 As with the previous titles , Ninja Gaiden III received mostly positive reviews from critics . Early reviews praised the game for its plot , gameplay , and difficulty ; later reviews criticized it for that plot being overly outlandish , inconsistent level designs , and the game 's difficulty level , in which the North American version was intentionally made harder than the Japanese version through limited continues , stronger enemies , and omission of a password system . The Atari Lynx port , while receiving general praise for graphics and controls , received poor reception for its sound and for the inability for players to see characters and items , attributing it to the Lynx 's small screen . 
