This past November marked the release of Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, the Wii U exclusive edition of the game featuring GamePad compatible touch screen controls. In a stunning role reversal, the Wii U version is actually more favored by the critics than the original, an interesting twist on trends from years past. In a new interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi took the time to discuss the decision to port to Wii U, citing early access to the console:
"One of the reasons we decided to develop Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge was because we heard about the development concept of Wii U itself early on. I think that starting development early was what allowed us to create a game that fully takes advantage of the hardware specs and special features."
Those specs and special features allowed for Razor's Edge to include improved AI, new enemies and battle areas, and additional Gamepad functionality, from weapon swapping to optional touch screen controls. The Metacritic score for the original Ninja Gaiden 3 stands at 58%, while Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge hovers at 71%.
Team Ninja for their part are already hard at work on something else. Hayashi confirms to ONM:
"We are working on an action game, and we are looking into other titles for Wii U."
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is out on the Wii U in North America, and debuts in Europe on January 11, 2013.