Ninja Gaiden III: A Cut Above the Rest
IGN sits down with Team Ninja studio head Yosuke Hayashi.
February 4, 2011
In June 2008, famed Ninja Gaiden developer and Team Ninja studio head, Tomonobu Itagaki, resigned from his position. He has since formed his own company, Valhalla Games, and plans to release his new game, Devil's Third, under THQ. Tasked with replacing him was Yosuke Hayashi, who gained notoriety after directing the Ninja Gaiden Sigma series on PlayStation 3, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword on Nintendo DS, and Metroid: Other M on Wii.
Yosuke's two upcoming projects include Ninja Gaiden III for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and Dead or Alive: Dimensions for 3DS. IGN recently sat down with Yosuke to get the latest on those titles, what he thinks about Japanese game development, and if his studio will ever work with Nintendo again.
IGN: Has Tomonobu Itagaki's departure from Team Ninja had any effect on the focus of the development on Ninja Gaiden III and the Dead or Alive properties?
Yosuke: Since his departure, the team really hasn't changed at Tecmo. So, we are still the same team and have the same vision. When you play Dead or Alive: Dimensions and Ninja Gaiden III, you'll have a better idea of what the current team's vision is. I can tell you the soul of the two series is still in there.
IGN: For Ninja Gaiden II, it seems when the series came to Xbox 360 the focus was on full dismemberment and as much blood as possible. What will be the big gameplay innovation for the third title?
Yosuke: Ninja Gaiden I was all about cutting people and in Ninja Gaiden II it was about dismembering enemies. In Ninja Gaiden III, you're going to experience something new regarding the feeling of cutting people. This is going to be new because you'll actually feel how it is to cut through someone; you'll feel the bones breaking. We're going to focus on the feeling of cutting someone more than dismembering them.
IGN: When you say you'll "feel" it, do you mean there will be something with force-feedback or resistance when cutting someone?
Yosuke: Yes, you'll have to press buttons, things like that, to have your katana go through the bodies. There will be force-feedback also to reinforce the idea. There will be work to cutting somebody. The intention for this title is to focus on the feeling of cutting someone instead of just going through entire armies of bad guys.
IGN: The series has been known for its strong difficulty. Can we expect Ninja Gaiden III to be just as hard?
Yosuke: We are trying to design the game so that anyone can take it on and experience the action. You can expect it to be less demanding than Ninja Gaiden II, it won't be as hard as that. It might taste a bit different, but it will still stay Ninja Gaiden, and we don't think the difficulty is a big issue.
IGN: What can you tell us about Ninja Gaiden III's story? Is it a reboot of the series?
Yosuke: The story will take place right after Ninja Gaiden II. It's going focus more on Ryu Hayabusa's history and background. It's going to focus on all aspects of his ninja lifestyle and his dark side. We're looking at Ryu as a human being and not a generic ninja character.
IGN: You say this game will look at Ryu's history, does this me we'll see more interactions from characters from the Dead or Alive series?
Yosuke: This time we really want to focus on Ryu himself. There won't be any playable characters apart from him. There won't be characters from Dead or Alive.
IGN: In the first two Ninja Gaiden titles, there was a lot of focus on leveling up and improving your weapons. Since the gameplay is being changed a bit for the third game, will players have to do something different?
Yosuke: We consider Ninja Gaiden I and Ninja Gaiden II's design to be old. We are trying something new for the gameplay and starting over from scratch. That kind of design is old so we're going to change things.
IGN: The main complaint we hear from people for the past games was that the camera; it moves so fast and can't keep up with the action. Are you addressing this for Ninja Gaiden III?
Yosuke: We are aware the camera was a bit dodgy in the past games. We're currently addressing this issue so the camera moves smoothly. But, we don't want to use the camera as a tool to see afar. We still want to have the same camera angle and we're working on the issue.
When will we get to see Ninja Gaiden III?
Yosuke: We'll have a press demo available only at E3. We'll keep you updated after that when players will be able to see the game.
IGN: When you revealed Ninja Gaiden III last year, you published this teaser image (below) and later said it contained hints about the game. Can you explain what this image means?
Yosuke: Ryu is unmasking himself, and it's a way of attracting people to his world. We are trying to have people enter the real Ryu Hayabusa. The amount of blood doesn't revolve around the idea of killing people, either; it could also be Ryu's blood. We're focusing not only on cutting people but also Ryu himself.
IGN: During this past Tokyo Game Show, then Capcom head Keiji Inafune was very critical of Japanese game development, saying none of the games looked good and that the country is five years behind everyone else. Do you agree with his comments?
Yosuke: I do agree. Japanese game companies have a long history, so it's really difficult for them to adjust. It takes time, and as you know, Japanese culture is really conservative, and some developers have difficulty adjusting to the current gaming trends. We all know that. We are still now working on ways to improve and that the teams are aware of the trends and how gameplay evolves over time. When you see Ninja Gaiden III, you'll have a better idea what I mean by that.
IGN: There's a big push to make games more casual and less difficult it seems. Nintendo is allowing players to turn on the CPU and play the game for them if it gets too hard. In general, do you think players still want difficult games?
Yosuke: The current trends, as you said, with Nintendo being more casual and have easier games to play, this is something that has been added to the hardcore player base. In the past, gaming was all about hardcore gamers that wanted special games for their needs. Now with the current trends, we have more casual gaming. It's just that the market has grown into this situation. We are still aware that hardcore gamers love Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive and we're taking that into account.
IGN: What are your thoughts on Move and Kinect? Do those interest you at all?
Yosuke: With Kinect and Move, I am more of a hardcore gamer, so I like to press buttons and have a controller when I play. Maybe we will be exploring these opportunities, but currently we don't have any details.
IGN: For Dead or Alive: Dimensions, the series in the past used to be about mastering the counter techniques. Is that still the focus with this game or is it evolving?
Yosuke: Dimensions is about the whole series, it will be like Dead or Alive 1, 2, 3, and 4 all together. With regards to gameplay, it has evolved to the current gaming trends. Maybe you'll see more casual aspects, but the core of the game is still there. It's still about counter moves and trying to make up strategies. It's not about remembering your combos or what you have to do next.
We've implemented a slightly casual approach to the title with the touch screen. You'll have a moves list that appears on the bottom screen. You'll be able to press any moves that you want to. It'll be a bit more causal, but you can also play it the old-school way, too.
IGN: Will we see any new characters introduced in Dead or Alive: Dimensions?
Yosuke: We can say there will be new characters to the series, but you will also find all the final bosses from Dead or Alive 1 through 4. They'll all be accessible to play.
IGN: In Dead or Alive Dimensions you revealed a Metroid-themed level with Samus. How did this idea come about and why isn't she a playable character?
Yosuke: Samus is not a Team Ninja character. That level is the extent of this collaboration. You'll find out when you play the game why this event takes place and what it's about. But for this title right now she's not a playable character.
IGN: it's great to have a game like Dead or Alive on the 3DS system because you don't get a lot of great fighting games on handhelds. Are there any plans to bring the series to Xbox 360 and PS3 in the future?
Yosuke: It's been awhile since the last Dead or Alive game, so we've been waiting for the right platform to put out a new game. We felt the 3DS was the right platform to do a new game. Also, we don't think this generation will end anytime soon, so you can still think about that. [laughs]
IGN: Metroid: Other M has been out for a few months now. How do you feel about the game's reception from fans and the media? Do you see Team Ninja working with Nintendo again in the future on another Metroid title?
Yosuke: We teamed up with Nintendo to put out a good game on the Wii. We wanted to make a 3D game that would suit fans of the old Metroid games and adapt to their standards. We did what was possible and were pleased with the result.
We're currently not developing projects with Nintendo outside of Dead or Alive: Dimensions, but it may be the case in the future we'll team up again.
I'm probably the worst gamer on this or any forum and I beat that game rather easily, the only problem I had was the fiery armadillo (or what ever it was) and the Archfiend on Chapter 14 that you had to follow up and use your arrows on.
