NG3 notes

NOTE Lot can be lost in translation, though a lot of consistent elements are noticed like dark hero, consequences etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN-xEfIkQv4 (note, find out when this video was shot)
Fumihiko Yasuda is now director (old level designer of NGII) and later director of NG3:RE.
Weird that enemies can sneak up on Ryu....
NOTE: it is hilarious that this developer diary constantly has birds chipping in the background, it is so unproffessional it makes me smile.
Ryu always on the divide on what to protect and what to kill. This personal struggle is at teh centerpoint. Arm was originally a snake climbing up his arm as the game progressed. We wanted it to be almost like Dragon scales were also considered until they consumed him completely. Weird that they eventually settled for just some basic...veins. Dried blood motife.
They felt Ryu was really hard to understand (HOW? he was just pure vengeance).
NOTE, this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN-xEfIkQv4) has a ton of concept art in it. Including the uroborus snake design, perhaps put in the article.
New rivel is Red Mask. Looks earily similar to the villain from Fable.
Trailers show lack of experience in storybased games, showing off a ton of spoilers.
Early footage already shows Wind Ninpo meter....what is going on?
Also see Falcon's Talons being designed in one the making off. What the FUCK is going on?
FPS games are extremelly popular, constant comparison. Action games have become less popular than in the hayday (this is true).
>Perhaps make artwork galaery of all the designs shown in the trailer? Make them available to the public. <
"With just a sword, amazing".
Want to get casual players interested as well (the desire and fear of being irrelvant is high, constant comparison to shooters and market trends).
NOTE: really quick load times upon death.
Artwork for multiplayer also shows the scythe...wtf.
Gifje met paar character design opties voor MP-character. Fun to use?
Shift to regular foes of a military organisation to cement the realism instead of beasts and monsters (yet they...do add them later).
(NOTE THIS VID HAS ACTUAL REAL LIFE ACTION RECORDING IN IT)
You can always headshot in the air btw.
THESE AIRED ONE DAY BEFORE RELEASE WTF.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I83KXJ0D_m8
Ninja Gaiden is remembered as hardcore, but it was originally also a very cinematic game. Ninja Gaiden 3 goes back to that. When we rebooted we focused more on the hardcore, but now we focus on the cinematic part.
Questions: new abilities? Want to focus more on his acrobatics. Slide, falcon dive, kunai climb. Focus more on the action of the cutting down of the sword enemies.
NOTE: you clearly see the Sword of the Archfiend in the trailers etc. Massive spoilers.
First in the genre to make a multiplayer game - Hayashi.
Multiplayer footage is extremely laggy.
Can kill yourself in the multiplayer to avoid enemy getting a point. Feels more like a bunch of singleplayer stuff thrown together as opposed to a well designed multiplayer mode.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoWSnpOffaI (this was a good interview)
enemies will cower in fear, beg for their lives. how you deal with that that is part of the experience and shows the CONSEQUENCES of BEING a dark hero i.e. you have to kill helpless people.
The kind of violence is different, more visceral violence. Wanted to remove the splatter and gore to remove the exictement, we want you to hear their dying breath, it's a artistic choice. (note: that's commendable, but if you throw tons of enemies at you, you get desenthaized). If it is just heads and limbs flying, it becomes an object, not a person.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9UaTkRZgPU
"We need something compelling for today, more than just fancy combos on the screen".
Essence and shop are gone. Gaming-functional metaphors we want to implement in the gaming world itself, so we want it to fit. Make it less video-gamey.
notes on 60fps: smooth gameplay, extremely high priority. "If we lose that, we lose existing fans" - Peter Garza from Team Ninja.
"its not that they are bad, it is what they are used to" - good idea, but bad execution, since Hero just takes the game away from you.
Het zou een goed idee zijn om te kijken naar de gevolgen van 'fanbase' en gaan voor 'mass appeal', de kansberekening die erbij zit etc. Mikken op mensen die niet interested waren, is een rare doel imo namelijk.
KINECT: we tried it. They couldn't find a way to find the 'sword connection' with Kinect, unlike with Move. But wanted to do something special for 360 users, since they are a loyal fanbase since the beginning. Resources best spent on something else for them. "We know they will be happy with that content". Of course this was never present.
A more 'mature take on violence'.
"the soil is there". You get the same sort of games with the new era of Team Ninja.
Team plays western games. Portal 2. Deadspace etc.
They don't want to make a game for the west, but a game they are passionate about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOH9QonLJA
Keep challenge there for series fans
Interesintg is that he notes "Ultimate Ninja difficulty", which had not appeared yet aside from NGS2.
"No one wants to select easy". So add playstyles. Hero Playstyle. Which is bullshit since it is just Easy Mode. Auto Evade, Auto Guard. We're not dumbing it down (yes you are).
Modern action game. Not rely on its legacy. More immersive, cinematic experience. Wanted to marry the action with the story. Interaction. Emotional connection with Ryu (i.e. SoB).
Lying about the weapon. Interview notes that there's only be one weapon...sort of. There will be more. Powerups? Hard to say.
"there will be some unlockables" - lies.
Big emphasis on the online mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63KmVCL02Ls
We want to show the future of action-games (aim high -red)
Focusing on someone down, what are the consequences of those actions (killing people).
Japanese dark hero (means he will be doing bad things).
Experience the suffering as he cuts people down.
Want people to feel like they cut down the people.

Reputation for challenge in the series history.
(lag already present in preview footage)
Want to also make it playable for new players.
Notes about online. Idea is that you are a ninja dog at first, then work up to high level ninja.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWnVklOjCas
"Steel on bone"
Really have players feel like they are feel like they are cutting through flesh and bone and make them look the foe into the eye when they are killing them (make it more personal).
Big focus on the katana. This time the katana is at the center of the story.
Ninpo returns.
Healing in games through menu you don't see that a lot anymore, want to make it seemless, so no menu usage. Hence the falcon-save instead of a statue menu etc.
Really putting heart and soul into it. Want to make it the best in the genre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWTf8r1JyaE
"japanese dark hero" - term we see a lot, see it more as killing a human being than just killing enemies. Just not press the button, really see and feel how the sword enters the human being, then connects the bone, and then they die and you chain it onwards.
"the real violencei s happening in the mind of the player" - wants to have players feel sorrow while kililng, but herpahs they were already too much desentizeesd (red).
The more you kill the more you can UT. Want to push the karma of murder. Which makes zero sense imo since you need to kill to progress (waves of enemies), so you're always killing. ANd you need to kill to UT. Making a game about killing, that's against killing, but can only kill...weird.
MOVE SUPPORT: hardcore fans can stick to playstaiton controller, for casual fans, or who feel it is too difficult, they can reexperience it with Move.

DRAGON NINPO MAKES ENMIES BEG FOR MERCY (but have to kill them anyway).

I'm glad to help. I remember in my country a vocal minority defended NG3 despite its issues. They argued mainly that SoB system could be triggered on command (like Gigue proved) and that it was a return to the NES-Era (one weapon, no puzzles, etc.) and not a proper NG2 sequel.

Metroid Other M was shared project beforehand, and Sigma 2 was based on an existing game. Otehr M was not well received and "Other M was the first game that let us work with an external partner whose philosophy towards development is completely different to ours. This was a great chance for us to revise and rethink our approach to development, and this experience is something that is being applied in the studio." - hayashi
https://mynintendonews.com/2012/03/15/team-ninja-talks-about-that-controversial-metroid-other-m-collaboration/

Team Ninja agreed with that approach, as they felt control schemes with excessive buttons were possibly turning players off the action genre, and tried to make the game employ only the Wii Remote, without resorting to the Nunchuk: https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Metroid-Other-M/Vol-1-The-Collaboration/1-A-NES-Game-with-the-Latest-Technology-/1-A-NES-Game-with-the-Latest-Technology--224960.html

"That’s right. When I listened carefully to what Sakamoto-san had to say, though, I realised that he wanted to create an action game that would appeal to modern players, and that he wanted to do it using simple controls. We’ve always made action games, but we inevitably end up thinking of game designs that use every available button. So although the player can do more things, there’s a tendency for the game’s controls to become more complicated. What Sakamoto-san had in mind, however, was to make the controls as simple as those of a NES game. When I asked Sakamoto-san ‘So it’s ‘a NES game with the latest technology’, right?’ he replied ‘That’s exactly what it is’."

Which is bullshit, players are even more skilled today than in the past, this is all because of bad raising.

But Hayashi seems to have the heart in the right place, he talks of passion about the industry but seems the person that made wrong choices, trying to appease wider groups instead of focusing on a core audience and please just them.

In Other M he got constant re-directions from Nintendo. "but rather than feeling constrained, the impression we got from this was that we’d gained a really powerful partner that could help us improve on the things we’d been making by ourselves." Still, there can be too much experiencehelp for a new director who has yet to get full reigns.

So now, he stepped up and for the studio into a new era. A new Dead or Alive. And a New Ninja Gaiden.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/01/25/ninja-gaiden-iii-saved-or-ruined

https://www.ign.com/articles/2011/01/25/ninja-gaiden-iii-will-be-completely-different
"Ninja Gaiden I was all about cutting people and in Ninja Gaiden II it was about dismembering enemies," Yosuke told IGN. "In Ninja Gaiden III, you're going to experience something new regarding the feeling of cutting people.
While Yosuke couldn't go into detail about Ninja Gaiden III's combat, he did say the team is addressing the camera issues that plagued the past games. He explained that while the team wants to make a smoother camera, they still want to keep it close to the action.

Public perception sank day one after the first gameplay reveal. The QTE emphasis, constant communication with the girl and neuteured combat not being welcomed.

Lots of missleading information, as saying more weapons would be in the game (which was only the bow and three other katanas), other unlockable characters when going online (just outfits for the unkown ninja). The negative perception of the game might have delayed hese pieces of content for the later razors edge

Team Ninja said Ninja Gaiden III will not feature decapitations or dismemberments, the staff said "We don't think people want to see that anymore, as they've already seen it."
But is that really the reason? Rating was the same, so that's not the reason (Mature 17+).

The game takes a lot of western games (eastern hamburger), which a lot of companies dared not to do. Itagaki's fylpsophy was to look to the west, which he did a lot and respected God of War as well. Perhaps Hayashi took this too far?

History is just repeating itself: NGIII on NES was developed by different lead designer (who, ironically, was the #2 guy on the second NES NG game, just as with this trilogy) and NGIII was the weakest of the original trilogy...

Claw DLC announced prior to the game's release. 3 weeks before. Released a few weeks (in april) after the game's release in march 20.
June 2011 NG3RE is announced for the WiiU which at first was assumed to be just a port, but got turned around. Or was it always thought to be something else?

At same time the 2005 Ni-Oh PS3 title was given to Team Ninja.

About coming out of the shadow of itagaki, and umasking the hero of Hayashi underneath (hero unmasked plays). Was it what we liked what was underneath?

You hear falc9kn no need to heal, cannot savescum

series really felt like trying to remove things to balance it out. revise.
Too much hp. Low delimb.

Use weaker sobs to kill stronger foes

Ryu just throws jiran away...
https://soundcloud.com/user107428034/ninja-gaiden-3-a-hero-unmasked

Single weapon

Enemies can midjuggle escape.
Heavy attacks dont all break shields

Shields in general

ng is a series that always keeps changing, ngs3re is a mixture

Trenda of the time. Colorscheme very depressing, can be ugly and unattractive. Juxtapositiin of before.

Skill mnenu can stop working

Progression of power (killing boss in one hit kn final chapter)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/605992-ninja-gaiden-3/64276485
    "After observing the successes of faster-paced, less intricate combat systems (think Bayonetta), Team Ninja rebuilt its battling. Ninja Gaiden 3 sent wave after wave of stupid enemies at star Ryu Hayabusa, and all you had to do was mash buttons.

    "It was a move made in fear", Hayashi admitted.


https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/605992-ninja-gaiden-3/63219807

And that was the problem with the original NG3. The series has long been known for its brutally challenging combat, a brand of battling where one false step leads to death. But in Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja took a different approach.

After observing the successes of faster-paced, less intricate combat systems (think Bayonetta), Team Ninja rebuilt its battling. Ninja Gaiden 3 sent wave after wave of stupid enemies at star Ryu Hayabusa, and all you had to do was mash buttons.

It was a move made in fear, Hayashi admitted.

“We looked at the game industry and how things were shaping up, and we felt we couldn’t get left behind,” he said. “And we had to advance ourselves. And that was the idea behind some of the changes in NG3.”

Except it didn’t work. Critics ripped the game, and gamers fell asleep at the controls. And the end result was the first game in the history of the series that was considered a colossal disappointment.

Hayashi insists that that won’t be an issue on the Wii U. Team Ninja isn’t just porting its title over to Nintendo’s new console: It’s going to make you remember Ninja Gaiden on the original Xbox.

The difficulty seems to be back in the series, and the development team won’t overuse the touchscreen; a few quick minutes of gameplay revealed that combat is still all about joystick moves and button-presses.

There are still gallons of blood and gore – maybe too much of that. But enemies did seem wiser, forcing a more tactical approach from Ryu. It seems like a minor alteration – and Ninja Gaiden 3 had other problems, such as blasé visuals, too – but it’s still a step in the right direction.

“For Razor’s Edge, we listened to the feedback (from Ninja Gaiden 3),” Hayashi said. “And we reexamined what the series was, what the game was, what people want. We’re going back to rethinking what the series means.”

“The concept for the Wii U version of Razor’s Edge is for it to be its own action game, an action game that doesn’t try to be anything else. It just tries to be its best.”

gamasutra.com/view/news/172492/Serving_damn_good_sushi_is_the_Japanese_developers_path_says_Team_Ninja.php

first UN1 clear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDKoQ7_9T0U&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV1wvO8Lnxc&list=UU3_lcf3pymV60dNc3tAfOsg

No Death run Katana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTj-UHdcBxM

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/169918/Strong_retail_sales_help_Tecmo_Koei_to_increased_2011_profits.php

First fight on Ultimate Ninja lasts nearly 10 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkdjIHgf_pk&feature=g-u-u

you could gimp yourself with low health

GIGUE

style that might be seen as ugly, more real, colros of the time (focus on the time and trend setting following).

enemies can die in one hit easily with the ohko options, but as a result a lot of enemies appear, which can drag the encounters out, and make combos useless.

In the end. As ryu makes his exit. That he is not a hero or a murderer, it ends a journey for himself, but also the player. Like with his asoptive child canna, he will watch. As the music plays. We know that this might be the last in the swries. Ninja gaiden is hard. Really hard. It requires effiecient and dertermintation and perection. Not just of the player but also of the designers. As ryu jumps into the sunshine. We think: thank you for all the good memories, rest now. We hope to one day see you return.

Ng3re trials
Trials are daring. shiftinf the balance from foe to boss (only game 100% bossfight encounters). Yet also misses nuance and thiught in favour of moar Volfs.

Can beat them solo thanks to abilities and patience but doesnt play to games strengths i.e. sob and clmbat flow.

Game tried to do two things, and failed at both. Wanted casuals, but was to hard. Wanted hardcore, but was to easy. INserted story segments, didn't appease hardcore. Constant interruptions of core combat, didn't apease hardcore. But story didn't appease casuals or hardcore.

NG3RE fixes this. Thus interruptions are gone etc.