Team Ninja has been scant on detail regarding Ninja Gaiden III since its formal announcement at the Tokyo Game Show in September. However, a new Famitsu interview published today with Team Ninja boss Yosuke Hayashi reveals new facts on the upcoming sequel.

According to Hayashi, the single piece of artwork released during the game’s announcement was meant to provide hints at the direction the upcoming sequel will take. We’re supposed to be looking for messages, but of what sort?

“We’re trying not to say directly,” Hayashi told Famitsu. “We’d Like to hear everyone’s discussions. When we actually share specifics on Ninja Gaiden III, we’d like to be able to say, ‘It’s actually like this.’”

That didn’t stop him from providing a couple of hints: “He seems to be doing something with right hand. Also, there’s something not normal about this hand. It’s covered in blood, but there’s something unnatural regarding the blood.”

Rather than open up on the game’s new direction, Hayashi was more willing to share the game’s general direction.

“Ninja Gaiden III is a numbered title. We’re developing it with the idea of restarting at the beginning, saying ‘We’d like to make the action game that’s most interesting for the current era. With this meaning, it’s going to be a game that’s not bound by the past more than necessary. Of course, we will be valuing the past, but in a good meaning we’d like to make it into a game that’s not tied down by the past.”

He concluded: “Development is progressing well. We’ve already completed an internal prototype. We held a sampling event for the prototype, and it was well received within the company. It will be a bit longer before we share info with everyone.”

Ninja Gaiden III is in development for an undisclosed platform for a TBA release.

Thanks, Andriasang.