 The game is the third installment of the Ninja Gaiden trilogy , in which the events take place between the first two games in the series , Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II : The Dark Sword of Chaos . The player controls Ryu Hayabusa as he is framed for the murder of Irene Lew and investigates the circumstances behind her death . He eventually discovers a plan by CIA agent Foster and another person named Clancy to utilize an interdimensional rift to create and control a race of energy @-@ infused superhuman mutants . The game features similar gameplay from its previous two Ninja Gaiden titles and includes some new features such as the ability to hang overhead from pipes and sword power @-@ ups . 
