The last of the NES trilogy is Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom. In terms of story, this is technically the follow-up to the first game. From a chronological standpoint, it’s a bit of an odd choice to have Ninja Gaiden II as the third in the timeline whilst Ninja Gaiden III is the second.Â
The main plot in the game is that “Ryu” has been chasing Irene. He cornered her and fell off the cliff, presumably dead. The one who committed the crime and the victim was present. The real Ryu had come about and was investigating the matter of who framed him and why.
For the gameplay, Ninja Gaiden 3 is the hardest of the bunch. For example, the timer is 250 seconds and that’s to complete the whole level. Because of the time crunch, it requires you to move fast but also make sure not to lose too much health. The timer can restart on a section of a level, but it requires losing a life. Instead of unlimited continues, there are five at least with the North American version.
When it comes to secondary weapons, there is no shortage. Returning as well would be the flame weapon alongside the flame shield. The flame shield grants a few seconds of invincibility.
Regarding a tip that can be useful, if you are on level 7-3, you will not have as much time to complete the stage so if you have enough extra lives, you can lose one but then start on that level. The timer does not immediately reset once starting a new section. Be very diligent even with that time as you will have to be smart especially for the final boss.
Difficulty wise, Ninja Gaiden III is a very difficult game. It is not unbeatable, though it will require playing with more strategy than before. Given the limited number of continues, it is best to not to mess around.
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom is a game that would be worth playing. To be able to play this game with authentic experience, it would require buying the cartridge and then having a working NES. It has yet to appear for the Nintendo Switch Online but if it does, do check it out.
