The next high-profile coming up in the near future is no doubt Team Ninja’s sequel to the original Xbox’s best action game, Ninja Gaiden. While we patiently wait for the promised demo to make its way onto the Marketplace, new details have been released by the Japanese magazine Famitsu, mainly shedding light on the tweaks and fixes that have been made to ensure a smoother ride through hell when the game releases on June 3rd.

The article states that each of the eight weapons featured in the game has been enhanced with killer moves that will only get more devastating as the player levels up a weapon. Shurikens have also been upgraded – one throw of these projectiles will now include five star-shaped blades and not four, as was the case in the original Ninja Gaiden. The list of changes continues with the modified Art of the Fire Wheels – now called Art of the Phoenix Fire – which encircles Ryu with flaming birds that stay with him longer and reach out farther than the previous fires. Also, armlets have been removed altogether, since Ryu now possess nearly all of those abilities anyway.

A little on the surprising side was the fact that a select few of beta testers were able to beat the game in 15 hours which is much shorter than the advertised 30 hour gameplay experience. Other interesting tidbits include the return of Master Ninja Tournaments, plans for post-release downloadable content, and word that the demo will be arriving in mid-May.