Irene Lew
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Irene Lew is a recurring character in the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy. She is also the love interest of the game's protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa. In the Japanese versions of the original trilogy, her name is Irene Liu.
Irene is absent in the Xbox version of Ninja Gaiden, as the Xbox version has its own continuity.
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[edit] Appearance
Over the course of the three games, Irene's appearance changes. In the first Ninja Gaiden, she has somewhat long brown hair which she keeps tied in a ponytail. In the second game, her hair is cut even shorter and is more red in color. In the third game, her hair is more brown and slightly longer. With the exception of Ninja Gaiden III, Irene has been kidnapped one way or the other.
[edit] Ryu and the Demon Clan Incident
Irene is a member of the C.I.A.'s Special Auxiliary under its leader, A. Foster. While in the city of Galesburg, she encounters Ryu shortly after his battle with the Barbarian. She pulls out a tranquilizer gun and shoots Ryu.
Later on, she enters his cell and hands him the Dark Statue of the Demon Jashin, the God of Destruction and tells him to escape. Irene doesn't see Ryu again until she is captured by the Jaquio's men and used as a bargaining chip to get the Dark Demon Statue from Ryu's posession. The Jaquio plans on sacrificing Irene, but his plans are thwarted when Ryu defeats him.
With his injured father, Ken Hayabusa at his side, Irene tells Ryu that he needs to destroy the two demon statues before the "black moon" shines. However, they are too late as the aforementioned "black moon," which is a lunar eclipse, thus bringing Jashin back to life. Once the demon is defeated, Ken Hayabusa dies from his injuries and Ryu and Irene make their escape.
Watching from a distance, Ryu and Irene witness the Amazon temple's destruction. She then gets a call from Foster, who praises her for a job well done on the temple's destruction, and orders her to kill Ryu and retrieve the Demon Statues. Ryu tells him that he will get his payment: the first he already has received, and the second will be Foster himself.
The first payment in quesiton, is Irene herself. The two share a kiss and Irene tells him her name. The two then watch the sun rise.
[edit] The Emperor of Darkness and the Dark Sword of Chaos
Once again, Irene is kidnapped, this time by members of the Tribe of Chaos, whose leader is the Dark Emperor Ashtar. Ryu is notified of Irene's kidnapping by U.S. Army operative Robert T. Strugeon, who tells him that Irene is being held captive at the Tower of Lahja.
Upon arriving and passing through the tower's defenses, Ryu finds Irene on the rooftop. Unfortunately, Ashtar - armed with the Dark Sword of Chaos, the diametric opposite of the Dragon Sword which Ryu posesses - is there as well. After narrowly escaping death, Ryu and Robert watches as Irene is whisked away as Ashtar's hostage.
Inside a chamber, Ashtar and Irene await Ryu. When he arrives, Ashtar gives Irene back to him, but the move is nothing more than a distraction as Ashtar stabs Irene in the back, injuring her. In the ensuing battle, Ryu defeats Ashtar in mortal combat. Irene, however is not dead, but her injury slows her and Robert down as they try to escape, while Ryu forges on ahead to destroy the Dark Sword of Chaos.
As Irene makes her escape with Robert, they encounter the Jaquio, who kidnaps Irene and leaves Robert severely injured. The head of the Demon Clan makes himself known when Ryu arrives at the altar, Irene warning him of his presence. After trading barbs, Ryu defeats Jaquio once again. However, his victory is short lived as Jaquio's blood touches the cursed sword's blade awakening it and sapping Irene's life past the critical point, killing her.
The Gate of Darkness is cast open and Ryu deals with the Jaquio two more times before the Gate is closed and the Sword of Chaos is destroyed. Ryu escapes with Irene's body, mourning her death, but it was not meant to be. The Dragon Sword, Ryu's primary weapon and family heirloom, sacrifices its power to bring Irene back to life.
The two reunited lovers then watch the sun go down and night falls as a shooting star sails through the sky.
[edit] Castle Rock Fortress and the Warship
This time around, Irene is now working as a C.I.A. analyst and was currently working with the U.S. Army in investigating her former boss A. Foster and his experiments with LIFE ENERGY on a mission codenamed Cardinal.
However, Foster has created a BIO-NOID which not only looks like Ryu, but also has all his strengths, and sends it on Irene. The BIO-NOID chases Irene to a cliff, which break under her weight, sending her falling to the waters below. Presumed dead by Ryu's hand, Irene uses her fake death to gain more info on Foster, the life energy and Foster's secret base, known as Castle Rock Fortress.
Irene encounters her former boss, the real Ryu and his doppelganger inside the fortress. Armed with a submachine gun, she cooly tells Foster what she has been doing since she had 'died.' She then turns her gun on the false Ryu, who has transformed into a giant monster and fires. However, the bullets have no effect, forcing Ryu into action.
Once the phony Ryu is defeated, Irene and Ryu turn their attention to Foster. However, as the fortress begins to shake, Clancy, a mysterious man who told Ryu to head over to the fortress in the first place, appears, congratulating both Ryu and Irene for getting his ruins back for him. When he disappears, telling all parties involved that the Life Energy will be his, Foster goes after him, only to be torn apart by the power in the subspace.
Ryu tells Irene to evacuate the fortress, saying that in order to survive the subspace's power, that one has to have a special power something that Ryu, being a member of the Dragon Clan, has and disappears.
Irene makes her escape from the fortress. From her vantage point, she see something emerging from the fortress. What she sees is a dimensional warship (or as it says in the game's title, the Ancient Ship of Doom). The ship destroys a mountain range with its destructive firepower and flies off.
However, it doesn't get far as Ryu appears and lands beside her, having defeated the double crossing Clancy. The warship itself is destroyed as is the Castle Rock Fortress. Ryu tells her that both Foster and Clancy are finished. Irene wonders why humans always follow such insane plans, even at the cost of innocent lives.
"Humans are always striving to achieve," Ryu replies. "All of creatures on earth, in all worlds, can never be just a part of someone's plans. Fortunately, mankind is never foolish enough to wipe itself out to achieve some ambitions. Being with you like this, makes me want to thank all the living beings in this world. That's my one desire. A new day is about to begin."
The reunited couple watches the sun rises, signalling the beginning of a new day.
