Overview:
-Estimated achievement difficulty: 10/10
-Estimated DLC achievement difficulty: 10/10
-Offline: 39/50 (850 )
-Online: 11/50 (150 ) I Got Your Back, Initiation, Teamwork, One Against the World, Shady, Sneaky, An Honorable Death, Snowman, Guardian of the Village, Observer, Walking Dictionary*
-Approximate amount of time to 1000: 75+ Hours
-Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2 for Story with checkpoint reload trick
-Number of missable achievements: Acolyte in Day 5 is missable. See the guide for when and where.
-Do cheat codes disable achievements? No cheats
-Does difficulty affect achievements? Yes
-Glitchy achievements: Yes. Lone Ninja
-Unobtainable achievements? None
-Extra equipment needed? Online Pass


Introduction:
Welcome to Ninja Gaiden 3, the latest iteration of the venerable Ninja Gaiden franchise. Rebooted in 2004's Xbox release, Ninja Gaiden, this is the first in the franchise to be solely under the direction of a post-Tomonobu Itagaki Team NINJA and is a radical departure for the franchise. The purpose of this guide is to help obtain the full 1000 in this title. While this title is arguably the easiest in the franchise to date, there is still some definite difficulty to be had, thanks in large part to modified gameplay systems. This game should be quite simple for most to clear about 700 in, however closing out the final few achievements will be left mostly to the dedicated and hardcore.

Step 1: Hard Playthrough
While you do not need to start here, I would encourage it. With a few minor exceptions, the Hard difficulty of this game is actually the easiest in franchise history. Grabs will be a problem with certain late-game enemies and some bosses, but the checkpoints in this game are frequent and all encounters are designed to be completed using only what the game gives you at that particular time. If you still choose not to do Hard on your first playthrough, at least play on Normal. Playing on Hero will necessitate two further playthroughs before even trying Master Ninja. You can change difficulty to steps down, not up.

Step 2: Reload the final checkpoint and complete it on Normal
Instead of doing another playthrough after Hard, simply reload your final checkpoint in Day Eight and change the difficulty to Normal through the menu. This will enable you to obtain the Normal and Hero achievements and save you a pitifully easy follow up playthrough.

Step 3: Lone Ninja achievement
Start your Shadows of the World gameplay with this achievement. Complete the ten Acolyte difficulty Trials to unlock Lone Ninja before attempting any co-op. See the Lone Ninja achievement details below for more information.

Step 4: Master Ninja run
Due to the extreme difficulty of some of the later trials, you will want to tackle Master Ninja before fully committing to your Trial completion achievements. Through skill, a little luck, and a lot of patience, you will eventually conquer this mode. For a point of reference, my final run clocked in at around five hours, with maybe an extra two hours not showing up due to deaths. Please check this thread for Day-specific strategies.

Step 5: Clan Battles/Ninja Trials
Now we can put that Online Pass to use and start to hammer out the online specific achievements and the rest of the Ninja Trials. The final two sets will test even the most seasoned Ninja Gaiden veterans and will be significantly easier (though still nothing close to easy) with a good partner. Expect the Master and Ultimate sets to start unfair and get progressively worse. You will need every skill that you picked up in your Master Ninja run for these.

Conclusion:
If you still have anything left over after your Master Ninja playthrough, such as Hayabusa Style Grand Master, you'll be nabbing that here. Congrats on your hard-earned 1000!

 

[x360a would like to thank CyberEvil for this road map]

Ninja Gaiden 3 Achievement Guide

Printable Guide
Show completed achievements
Show secret achievements

There are 55 achievements with a total of 1240 points

  • Learn the Falcon Dive.

    You will unlock this the first time you dive from a high vantage point in the Story mode. Alternatively, you could level up your multiplayer character and earn it there at level 11. Not missable in Story.

  • Learn how to slide.

    (5)  

    The slide is performed by holding and moving in any direction. You will likely earn this without meaning to the first time in Story mode that you need to slide under the truck. Not missable in Story.

  • Learn the Kunai Climb.

    The Kunai Climb is performed by running straight up a viable wall and pressing both and together. You will then need to alternate holding and release each trigger in turn to climb the wall. This is not missable in Story.

  • Learn the Wall Run.

    (1)  

    The Wall Run is performed by running towards a wall and jumping at it at an angle. You will then run on a shallow arc across the wall and jump off at the end. This is not missable in Story and also cannot be obtained until it prompts you for it in Day Two.

  • Learn the Flying Bird Flip.

    The Flying Bird Flip is performed by running up a wall with another wall parallel to it and pressing , with subsequent presses of the button required as each jump carries you to the other wall. Alternatively you can just mash like a deranged monkey and that'll do the trick, too. This is not missable in Story.

  • Learn how to cross a rope.

    Rope Crossing is performed in much the same way as the Kunai Climb, but it's done on a horizontal plane with a rope. You will be prompted to Press both and together to jump on, followed by alternating releasing and holding each button in turn. At the end of the rope you will need to hold both triggers and press to dismount. This is not missable in Story.

  • Learn the Izuna Drop.

    (5)  

    The Izuna Drop is Ryu's signature move throughout the series and is not immediately accessible to Multiplayer characters, being obtained at sword level five there. In Story mode, it is useable right out of the gate. The first variations of the input that work with the Dragon Sword are and moving the towards the enemy followed by . With later swords (and later sword levels in MP) there are further inputs available that culminate in the iconic move.

  • Learn the Ultimate Technique.

    (2)  

    The Ultimate Technique is performed by pressing and holding when Ryu's arm or sword (just the sword in MP) starts to glow red. Alternatively, you can perform it with an on-landing charge by jumping and pressing immediately upon landing for a nearly immediate release. You will be prompted to do this relatively early on in Day One.

  • Cut down 100 enemies with Steel on Bone attacks.

    (3)  

    Steel on Bone is a slow-motion sequence that comes up at random as you strike enemies in Story mode, with lower difficulties increasing the rate at which it appears. It can be initiated with both and attacks and the rate at which it will activate is increased as the enemies enter near-death states. This enemy state is indicated by blood on their character models. Another method to trigger this attack is to use the Slide on a staggered or weak enemy to launch them into the air, followed by pressing to initiate and end the Steel on Bone sequence. You will undoubtedly have this by the end of your first Story mode playthrough.

    This is also obtainable in MP, but an enemy must have a flashing red health bar to initiate it. Ninja Trials are another location to earn progress towards this achievement.

  • Play a Co-op Ninja Trial with a partner.

    This is self-explanatory. Grab a friend or random gamer online and complete a Ninja Trial in co-op to earn this. Online MP only!

  • Play a Clan Battle.

    Play and complete your first Clan Battle online. Win or lose, this achievement is yours. Online MP only!

  • Win 10 team battles.

    For this achievement you have to play ten Clan Battles to completion as the winning team. If a match changes to a Battle Royale, progress towards this achievement is not earned, win or lose. See the One Against the World achievement for more information on this. Online MP only!

  • Win a battle royale match.

    At random, Clan Battles will have the rules change to a free-for-all mode called Battle Royale. You cannot initiate this and it is completely random. Colors will disappear from all players names and everyone becomes a target. Come out on top when time expires to score the achievement. The easiest way to ensure this happens is to not be drawn into the melee. Instead, wait for everyone to congregate and unleash a Ninpo attack at everyone. Bear in mind that others will look to do this too, which leaves them wide open for a Ghost Attack! See the Sneaky achievement for more information on this move. Online MP only!

  • Shady

     

    10

    Perform a betrayal.

    Another random achievement earnable in Clan Battles only. During the course of obtaining the other MP achievements you will undoubtedly be given a contract to perform a betrayal. Once this contract is given to you, walk next to any team member, click in and press . This will stab and kill that team member. At this point you will change teams, your previous team will be given the contract to kill you, and your new team will be tasked with protecting you. When you betray your team, all of your kills are deducted from your previous team's score and added to your new team's. Keep this in mind when going for the ten wins achievement. Online MP only!

  • Sneaky

     

    10

    Perform a ghost kill.

    This is only obtainable in MP. Once your character hits Level Four you will unlock this ability. Once earned, move slightly forward to walk instead of run. You will disappear completely. While in this state, press to initiate a lunge attack at an enemy. If the second part of your thrust hits an opponent, you will instantly kill them and earn their Kanji if you do not already have it. To clarify a bit, you earn the Kanji that they currently have on their backs, not a random one assigned to them. Thanks to Zim for pointing out this was a little vague.

    This move is integral to quickly earning the Walking Dictionary achievement and is also a quick way to pad kills. Use it on people who are fighting already for some easy kills. Keep in mind that enemies can hit you with their bows and shurikens and it will knock you out of stealth.

  • Perform harakiri.

    This ability is earned at Level 26 in MP. Once you have earned the ability you can earn it when you are near death. You have to either mash out of a Steel on Bone sequence and then quickly perform it before an enemy hits you with an Obliteration, or use it when someone just nearly kills you. You'll know you are in the right state when you clutch your stomach and only hold your sword with one hand. A prompt will come up asking you to press when it's available. You can be interrupted until your screen turns red and it must complete to earn the achievement. Online MP only!

  • Play the Snowfield stage 10 times.

    Simply complete ten full matches on Snowfield. Online MP only!

  • Play the Hidden Village stage 10 times.

    Simply complete ten full matches on Hidden Village. Online MP only!

  • Play the Watchtower stage 10 times.

    Simply complete ten full matches on Watchtower. Online MP only!

  • Get 10 customization parts.

    (2)  

    You unlock customization parts with your MP character only. Earn ten and this will unlock. The quickest way will be to complete Ninja Trials for the preset rewards.

  • Get 100 kanji.

    (11)  

    You earn Kanji for completing matches, Ninja Trials, and Ghost killing your enemies (which takes their currently equipped Kanji). You will likely earn this after completing at least the first three sets of Trials and the 30 matches required for the stage-specific completion achievements. It would be nearly impossible to not have this by the time you reach Level 50.

 

Secret achievements

  • Learned Ninpo.

      

    Ninpo is performed by pressing + when your yellow Ninpo guage under your health bar is filled. You can only earn this in Story mode and it is not missable.

  • Destroyed the Steel Spider.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Finish Day 1.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Escaped from the monorail.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Finish Day 2.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Made it through the fire.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Finish Day 3.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Escaped from the Chimera Disposal Facility.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Finish Day 4.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Successfully responded to Sanji's ambush.

    This will occur when you are walking around your village during Day Five. This is missable, but you would almost have to try to fail it. When the prompt to block comes up, just hit it. You have a few seconds in slow motion to do so. If you do manage to miss it, or just want to see Sanji hit you, simply reload the checkpoint.

  • Finish Day 5.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Defeated the Epigonos.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Finish Day 6.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Ahab

     

    15

    Land on the Black Narwhal.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Finish Day 7.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Defeated Cliff.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Defeated Theodore.

    Story progression; not missable.

  • Hero

     

    50

    Cleared the game on Hero.

     

    Complete the game on Hero difficulty to unlock. Alternatively, complete the game on Normal as Normal stacks these two.

  • Cleared the game on Normal.

     

    Complete the game on Normal. You will also unlock the Hero achievement if you have not already earned it.

  • Mentor

     

    60

    Cleared the game on Hard.

    Complete the game on Hard to unlock. You will NOT earn the Normal and Hero achievements upon completion, for some reason. Instead, load up your last checkpoint on Day Eight and change the difficulty to Normal in the menu. This will earn you the other two without playing through the full game.

  • Cleared the game on Master Ninja.

    Complete the game on Master Ninja. This will require an exorbitant amount of patience and will likely be quite frustrating as the game will crank up grab frequency and damage to insane levels. Thankfully, enemy placement and number do not change with a couple minor exceptions (like attack dogs appearing in the first fight), nor do the incredibly generous checkpoints. If you sit down to do this, you will eventually power through. Just don't be afraid to turn it off when it gets frustrating.

  • Cleared 10 Acolyte Trials.

      

    There are only ten trials in this set, so simply complete all of them to unlock this. Please be aware that you should do these by yourself first, as completing them in co-op will make the game think they are completed and not unlock the Lone Ninja achievement. See that description for more information.

  • Cleared 10 Mentor Trials.

      

    Clear all ten Mentor Trials, alone or in co-op.

  • Cleared 5 Leader Trials.

      

    Clear all five Leader Trials, alone or in co-op.

  • Cleared 5 Master Ninja Trials.

    (3)  

    Clear all five Master Ninja Trials, alone or in co-op.

  • Cleared 3 Ultimate Ninja Trials.

    (17)  

    Clear all three Ultimate Ninja Trials, alone or in co-op.

  • Raised the katana to level 10.

    (1)  

    Your sword level is separate from your normal MP character level. Just keep playing and using sword techniques to unlock. This will likely unlock around character level 20, depending on how much you use your bow, shuriken, and ninpo. The Izuna also does not count towards your sword, though the hits leading up to it do. As a nice little bonus, your character's sword model will change to become Ryu's Dragon Sword.

  • Reached level 50.

    (4)  

    Reach character level 50. This will be quite the grind, but Clan Battles award generous amounts of karma towards this. A decent match can net upwards of 100,000 karma. My best match so far is around 250,000. Just keep at it and this will come with time. While you could grind this out in offline, single player Trials, I do not recommend it, as the karma awarded is signficantly lower than MP.

    Boosting method, courtesy of cra:
    Quote:
    If you have at least 1 friend who is willing to boost you have a faster way than grinding one trial over and over again.

    Setup:
    Map: Doesn't matter as long as you know the spawn areas
    Outfit: Choose the same color for an extra 500XP bonus per kill and either the same headgear or armor for an extra 1000XP bonus per kill

    Boosting:
    Now for the killing part. If you are really lucky, you will start with the "Life of a Killer" contract, which is the best possible beginning contract for two reasons. First, this contract doesn't change until you die (which shouldn't happen in a boosting session) and second, it gives 5000XP instead of 3000XP like the other contracts. The worst case scenario is getting a Falcon Dive contract, as it is time consuming and annoying.

    As soon as the match starts, the Killer runs across the map to his victim and starts killing and fulfilling contracts. If you don't start with "Life of a Killer" you may receive it after a few kills. The fastest method for a kill is a head shot as long as you have arrows; after you run out switch to ghost kills and if it is available always do an UT kill for an extra 1000XP steel on bone bonus.

    Result:
    The best result was something around 395k in 5min, but it definitely averages above 200k per match/5min if you do it 1 on 1 with 27-32kills in the time limit. If there are more participants the XP earned will increase accordingly.

  • Cleared 10 Solo Ninja Trials.

    You must clear ten Ninja Trials by yourself. Do this first, as the game counts missions completed in co-op as completed in general and will not award progress otherwise. If you do find yourself in the situation where this will not unlock due to co-op completion, simply choose a different save device at the title screen (Cloud, USB memory, et al) and play through Day Two. Once complete, you can head into Ninja Trials and complete the Acolyte trial set to earn this.

DLC: Ninja Pack 1

There are 2 achievements with a total of 60 points

     

    Secret achievements

    • Defeat 100 opponents in Clan Battles with the Metal Claws.

    • Clear all Ninja Trials included in Ninja Pack 1.

        

    DLC: Ninja Pack 2

    There are 2 achievements with a total of 60 points

       

      Secret achievements

      • Defeat 100 opponents in Clan Battles with the Great Scythe.

      • Sage

         

        45

        Clear all Ninja Trials included in Ninja Pack 2.

          

      DLC: Ultimate Ninja Pack

      There are 1 achievements with a total of 120 points

         

        Secret achievements

        • Clear the story on the Ultimate Ninja play style and Ultimate Ninja Trials 4 & 5.

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