Ninja Gaiden 3 screens get blood all over your nice monitor

Since the Xbox original, the current Ninja Gaiden series is known for two things: painful difficulty and ultra-violence. Still frames from the game can’t communicate the challenge and frustration involved in Ninja Gaiden 3, though we can confirm that during our Tokyo Game Show demo a developer for the game failed three times on hard difficulty. What screenshots can communicate is just how bloody the upcoming game is, which these new pics do nicely.

According to the devs, an important part of Gaiden 3 is the consequences of star Ryu Hayabusa’s actions, which partially manifests itself in that ugly scarring around his arm. Since we’re supposed to feel guilty about it, we’ll try not enjoy the fountains of blood too much. As for the fiery dragon in some of the shots, we’re not sure what its deal is. We’re hoping Ryu summoned it via Ninpo and it’s fighting for him, as we’d really hate to go through a boss fight with it.

Above: Here’s the consequence-filled TGS 2011 trailer in case you forgot

Ninja Gaiden 3 is planned for release in the first half of 2012, and if you can’t get enough of Ryu, he’ll also be appearing in the next Dynasty Warriors spin-off.