Ninja Gaiden 3 DLC Wishlist

here should do just fine to catch yourself up. Ninja Gaiden 3 had some solid ideas at it's core that never felt fully fleshed out. It's a sad thing too, because it had the potential to be an awesome addition to the series. In the end it felt that Team-Ninja declawed their lion of a game, then set it loose in the wild only to be feasted upon by the beasts of our new generation. Well I've devised a few ideas that may potentially help the game defend itself post launch.

1) New Move Sets/Combos

By the end of the third chapter I found myself nodding off to sleep. Something that no action gamer should EVER be doing with a controller in their hand. The sheer amount of repetition within the gameplay quickly resulted in the act of slicing and spilling blood to shift into a repetitive chore. You would see Ryu Hayabusa perform the same bone grinding slices play on loop, and the intense visceral feeling it gave quickly wore off. Perhaps Team-Ninja could update the game with additional animations, expand the combo tree, and include more unique QTEs. This would drastically improve the appeal of the combat, while increasing the game's variety in combat. Also, can we please get Ryu at least moving counter clockwise when he changes into a dragon? Any variety here would be much appreciated.

2) Expand the Idea of Morality

Many moments of the game found Ryu stalking toward his enemies as they cower in fear. Pleading for mercy, he inevitably struck his enemies down with brutal slices of his katana. These events in the game simply fell short of maintaining their impact to truly bring any emotional response. As the credits roll, it doesn't feel that Ryu even questioned his actions. I loved the idea that players might have had a choice of sparing lives, but the game never actually delivered. In the first stage of the game players come across a large group of enemies that drop their weapons and plead with you to spare them. Whether you slice them all down, or spare them the game plays out the same and fails to truly bring any real connection to the player. It would have been interesting for Ninja Gaiden 3 to have branching story paths where sparing lives grants you a different ending. With a DLC expansion, Team-Ninja could offer up a level where sparing a life gives you actual options. It's worth a shot. If all goes well, maybe they will implement this idea into a fourth installment.

3) New Enemies/A.I.

Ninja Gaiden has always been about the intense close quarter combat. Ryu slides, dashes, and glides his way within striking distance plunging his sword deep into his foes. Fountains of blood become your reward. Unfortunately, the difficulty level never truly felt the same with the latest installment, especially on higher difficulties. It wasn't that the enemies were more aggressive, or would attack in swarms, or would even attack you differently, they simply did more damage. Simply changing the damage you take didn't make the game harder, or more challenging. It felt lazy. In future DLC, it would be an excellent addition to perhaps update/tweak the higher difficulties. If Team-Ninja threw in some more variety in the enemies as well, you definitely won't hear me complaining.

4) New Multiplayer Content

Personally, I did have a little bit of fun with the multiplayer component. At the end of it all though, even this concept felt underdeveloped. Including the ability to unlock and customize your avatar was an excellent addition. Dynamic objectives pop up as you play throughout a match, which added to the overall experience. If Team-Ninja includes a multiplayer expansion, it would be great to see what they can do with this branch of the game. Given a little more development time and focus it could find a great player base. Including unique multiplayer skins and customization options, new weapons to use, different stages, and even new types of objectives would bring a more longevity. An awesome start to matches could take a cue from the single player. Imagine diving into the map from a helicopter diving on top of your enemies. Racking up enough brutal kills in a row would allow your entire team to get the drop on your enemies.

5)Arena/Challenge Mode

If any game lends itself perfectly to an arena mode, it's Ninja Gaiden 3. Team-Ninja has the potential to add a seriously addictive component to the game with an addition of an arena challenge mode. Wave after wave of enemies relentlessly attack Ryu while you scramble to build up the highest possible score. As the enemy difficulty builds up your score exponentially, you will find yourself encountering different bosses randomly through each session. Once a boss is defeated you get a small health boost in order to help you keep the fight going. Once you finish the arena challenge, or die a dishonorable death, the game tallies up your scores and posts the final count to leaderboards. What better way to prove who the better ninja is among your friends?

These are just a few suggestions. While the inclusion of more weapons seems obvious, it was excluded because the Scythe and Claws are already being added for free. So our wishes of new move sets and combos will be expanded a little, but we can all wish they go above and beyond right? What do you think could these help the game reach a greater potential, or is the game too far gone to be saved?