Devil’s Third director says panned Wii U game was innovative for its time

Devil’s Third went through a bit of a rollercoaster during its development. Originally, THQ was slated to publish the game and it wasn’t even planned for Nintendo platforms at the time. But after THQ went bankrupt, South Korean company Doobic picked up the project. Doobic ended up going out of business itself, and eventually, Nintendo stepped in to handle it.

Whether it was because of the change in partners or another reason, Devil’s Third didn’t turn out well even though it initially seemed to be a potentially interesting Wii U exclusive. But now in 2025, director Tomonobu Itagaki has reflected on the title, feeling that it “was innovative for a game of its time”. 

This comes from a recent issue of Retro Gamer. The magazine first brought up enemy AI, which was one of many criticisms levied against the game back in the day. This was somewhat surprising given Itagaki’s history with Ninja Gaiden, which was more than capable in that department.

When asked if Devil’s Third had development issues, Itagaki said:

“I had no control over THQ going bankrupt, that was the only issue. Although there are some things left unfinished in terms of game design, I think Devil’s Third was innovative for a game of its time. If I were to make it again, I would of course improve it further.”

Retro Gamer also brought up multiplayer, which wasn’t as heavily criticized as the campaign. Speaking about how he worked differently on that part of the title, Itagaki stated:

“In the terminology of board simulation games, there are three layers: Strategic Level, Operation Level, and Tactical Level. Devil’s Third is a game that incorporates and integrates all of these layers of gameplay. This is groundbreaking. I’m really happy that we got some praise for the multiplayer.”

Devil’s Third is only available on Wii U and that’s likely to stay that way. We don’t see Nintendo revisiting this one anytime soon given the poor reception upon its release.