Last Ninja 3

The player takes control of the ninja protagonist, Armakuni, who must fight his way through the five levels populated by opponents, collecting necessary items in the process. As per the first two games in the series, the game is presented in an isometric view and the ninja can move in eight different directions and jump.

If the player approaches an item that can be picked up, a picture of the item is briefly shown in the top right of the screen on a prayer wheel. Collecting items and using them in the correct place is necessary to progress and ultimately complete the game.

In Last Ninja 3, the protagonist Armakuni, known as the Last Ninja, is the sole surviving member of an ancient order of mystic shadow warriors from ninth-century feudal Japan, dedicated to upholding the principles of good against the forces of evil. His arch-enemy, the evil Shogun Kunitoki, harbors deep envy for the ninja's mystical powers and has sworn their total destruction to seize their knowledge of Ninjitsu. This longstanding feud traces back to Kunitoki's massacre of the ninja brotherhood, which Armakuni has vowed to avenge through repeated epic confrontations across time and space, including battles on the island of Lin Fen (as seen in The Last Ninja) and in modern-day New York City (as seen in Last Ninja 2). After these encounters, Armakuni had begun training a new generation of ninjas using sacred Koga scrolls, fostering a revitalized order blending elder masters and young students.

The story's central conflict ignites when, during a training session, mystical energies summon Armakuni to the sacred Buddhist temples in the Tibetan mountains—the spiritual heart of Ninjitsu—where time itself stands still and a pulsating light transports him into action. Kunitoki, having evaded final defeat previously, has invaded these temples to corrupt their essence, targeting the five elemental chambers representing Earth, Water, Wind, Fire and Void, which house the core of the ninjas' inner power and mystical strength. Armakuni's mission is to traverse these chambers, confront Kunitoki's henchmen and collect essential items like scrolls and weapons to thwart the corruption, as failure would doom the new ninja brotherhood and erase Ninjitsu's legacy forever.

The Amiga and Atari ST versions of Last Ninja 3, as developed by System 3, began development in September 1990, and were released in the March 1991 for the Amiga and Atari ST. The game was originally written for the Amiga, and it was the basis for the Atari ST version.

Adrian Cale, the co-director of Last Ninja 3, stated that the game was conceived because "the Ninja games have almost become a genre in their own right. People buy them because they specifically want that type of game. ... years ago Last Ninja was state of the art on 8-bit machines, we're now trying to make it state of the art on 16-bit".

According to Mark Cale, about 3 million copies were sold. The game was very well received by the press. The Amiga version reviews included the review scores of 81% from Amiga Format, 80% Amiga Power, and 90% from CU Amiga. The C64 version was further acclaimed, including the scores of 94% from Computer + Video Games and 93% from Zzap!.

British gaming magazine The One gave the Amiga version of Last Ninja 3 an overall score of 90%, and noted the incorporation of console and arcade-style gameplay elements. The One praised Last Ninja 3's new weapons and moves, and favorably expressed that these do not "dilute the game's challenge", further remarking that these elements "bring it to another level of playability". The One praised Last Ninja 3's complex and creative puzzles and map design, and detailed larger sprites, along with "good visual details" and effects, such as motion blur on weapons being swung. They called the game unoriginal and somewhat dated due to developments in the graphic adventure genre, but also stated that it was fun, challenging, and "a classic".