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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Those adept at battle walk the path of the Warrior at all times. In the life of a true ninja, every day brings one closer to death. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Is this the Dark Sword of Chaos? No, that’s the NES game. Ninja Gaiden II is the 2008 sequel to the critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden on the original Xbox. It builds on the gameplay of the original to deliver an incredibly fast paced, bloody ninja power fantasy where the enemies and the player character Ryu Hayabusa are more aggressive than before. It’s also got a slightly unfair reputation attached to it as it was saddled with having to follow up on the masterpiece that was the first Ninja Gaiden, which is not easy. At all. Similar to DMC4, it falls short in various aspects such as environments (ditching the interconnected design of Vigoor in exchange for contained linear levels), enemy design, graphics being not that much more advanced than NG1, and the story being incredibly stupid (but still able to have fun with itself). But the core gameplay is heavily advanced from its predecessor, and for serious fans of this genre that is more than enough to make up for most of the aforementioned shortcomings. Ninja Gaiden II was also the last Team Ninja game directed by Tomonobu Itagaki, before his departure from the company a month after release, and thus it became the last Xbox exclusive title from the developers before returning to multi-platform development. Following a year later after Yosuke Hayashi assumed the position as head of Team Ninja, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 was released for the PS3, setting out to use the PS3 hardware to create a better looking version of the 360 release as well as to correct the other issues in terms of game balancing and level design that were still remaining. In addition to that, exclusive content such as new playable characters and weapons are thrown into the mix, much like the original Ninja Gaiden Sigma did. So like before, what you get between the two versions are quite different experiences. So is this another dual playthrough LP? You bet your rear end it is, but this time the tone will be a bit different. Ninja Gaiden Black and Sigma 1 were different versions of the same game that really had little need to add more than there already was, but the developers did anyway and a passerby could look at both games and not notice anything seriously different on a design level. I gave an in depth look at both games and they were given their fair shake. With regards to the games being played here, Sigma 2 does not have this luxury. These are both very different games even on first glance, and Sigma 2’s lesser quality compared to its 360 counterpart is far more pronounced than the differences in Sigma 1 ever were. I won’t list all the reasons here for why this is the case, that’s what the videos are for. Needless to say, Sigma 2 suffers from a major case of overcorrection in response to criticisms (some legit and others perceived) of the 360 game, and now neither version is free of some glaring flaw or two that keeps it from the pantheon of quality titles occupied by the likes of Bayonetta and DMC3. This is a diamond in the rough that never got, and never will get, its “Ninja Gaiden II Black.” And that is a loving shame. If you couldn’t tell already, this is gonna be way more slanted against the Sigma version than the last LP was, where I was largely fair with both games. So get ready for a playthrough where my mode oscillates hard between excitement and disappointment with near every video. Still no Master Ninja run for either? Absolutely not. Ninja Gaiden II’s higher difficulties are not especially well balanced compared to the default, and while my reckless and super offensive playstyle would seem more viable here than it was in Ninja Gaiden 1, me trying to go through Path of the Mentor or even Master Ninja would be akin to me trying to LP a bullet hell shooter. Fun for a while, but eventually my senses give out and are completely overwhelmed by the bullshit that gets thrown at me. Sigma 2 is also not as fun on the higher difficulties, but again like everything else in Sigma 2, it’s because of a different set of problems. So normal playthroughs, the way the creators intended. So sitback and enjoy as PSWII60 and I dive into the sequel to one of the greatest action games conceived. And remember... ...You must obliterate! OPEN YOUR EYES AND OBLITERATE, drat IT!                                       --- Youtube Playlist --- ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Dec 31, 2018 |
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Dec 15, 2017 02:59
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EDIT: Disregard this section, the weapon exhibition feature took too much work to get good footage of them in action so I stopped partway through to focus more on the main playthrough. ==============================  Ninja Gaiden II’s combat is leagues and steps ahead of what Team Ninja initially created in 2004, and the weapons are clear reflections of that. Unlike the first game’s weapon design of the Dragon Sword serving as Ryu’s primary tool with the other weapons serving secondary purposes, Ninja Gaiden II’s 8 weapons (9 if you’re on Sigma 2) are all incredibly in depth and functional enough to serve as any primary weapon depending on the player’s style. It’s an approach that is undoubtedly fighting game like in its design, and the 360 version having separate achievements for completing the game using only one type of weapon proves that this was the intent from the start. Each weapon has various factors to differentiate each other, such as damage, speed, reach and so on. Going over the move lists of each and their practical uses during the main game would be too time consuming, so I’ve prepared a series of exhibition videos demonstrating (most of) the entire move lists, with comments on what’s unique to each weapon, what combos are best used starting out, which enemy types they excel at and so on. Note that because the order in which weapons appear in Sigma 2 is different, I’ll be basing this off of the weapon order in the original game. Core Weapons .png) .png) .png) .png) .png)
ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 05:20 on Apr 5, 2019 |
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Dec 15, 2017 02:59
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  Ninja Gaiden II's first level can be described as being in complete contrast to the first level of the original Ninja Gaiden. This game's all about the action, and showing that Ryu is not the same Ninja he was once before. Also the locale is just so drat cool. gently caress modern day Tokyo, I wanna book a vacation to THIS Tokyo.   Dragon Sword The symbol of the Dragon Ninja, passed down for generations. It wouldn't be a Ninja Gaiden game without the Dragon Sword, and starting the game out it serves the same well rounded role it had in the previous game. I'm not gonna go into detail about the weapon's specific traits or moves here, as that's what the weapon exhibitions will be for. Just that it's here, and still pretty good, if not limited at Level 1. But then again, the weapon was even more limited at Level 1 in the original Ninja Gaiden, so everythign here is still an upgrade in some manner.  Lunar Staff A staff said to harbor the mysterious powers of the moon. Ninja Gaiden II makes sure that you finish the first chapter with not one, but two weapons in your inventory, and the Lunar is a great compliment to the Dragon Sword. While the DS is all about versatility in both ground and air, Lunar emphasizes longer reach and pokes to deal with damage in huge crowds. You'll end up pulverizing single enemies faster than you would with a blade, but that's not so bad when you want a weapon that takes off the pressure from being swarmed. And as you'll see later in the game, it's especially valuable when dealing with larger, more durable foes.  Shuriken It is no exaggeration to say that this weapon epitomizes the Ninja. Shuriken are implements designed to cause injury when thrown at an enemy, and most Ninja carry them at all times. This particular type of Shuriken. which boasts six blades, is officially known as a Roppoken, or six-sided star, and is of the Kuruma-ken (round) category of Shuriken that spin when thrown. Due to the disposable nature of these weapons, expensive materials are rarely used in their construction. However, they are crafted with great precision in order to stabilize their trajectory when thrown, thereby increasing accuracy. They're the same, go to projectile that it was in the original. You throw them, they stun enemies, you can cancel out of combos with them, the utility's all there. What's more to say.  Art of the Inferno This ninpo uses the power of telekinesis to hurl a flaming mass of pyrokinetic energy at a desired target. The Art of the Inferno is highly effective against enemies in front of the caster. Those unlucky enough to fall victim to this ninpo are completely engulfed in flame. The fire it unleashes is no ordinary flame; akin to the flame of a Dragon's breath, it is no surprise that records fail to mention anyone surviving the intense heat of the inferno. The only returning Ninpo from Ninja Gaiden 1, this spell is slightly modified from its predecessor. As the description implies, an orb of fire does not shoot straight at the target but floats then seeks them out. And when it connects, the enemy will go through a very lengthy, painful death animation as it gets burned to death. This does mean however that it won't yield essence until the animation finishes and you can't really interrupt or speed up the process. In addition, as we upgrade this Ninpo, the number of projectiles will increase, meaning at the max level Ryu can fire three fire balls at individual targets. Very nice.  Humanoids  Black Spider Ninja The Hayabusa's arch rivals, the Black Spider Ninja take center stage as the primary humanoid enemies of the game. That might come off as a bit limiting compared to the various ninjas, riot cops, and military troops we fought in Tairon, but there's enough variety within their ranks to make up for it, including the higher tier ones we'll face near the end. These ninja are the most fun to fight, yet on the same coin they can be the most infuriating when in large numbers, as their tendency to attack in very random ways makes it necessary to use powerful crowd clearing moves to let off the pressure. Though once it's down to only a few stragglers, they're less of an issue, though a single ninja can still put up a decent fight if you aren't paying attention. In addition, they're one of the few enemies that when delimbed will attempt to Kamikaze Ryu. The type of attack varies based on which limb is missing, and it also determines if it can be escaped. If they're only missing an arm, you hosed up if they grab you as it can't be shaken off. If they're crawling and try to pin you down, mashing buttons can easily throw them off, plus open them for an Obliteration in return.  Sword The lowest tier of Black Spider, denoted by their dark green garb. They always carry a pair of dual swords, and can perform a series of light attacks, a single heavy attack (that guard breaks and cannot be countered), or two grab moves either initiated from the ground or via jump. They've got the basics covered, but as they're the lowest on the totem pole they're especially fragile and it doesn't take long to delimb them. Also these ninja can sometimes come equipped with a bow, fitting their arrow tips with fire which makes them pack a punch. When getting close to them, they will pull out their swords as a defense, but because they're primary role is to play keep away they have a higher dodge rate than the normal sword ninjas. That said, if they're the only ones left in a fight with no other reinforcements they may just drop the bow and go in for the attack.  Claw The next tier of ninja, these are clothed in dark brown (not shown in the picture above because I couldn't find a concept artwork of the right color). On first glance, you might think these ninja are handled about the same as the sword ones, despite wielding a different weapon. And you'd be right most of time. They still have light attack combos, heavy attacks, and a grab, so they aren't lacking in essentials. However, because of the claws, they're capable of combos that hit way more rapidly which can lead to serious consequences if you mess up the timing of a counter attack. Put on the plus side, they're only limited to one grab move on the ground, lacking the forward jump grab of the lower tier ninja.  Mages Rounding out the bottom tier forces are the mages. Clothed in purple and carrying a pair of sais, they're the successor to the Vigoorian mages Ryu fought back in Ninja Gaiden 1, but with clearly different attacks. Whereas the old mages would just disappear and reappear with not special effects, ripples can be seen whereever the mages are hiding in the ground, allowing you to anticipate a surprise attack. They also have a projectile attack, in addition to a long incantation that summons a pillar of fire to erupt underneath Ryu. This is recognizable by the sounds made by these enemies, so when you hear it it's necessary to attack them in order for the spell to be interrupted. They aren't totally defenseless however, as they can still do some decent hits up close with their sais. The rapid combos they can do are much faster than the claw ninjas, and if they're short an arm, letting one hide in the ground is dangerous as the next time they pop up will be to perform a suicide attack, which is harder to avoid the grab range than you'd expect. Bosses  Shadow Ninja Rasetsu The fisrt boss fight that will inevitably be repeated as a regular, though still powerful enemy. Rasetsu moves fast and hits quickly, but his patterns become very predictable over time due to the wind up on every attack. The hardest part of the fight can be discerning which attack will be a melee combo or a grab, but the guy takes damage so quickly from a single combo that brute forcing at this point in the game can be a viable tactic. But unless you want to actually learn something from this fight, here's the breakdown.
The second difference, and is only really shared with a select few fights, is that you can perform an Obliteration Technique when the target is at ~20% health left. The primary reason you'd want this is for Karma score purposes, as OTs on bosses have a much higher point value than on normal enemies, much like Kill Score is higher by comparison. But Rasetsu goes down so fast that if you're kicking rear end with the Lunar you might miss the opportunity. But it's nice to do, especially when you got all the weapons on repeat playthroughs and you can see the resources spent on making each kill look as cool as possible.   Notebooks quote:Notebook: Obliteration Technique quote:Notebook: Shadowless Footsteps quote:Notebook: Furious Wind quote:Notebook: Flying Bird
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Dec 15, 2017 03:00
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Sigma 2 is the only NG game I've ever finished. It's really good but I wish it had kept the ridiculous blood from the original. It's so much more authentically anime ninja that way. I especially adore the dragon blade's counter animation. Ryu doesn't block to counter any more, he preemptively dashes through their attack and while cutting off one of their legs. Sindai fucked around with this message at 09:02 on Dec 15, 2017 |
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Dec 15, 2017 08:46
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I don't think it was mentioned in the video, but Ninja Gaiden II gives you two difficulty options when you first boot it up: Acolyte and Warrior. I think these are supposed to be roughly equivalent to Normal and Hard in the first game, but the way Acolyte's description was worded made it seem like it was the new Ninja Dog mode or something so I went straight for Warrior because  The only problem was that I hadn't played Ninja Gaiden in almost five years by that point and had long since forgotten all the controls, so I proceeded to nearly get killed in the first fight because this game gives no fucks.  Still eventually managed to beat the game, but died an embarrassing number of times along the way.
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Dec 15, 2017 16:11
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All I remember about NG2 is that there are some assholes who really like projectile attacks from offscreen and long distances. We even got a little taste of that in the very first chapter...
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Dec 15, 2017 16:29
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I've never managed to clear chapter 2 in ninja master mode, its so loving hard it def was not the way was meant to be played lol.
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Dec 15, 2017 16:45
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Doc Morbid posted:I don't think it was mentioned in the video, but Ninja Gaiden II gives you two difficulty options when you first boot it up: Acolyte and Warrior. I think these are supposed to be roughly equivalent to Normal and Hard in the first game, but the way Acolyte's description was worded made it seem like it was the new Ninja Dog mode or something so I went straight for Warrior because
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Dec 16, 2017 08:17
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I remember absolutely adoring this game. I still have it set as my theme on my 360. One of the few things I remember from it is a certain boss later that glitches the gently caress out sometimes? I won't say any more so I don't spoil it, but yeah, I guess a couple parts of the game were playtested poorly. Which is a shame, cause I thought it came really close to being as good as the first in a lot of ways. So here's hoping you don't get glitched the gently caress out later I guess. Also I had no idea there even was a sigma 2, so I'm pretty excited to see how different and bad it is.
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Dec 16, 2017 10:29
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loving hell, now I'm getting PTSD flashbacks to the actual loving Ninja Dogs and their explosive kunai bullshit.
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Dec 16, 2017 11:20
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ArclightBorealis posted:Way of the Warrior is definitely meant to be Normal while Way of the Acolyte is the easy mode. It's not overtly degrading like Ninja Dog was, but the enemy encounters are scaled down some and the grey health you earn back after battles is much greater that it's clear Warrior is the intended difficulty to experience the game on. So yes, you were right to assume that initially.  I thought the overall difficulty in NG II was much higher than the first game and often felt pretty cheap, but I haven't played this since 2009 so I don't really know. They should make NG II playable on the Xbox One so I'd have a good excuse to replay it.
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Dec 16, 2017 15:59
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Is there even anyone left in the Hyabusa clan to menace? By this point, it's been raided so often. I think it consists entirely of Ryu, Momoji and the few individuals lucky (or unlucky) enough to have survived the last five attacks.
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Dec 16, 2017 18:10
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Ryu calls it "the Hayabusa clan" but it's actually just a family of raccoons. Nobody has the heart to try to shake him out of it. 
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Dec 16, 2017 18:36
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OH poo poo I SUDDENLY HAVE BEDTIME WATCHING AGAIN <3
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Dec 17, 2017 02:22
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I remember I got this game on release for the 360, but alas it was not Ninja Gaiden and I didn't like the differences at the time; in particular the movesets got too big for my liking--NG had perfectly sized and deliberate movesets IMO and this gets kind of buckwild. I sold it almost immediately. I'm interested in watching all the same though.
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Dec 17, 2017 06:21
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Sindai posted:Ryu calls it "the Hayabusa clan" but it's actually just a family of raccoons. Nobody has the heart to try to shake him out of it. Look, be fair, if YOU had to tell the demon blade wielding monster who is capable of slicing you into a million pieces in the time it would take you to blink and who's taken on things larger than buildings and walked away, would you be stupid enough to tell him that his clan are a bunch of raccoons? gently caress that, the hayabusa clan are now raccoons - and the world is no worse off for it. On an unrelated note, I completely forgot this and the first game existed which is disappointing because i loved it on the first xbox despite how unforgiving it was - is there a link to the LP for the first one around?
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Dec 17, 2017 08:24
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If you ever want to find an old SA LP, the archive has you covered: https://lparchive.org/lpmaster/
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Dec 17, 2017 08:54
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i got like halfway through this game when a scratch on my disc made the game unable to progress through a load screen. it'll be cool to see what actually happens.
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Dec 17, 2017 09:26
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Doc Morbid posted:I thought the overall difficulty in NG II was much higher than the first game and often felt pretty cheap, but I haven't played this since 2009 so I don't really know. I played a lot more recently than that and can confirm: It's much higher. I didn't like this game at all despite being a huge NG/NGB fan so I'm looking forward to seeing someone else play it for me.
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Dec 17, 2017 12:20
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Its really not that bad if you abuse I frames from guillotine throw and executing enemies with chopped off limbs
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Dec 17, 2017 13:05
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So happy this LP is up and running, especially since it's doubtful I'll ever get a chance to play the OG Ninja Gaiden II. I really want some kind of HD remastered versions but knowing modern Team Ninja it'd be of the Sigma version which bleh.
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Dec 17, 2017 17:15
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Bloodyshinta1 posted:Its really not that bad if you abuse I frames from guillotine throw and executing enemies with chopped off limbs Always Be Obliterating
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Dec 17, 2017 17:45
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The thing with NGII's difficulty is that I would describe it as "volatile." There are features in the game that definitely make the game less punishing than the first one was, like the Dragon Statues, the regenerating health, and even the boss fights having checkpoints. But the enemies' aggression is boosted so much in order to match what you the player are capable of doing in this game compared to Black that their tactics are almost random. Some days I'll absolutely destroy everyone with relative ease, and other days during those same fights I'll lose a poo poo ton of health just from a bad read on an enemy's pattern, and the whole group will get their shots in. So it's simultaneously easier and harder than the first Ninja Gaiden was, speaking strictly in terms of Warrior difficulty (not even bringing Mentor or Master Ninja into the equation). And with the way this game is, it's still more exciting than the alternative that is Sigma 2, which...yeah, you'll see that tomorrow.
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Dec 17, 2017 21:14
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i love how they changed the enemy types from ninjas to soldier, then back to ninjas for the hardest difficutly, exploding shuriken are such bullshit
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Dec 17, 2017 21:49
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  Sky City Tokyo gets a touch up in the visual department, and we get to have a very stark contrast between the core gameplay of NG II and the creative liberties taken with Sigma 2. Also a motion comic prologue that played when you installed the game data from the disc. Remember when devs used to have their own unique install screens for PS3 games? Before Sony made it standardized with the PS4 and losing some of that personalized charm? I do.  Bosses  Buddha Statue As I grow older I come to dislike more and more the concept of boss fights that are just giant figures that stand in the background, and you have to bait their attacks so you can attack their appendages. This dumb statue unfortunately falls into that category, and is the first of many ill advised decisions in this version. I had no need to do a move demo in video because of how absolutely dumb this fight is, but the only redeeming feature that can be said about it is that it fits with the speed of Ninja Gaiden II. Meaning if you keep the pressure up on its arms when present, the fight can be over quickly. Relatively speaking. Except it regains back almost half it's health when you nearly kill it the second time. Yeah. I loving hate this piece of poo poo. And this isn't even the dumbest boss yet in this game.  Okay, so...Sigma 2 changes a lot. Compared to Sigma 1, where the most drastic changes were at the start and the latter half of the game was barely touched at all, this game is much more aggressive in its attempt to "improve" the diamond in the rough that is Ninja Gaiden II. Before even getting into the changes specific to the first chapter, some general game things need to be covered.
The first major change that should be noted is how the battles are set up. The Black Spider Ninja are still there, but the mages are not yet introduced. Instead, it's the sword and claw ninjas, and not only are their numbers reduced, but the latter represent the first sign of what has been horribly screwed up in this version. You see, when fighting the sword ninjas, they delimb and go down at a pretty acceptable rate, almost comparable to the 360 version. But the claw ninjas have a much larger health pool, higher tendency to dodge attacks, and do not delimb quite as easily. This would be fine if it was just one of these mixed in with a dozen or so weaker ones to compensate, but because of the extra resources used in rendering this game in 720 with improved visuals, you're stuck with battles that have you fighting just barely more than the average amount that was in Ninja Gaiden 1. And the only way to kill these things in any conceivably quick manner is to initiate an Izuna Drop ASAP. And it does what you'd expect it to do to enemies, but only really at this juncture in the game. As enemies get tougher, so does their defense, and then that technique doesn't become as a definitive of a kill as you'd want it to be. Hell, you can even see it during the video, not even the Lunar's regular UT at full charge could finish off a group of claw ninjas. This is the start of what I would call Ninja Gaiden's identity crisis ever since Hayashi assumed control of Team Ninja. Ninja Gaiden II was designed to be an evolution of the predecessor's gameplay systems, in the same way that DMC3 was a major evolution of DMC1, and with that leap forward meant leaving behind the old way of thinking in designing encounters and their AI. Sigma 2 tries instead to take a much different combat system and shoehorn it into fights reminiscent of Ninja Gaiden 1, a game that received critical acclaim right off the bat. Which would be fine, if the speed and overall combo potential was scaled back to make that concept work, but it's not. So it's especially jarring in the first mission where the sword ninjas are the one enemy that feels exactly like they were in the original game, but the claw ninjas represent one of the core problems of Sigma 2. The other major change in Sigma 2 is progression through the chapters themselves. The geometry and design of Sky City Tokyo is largely unchanged, with only one or two spots that have anything noticeablly different but it's subtle. Besides that and the reworked graphics, Sigma 2 tries to automate as much of the game outside of its combat with the assumption that pressing a button to open a door in half a second is too much of a bother for action game fans. In NGII, you could run through the game and skip most battles as you were not gated by some invisible force. Here the doors only open once the enemies are defeated, and even for ones that requried a key item (like the Cracked Card Key), those don't require you to hunt down the item. Getting those items were never much of a problem to begin with, the levels were already quite linear as they were, so this just makes your place and involvement in the world feel...I don't know, empty. I get people like myself that play character action games care most about the combat mechanics, but even someone that devoted to those systems needs at least some sort of reprieve, something to mix it up so that the repetition doesn't set in. The other remaining changes obviously include the fact that Muramasa's shop doesn't let you upgrade weapons yet, the Dragon Sword and Lunar at Level 1 both get Izuna Drops, and of course the dumb as hell Buddha Statue that you have to fight loving twice. There are other major changes and critiques that will come up in later chapters, so for now this is all that needed to be covered.
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Dec 18, 2017 07:49
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I was wondering where the giant buddha statue went.
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Dec 18, 2017 08:12
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Why is there a giant statue. Who animated it. Why does it want to kill you. How does it have weird divine powers. It doesn't seem very in theme with the Spider Ninja clan. This whole thing just feels really out of place. I'm not saying you couldn't fight a giant Bhudda statue in a ninja gaiden game. But this one feels like its just sort of there. Tacked on because we wanted more bosses in this level and nothing else. Tzarnal fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Dec 18, 2017 |
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Dec 18, 2017 14:37
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The damage/health thing in Sigma 2 seems to make it similar to God of War. Tarted up the graphics, improved detail on characters, but that tanks the fps, so they reduce the number of enemies. Then they up their health to make them last longer, so you have to keep licking those few damage lollipops instead of throwing a bunch of gummis in your mouth and chewing them all at once.
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Dec 18, 2017 16:26
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The inclusion of the statue is just baffling and makes me wonder if it's just a thing the director had a bug up his butt to include, appropriate or not; kind of like the guy who did Wild Wild West and his weird need to put in giant mechanical spiders.
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Dec 18, 2017 16:31
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SelenicMartian posted:The damage/health thing in Sigma 2 seems to make it similar to God of War. Tarted up the graphics, improved detail on characters, but that tanks the fps, so they reduce the number of enemies. Then they up their health to make them last longer, so you have to keep licking those few damage lollipops instead of throwing a bunch of gummis in your mouth and chewing them all at once. The extra hilarious part? Despite reducing enemy counts and bumping up the visuals slightly, the game STILL has bouts of bad mid level loading and dropping framerates at points. The same stuff that NGII on the 360 has, only that has more enemies on screen and are fun to fight, so Sigma 2 gained pretty much nothing in the end from the graphical boost.
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Dec 18, 2017 21:00
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I never played Sigma 2 or saw an LP or anything before this, so I just assumed it was basically the same game as NG II with all the blood and guts removed (I realize they censored the game because of the Japanese market, but I don't know why they didn't release an extra gory version for us bloodthirsty gaijin freaks) and a couple of minor things added. Had no idea they changed the game this much, mostly for the worse.
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Dec 18, 2017 21:08
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I've only played Sigma 2. I am bad at Sigma 2. A nice animation touch that NG2 does is, whenever your weapon is covered in blood and viscera after a fight, just stand still for a bit, and Ryu will shake the blood off of it. Pretty neat, I think.
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Dec 19, 2017 00:38
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When I first played this level in the 360 demo and the camera zoomed in on the buddha statue my first thought was that it was going to come to life to attack me and I was surprised when it didn't and the game just gave me the polearm. But then I hear Sigma adds in a fight with a buddha statue in the first stage, and I'm like "Oh, that makes sense, now there will be a miniboss guarding the polearm. That's neat." Except no, it's a completely different buddha statue that is the size of a skyscraper that comes out of nowhere in the middle of the stage and you fight that instead of the buddha statue that was already there, and it's totally lame because you just attack the thing's wrists and dodge the slow overly-telegraphed attacks. ...What? Also I'm really bad at these games
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Dec 19, 2017 19:35
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Augus posted:When I first played this level in the 360 demo and the camera zoomed in on the buddha statue my first thought was that it was going to come to life to attack me and I was surprised when it didn't and the game just gave me the polearm. That's what I thought too, it would've been much cooler and more in character for the series instead of this God of War dumbassery.
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Dec 19, 2017 20:43
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Will be following this. Probably will check out the previous LP as well. I was lucky enough to enjoy the original NG and NG2 and loved them (2 less so because of all the annoying projectiles, but, eh). Anyone remember the master ninja videos, that showed you how to not suck at the game? On a side note, I recently rediscovered NG3 on the Wii U, which I never played, and am finding it to be pretty fun. the littlest prince fucked around with this message at 00:03 on Dec 21, 2017 |
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Dec 20, 2017 16:37
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By the way I just want to add how refreshing the way these games handle their scoring and difficulty is when you've spent so much time playing Platinum/Clover-style action games. The game doesn't penalize you for using items or even dying a bunch of times against a hard boss, it's just designed to be an immense challenge on its own and you're expected to use every tool available to survive. The first playthrough experience of a DMC-type game usually involves getting a ton of D-ranks, but with Ninja Gaiden you could get stuck on a boss and die a dozen times, and still get a Master Ninja ranking because the successful attempt is the only one that actually counts. It's a straightforward life-or-death struggle and that's a nice contrast to the way that DMC expects you to also be flashy.
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Dec 21, 2017 08:23
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Well dmc-likes expect you to style on the enemies with varied and lengthy combos, and tend to have very lenient time limits, and the style bar is its main focal point. NG expects you to deal with your problems as fast as possible, and I find nothing else in the game that absolutely exemplifies that more than the OTs. Theyre both trying to lead you to play a certain way and id say they both succeed in that. Granted they do both dip into each others pots (karma runs and enemy DT countdowns)
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Dec 21, 2017 15:09
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 The Hayabusa Village is back. The parts we visit are the same as they were in Ninja Gaiden Black/Sigma, with some light additions, but the biggest draw is exploring the inside of a burning castle where Joe and Genshin fight amidst the flames. This is a good follow up to the first chapter in part due to the introduction of the series' best rival character. You'll never find a character in Ninja Gaiden that's more similar yet totally an opposite to Ryu as the leader of the Black Spider Clan.  Falcon's Talons A unique evolution of a Ninja's traditional hand-mounted claws. The first new melee weapon in Ninja Gaiden II, Falcon's Talons are all about speed and living out your Wolverine fantasies in a good action game. Compared to the Lunar or even the Dragon Sword, range is the weapon's biggest shortcoming, but there are plenty of moves that can close the distance between foes and even keep the forward momentum going to avoid taking damage yourself. I personally enjoy these games, especially due to the benefits their speed give you on the higher difficulties (one of three weapons that helped me survive the hell that was Master Ninja).  Fiend's Bane Bow A powerful bow decorated with carvings of twin dragons. The silent nature of the bow makes it an indespensable weapon for Ninjas due to their propensity for covert operations. The Fiend's Bane Bow, developed in the Hyaabusa Village, is a state-of-the-art compound bow based on traditional Eastern design. Its accuracy rivals that of a modern rifle. Made primarily from high tensile strength carbon fiber, the bow's projectile range and velocity are unequaled despite its light weight. Against a human target, it is easily accurate to 500 meters, and its arrows are capable of penetrating 40-millimeter bulletproof armor plating. Wouldn't be a Ninja Gaiden game without the bow and arrow. Still functions like it did in the first game, but with the amazing addition of being able to charge projectiles. Yep, arrows can now become mini ETs or UTs in their own right. But instead of long auto combos, they just make enemies explode, with a very satisfying sound effect I might add. It's beautiful. Animals Ninja Dog Itagaki and Team Ninja just loving rubbing it in to people who want an easier time in their games. The term "Ninja Dog" referred to the lowest rank you could get at the end of a chapter and was the name of a special "easy" mode in NG Black. Now that term has a third form. A dog that is a ninja. A literal Ninja Dog. These things, especially as the difficulty ramps up, can be one of the most infuriating enemies to fight as they are small due to being dogs, and incredibly fast, with 9 times out of 10 their attacks beating out your own. It's like getting ganged up on by a bunch of Virtua Fighter characters low punching you into infinity. On top of that poo poo, the odd one will bite and tackle you to the ground as it proceeds to chew on you. And in a very rare instance during this animation, they might even go kamikaze like the Black Spider Ninja that trained them. Don't be a Ninja Dog, and don't get hosed by Ninja Dogs. Bosses  Genshin Genshin is a character that I'd say fixes a flaw that most who played Ninja Gaiden 1 would not have realized, unless they had other experiences with character action games. That flaw being the lack of a proper rival character. Sure, Murai was a very stiff yet fun challenge at the start, and you fought him at the end, but he was a non factor for the rest of the game inbetween. The doppleganger fights were fun, but those were just that, they were mirror matches. Ryu didn't get a recurring fight with a specific enemy that was unique, yet still his equal. A Vergil to Ryu's Dante so to speak. Genshin fits that role. He's the Master Ninja, the leader, of the Black Spider Clan. His moves epitomize everything about the Black Spider's combat technique, has a signature weapon, and this fight in chapter 2 is far from the last time we'll fight. Rival fights in general are a good way of highlighting a game's combat system in boss scenarios, and Genshin does it remarkably well, despite having a surprisingly small amount of actual moves. But it's the mixups and speed that makes it a challenge.
Notebooks quote:Notebook: Flying Swallow quote:Notebook: Ultimate Technique quote:Notebook: Reverse Wind quote:Notebook: Counter Attack quote:Notebook: Ultimate Guidance
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Dec 21, 2017 19:57
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I forgot about the Ninja dogs. Cute, but deadly.
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Dec 21, 2017 23:10
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| # ? May 4, 2024 13:51 |
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Gideon020 posted:loving hell, now I'm getting PTSD flashbacks to the actual loving Ninja Dogs and their explosive kunai bullshit. The off-screen explosive kunai bullshit is why I never finished NGB because after the third time getting stunlocked to death, I was just done with the whole enterprise.
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Dec 27, 2017 06:33
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