into play before he left. (Lovable pervert that he is,heh.) While the supporting cast are very likable the same cannot be said for the villains.

Meet the only slightly complex and sympathetic villain in the whole game!

The only awesome bad-guy is The Regent Of The Mask and that’s because he has a very sympathetic angle going for him. Everyone else? Welp, you have an evil old guy in a hover chair who does an outstanding impression of a mean-spirited much older Charles Xavier. He blabs about “god” and using alchemy to resurrect a newborn deity. There’s also a sexy bad-girl nerd who is cold, cruel, and methodical on account she likes science-y stuff. Her favorite weapon to use against Ryu is a holo-deck from Star-Trek The Next Generation. Don’t even get me started on “Sparky”, everyone’s pet tyrannosaurus mascot! Laughing your ass off? Can’t say I blame you. Most of the antagonists have the depth and density of cardboard. In other words, they would totally be at home starring in the original GI Joe cartoon!

For all my bitching and complaining, Razor’s edge is a robust package. Ryu’s varied weapons are a blast to use! Whether you use his metal claws, scythe,bo staff, or dual katanas you’ll have fun slicing and dicing at retail pricing! Not only can you power up these weapons but Hayabusa’s “ninpo arts” have returned as well. That’s right. Ninja magic is back!

Meet a man who has lost everything,including his balls!

Additionally you get to play as Ayane in the beginning with her own chapters in the campaign. By the time the game is beaten you can play as Momiji and Kasumi as well. No doubt these sexy buxom kunochi have sparked some sort of controversy about sexism and misogyny but on account I slaughter hundreds of men on NG:RE such complaints seem stupid. That’s right, they seem stupid. I don’t understand how these fictional females being “attractive” represents the oppression or degradation of real women. When in action each of these kunochi are every bit as capable and deadly as Ryu himself. I started playing as Momiji in chapter select and I can tell you right now, she’s not a lady to you would want to trifle with. Ayane herself is pretty much Japan’s equivalent of Hit-girl from Kick-ass. Look at it from my perspective. Are fan-service costumes and jiggling boobs as terrible to women as losing limbs and being cut in half are to men? Is it not better to be desired than be seen as a disposable meat shield? (One to grow on, would-be activists!)

In the end, NG:RE is a good action game. It’s not quite up there with Arkham city, Bayonetta, DMC, and Lords Of Shadow but it is an enjoyable ride all the same! When you throw in the unlockable extra characters, ninja trials, and leveling up system there’s plenty of incentive to come back to this one even after you’ve beaten it.

Of course this comes with its’ own share of problems. It’s sad that NG:RE takes you to some very exotic locations around the world yet all of them are linear and compartmentalized. You never get the true feeling you are “exploring” and the formula of killing all enemies in a room before moving on gets monotonous after awhile. Additionally it would have been nice if the normal difficulty was more reasonable. While not impossible to surpass, NG;RE’s normal mode is more frustrating than it should be. Giving players a neigh invincible “hero mode” does nothing to balance out the enemy ai or fix the issues with the game’s physics engine.

Final score: 3.5 ninja shuirken out of 5!