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Inco posted: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. Write a notebook about it
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Dec 27, 2017 06:36
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  The Hayabusa Village is this time getting raided during the daytime, but the path to the fight with Genshin largely remains the same. With this chapter, more of the changes to game structure and mechanics become extremely evident.  So, last chapter it was made clear that you could not upgrade your weapons with essence like in the original game. In fact, it didn't even say when or where you could upgrade them. This chapter introduces the Muramasa statues with a blue lamp, which allow you to upgrade any weapon of your choosing, but only one. This has serious ramifications on a couple of factors. Firstly, the in game economy for a skilled player means you'll be accruing more Essence than in NGII, but have nothing to spend it on, and it's not building up to some reward at the end of the game. Secondly, as you'll find out a few chapters from now that there's not enough blue lamp statues to upgrade every weapon in this game to max. Even if you do what I plan to do in this playthrough, which is NOT upgrade the Dragon Sword and try to not upgrade another specific weapon, you'll still end up with at least one weapon forever stuck at level 2. This is one of the more baffling design decisions made in Sigma 2 as it completely lacks any foresight and misunderstands how any expert player in Ninja Gaiden plays these games, which is maximizing essence gain from fights to acquire EVERYTHING possible from the store, including weapon upgrades, in as early a time as possible. Now, the other major change that is somewhat more positive is the implementation of the bow. In NGII, it was equipped and used just like in the first game. It replaces your default projectile, you hold the button, then move the left stick to aim while standing in place. Sigma 2 becomes, I believe, the first character action game to actually implement modern shooter controls into its layout, insofar as you hold L2 to aim and R2 to shoot. And you can move around, admittedly very slow but you're less of a sitting duck than before. Plus it adds a pretty strong but useful lock on to the cursor that will snap your aim to an enemy and will barely miss. This idea, I appreciate, but there's something about its implementation that feels not that much more indepth and rather bolted on. For start, it changes the nature of projectiles that you always have shuriken assigned to the Circle button and you have a choice of a secondary projectile weapon that is fired with R2. But as it will become clear later, the bow and shuriken might as well be the only projectiles, as it removes two projectiles that are available in later chapters and adds a new one in this game that is beyond useless outside the area it's presented in. Plus the bow itself is always visible on Ryu's back and it doesn't mesh as well with his frame when you have to see it there constantly. And this system to top it off gets carried over to Ninja Gaiden 3 and Razor's Edge, and the depth and mechanics are basically unchanged or unimproved. There's so much more that could be done to make the applications for projectile weapons in Ninja Gaiden better beyond cancelling combos, and while I think having a dedicated aim button that still allows for movement is a start, it's not enough work done to it. As we'll see later on, I definitely don't think it's worth this change just for Team Ninja to remove some of the later weapons because they're so good in the context of NGII's combat. The last change I can think of in this chapter that is a positive is actually the Genshin fight. First off the arena is actually larger than normal so you have more room to work with, but Genshin gets an extra attack in the form of Ninpo. But the best part of it all, is that you can actually launch him into the air and if conditions are right, you can do an Izuna drop to him. Having launchers be effective on Genshin is an amazing addition that I wish a lot of the later, more human sized bosses also had, but for ones that matter why not give it to the rival fight? It helps make up for Genshin having the issue of heavily inflated health and defense compared to his original incarnation.
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Dec 28, 2017 22:07
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ArclightBorealis posted:Plus the bow itself is always visible on Ryu's back and it doesn't mesh as well with his frame when you have to see it there constantly. loving hell this grinds my gears so hard. Never had a 360 so Sigma 2 was my only Ninja Gaiden option, but this drove me up the loving wall. Especially since if they kept the windmill shuriken you could at least have something subtle if they insisted on having your ranged weapon always be visible. Luckily in 3 the bow was collapsible, so it blended in with Ryu's look much better. ninjahedgehog fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Dec 28, 2017 |
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Dec 28, 2017 22:18
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Wow, I guess that I got the short stick when I got Sigma 2. Who the gently caress thinks these design decisions are good?!
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Dec 29, 2017 07:41
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bman in 2288 posted:Wow, I guess that I got the short stick when I got Sigma 2. Who the gently caress thinks these design decisions are good?! same people that went on to make Ninja Gaiden 3
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Dec 29, 2017 20:47
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Augus posted:same people that went on to make Ninja Gaiden 3 Anyway, next set of chapters will be starting after New Years and will also be the start of a little contest that I mentioned in the Chapter 2 video. With the Tests of Valor, I've got custom music set up once again since the ToV's music in game is the same every time so that would be a bit grating after a while. The contest is going to be who can correctly guess each of the music choices I make for the 9 tests in the game, from Chapter 3 all the way to 11. The one thing that connects all of them is that the music I'm using is by Saitama Saisyu Heiki, or S.S.H. for short. Most of his works are arrangements of other songs, but there's some original tunes of his mixed in. Guessing what the song is in general or where it's originally from gets you 1 point, while getting the exact name is worth 2. As for prizes, well since this is SA, it can be a choice of something that would normally cost money on the forums. A new avatar, archives access, or Platinum status. Whoever gets the most points, I will buy one of the three for you depending no what you request. Lastly, following each chapter with a Test of Valor will be a weapon exhibition update giving more details about one of this games' many weapons. Movelists, strengths and weaknesses, combo demonstration videos, lots of stuff. I'm practically slaving away on those more than the main updates for the drat LP  So yeah, look forward to it.
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Dec 30, 2017 23:44
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So because of your LPs, I wanna pick up Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2. Ninja Gaiden Black is available on XBL for the 360; would that be preferable to Sigma? Obviously, anyone wanting NG2 should be picking up the 360 version as opposed to Sigma 2.
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Jan 1, 2018 04:41
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KieranWalker posted:So because of your LPs, I wanna pick up Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2. Ninja Gaiden Black is available on XBL for the 360; would that be preferable to Sigma? Obviously, anyone wanting NG2 should be picking up the 360 version as opposed to Sigma 2. Black is better, Sigma has more content (Rachel's chapters) but it's bad content. In fact, I own Sigma and stopped playing it because I had already beaten Black and lost all desire to play when I was forced to play as Rachel. The XBL version of Black is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. feelix fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Jan 1, 2018 |
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Jan 1, 2018 05:35
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Black is an amazing game, Sigma is an amazing game with some fluff thrown in that disrupts the pacing. Get Black.
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Jan 1, 2018 11:19
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If someone were to only watch one set of videos, should they watch Ninja Gaiden II or Sigma 2?
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Jan 1, 2018 23:22
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Gharbad the Weak posted:If someone were to only watch one set of videos, should they watch Ninja Gaiden II or Sigma 2? As someone who played only Sigma 2, just watch NGII.
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Jan 1, 2018 23:35
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Yeah, if it's just gonna be watching one game and not both, watch Ninja Gaiden II since not only is it the better game, but the commentary for Sigma 2 is meant to be watched simultaneous with the original, with knowledge of what happened in the earlier video in order to point out the differences. It's also the order in which me and PSWII60 recorded our commentary, going back and forth between the two games. Anyway, next update will go up in a few hours.
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Jan 1, 2018 23:47
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Nice. I am enjoying these.
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Jan 1, 2018 23:58
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  We are now officially Ninja in U.S.A. as Ryu Hayabusa's whirlwind tour of rear end kicking takes him to New York City. Admittedly this part of the game isn't one of my favorite locations, especially since most of it counts as a sewer level, but we do start fighting brand new Fiends and get introduced to our first Test of Valor   Incendiary Shuriken Shaped like a kunai, or throwing knife, this Shuriken has a small explosive attached. This Incendiary Shuriken is design to explode after being impaled in the target's body. To achieve this, the thrower must remove the small metal ring at the tail end of the weapon, thereby lighting the fuse. Although the history of this weapon is as old as gunpower itself, recent improvements inspired by modern grenade design have made it all the more lethal. A returning projectile type from the first game, these are valuable to have if you're prioritizing the delimbing of enemies at every range. Because any enemy that is pegged with one of these will lose an extremity guaranteed. Better yet, with the Essence and Ultimate Techniques you can fire off multiple of these at once to nearby enemies. That said, pulling off the UT with these isn't as safe and instantaneous as the bow's, and the auto target can be somewhat finnicky. But I love these. They're another great example of how much charging projectiles adds to this game.  Art of the Wind Blades This Ninpo amplifies sharp waves of vacuum created by lightning-fast movements of the arms. The blades of vacuum radiate from the caster, clashing to pieces any organic matter in teh vicinity. Clearly, this Ninpo is most useful when the caster is surrounded by enemies. Although not designed for pinpoint attacks, its lethality should not be underestimated. In the remote chance that a victim survives, undoubtedly they will have lost at least one of their extremities, leaving them with little remaining offensive capability. Probably my first or second favorite Ninpo in NG2 depending what day you ask me. I always enjoy powerful, AoE style Ninpo hence my love for the Inazuma from Ninja Gaiden 1. Here, the Wind Blades hit all around and specialize in cutting off limbs. Of course, on weak enemies it'll kill them outright, but against the bigger enemies in the game it's another great way to set up an OT chain to keep you safe.  Fiends  Van Gelf The first real Fiend you fight in the game. Quite different in a lot of ways from the Vigoor aligned Fiends from the first game. These guys are big, lanky, and pretty loving agile. Good traits to have to match the increased speed and power of Ryu in Ninja Gaiden II. Though here, we get introduced to two types of Van Gelfs. Immature Van Gelf These are the purple skinned enemies, and the lowest on the Van Gelf totem pole. Reason they're immature is because their wings are under developed, preventing them from flying. As such, all they get are regular ground attacks, flame attacks, grab and their long range pounce. Winged Van Gelf As suggested by the name, these dark skinned Van Gelfs have full grown wings which allow them to fly, adding a bit of a wrinkle to fights as their ability to hover at varying distances and heights makes it tough to get to them. They have all the same moves as the Immature ones when on the ground, but when airborne they'll hang back alot and chuck a volley of fireballs at you. A good hit from an arrow or incendiary shuriken will knock it down to the ground, though the latter is more practical since it doubles as a delimbing. Bosses  GigaDeath If you asked me to put together a list of things in Ninja Gaiden II, a game I love, that I found less than desirable it would be bosses reliant on projectiles like GigaDeath. A giant, metallic electric worm that floats along the same path and the most reliable means of fighting it is to stand back and shoot it in the face with arrows. Granted that sounds simple, but this thing can get in your way with a multitude of different attacks.
  quote:Notebook: Unrivaled Soaring quote:Notebook: Invisible Path  quote:The Four Greater Fiends, Part 1
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Jan 2, 2018 01:54
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 Ryu's signature weapon, the Dragon Sword maintains a lot of the same utility that its Ninja Gaiden 1 incarnation had, but with a ton of moves and enhancements to demonstrate how far ahead Ninja Gaiden II's combat is. With decent speed, attack power, and reach, it fits the bill of an all-rounder among the rest of the game's arsenal. This is the first of many weapon exhibitions. The write up below is me explaining the details of each weapons at their various levels, and useful applications, in a more coherent manner than I ever could in front of a microphone, along with links to the weapon's movelist right at the bottom. All, the video at the top even shows you most of those moves in action so you can see what they all are and are called. At the end of the day, I hope these extra updates will be informative for people who've never played NGII or are looking to actually try it for themselves someday. Unless you're only option by chance is to play Sigma 2, in which case you can see the full Sigma 2 movelist as well so you can still follow along with all the terminology I throw around. Versatility in All Situations Despite the Dragons Sword's weapon properties being average compared to the other, more specialized weapons, it is still an excellent weapon for beginners and even NG1 veterans due to the familiarity of its base combos. You can input the same command strings that you did in the previous game and they'll produce moves with most of the same effects as before. The big difference however is in the moves that involved Forward X or Forward Y following a two light hit combo. Forward inputs in Ninja Gaiden combos were largely there for variety's sake, and in the case of the Dragon Sword kick moves that Ryu could use. Those kicks are now gone from the weapon's moveset, and there is subtle but still important emphasis placed on forward inputs due to the bigger and more hectic nature of Ninja Gaiden II's combos. The difference it makes is whether or not you'll be attack in place, or attacking with momentum. The closest you got to this consistently in Ninja Gaiden 1 was to initiate an attack from a running state. But now, any combo that features a forward input will move Ryu forward, and some of these techniques actually double as part of a running attack. For example, Piercing Wind is a technique initiated by Forward XX, and then it can branch into forward X or forward Y (the latter is Piercing Wind). The combo already has Ryu move forward, but if the player was to press Y during a run, the Forward Y portion of the Piercing Wind move would come out. However, not every battle gives you an opportunity to get a running start due to constant attacks, so the Forward XX works as a suitable alternative. Or if you're going much more advanced, do a reverse wind jump and buffer the running state by continuing to hold forward. And once you're past the point where the game would register an on landing attack, hit Y. You're still wondering what the real reason for why these forward attacks are as important as they are? It goes back to the constant interruption from enemy attacks. Despite Ryu's ferocity in swinging a blade, he is not immune to getting into hit stun from any attack. Even from a stray shuriken. This game makes a point of swarming you with tons of enemies in all directions that you have to focus on the right moves and not try and make some special combo. Forward attacks help in this regard by keeping Ryu on the move, and even chasing down the occasional enemy that will flip out of the way of your attacks. But if it's getting too hectic, hitting the Y button for a crowd clearing heavy combo is a good method to take the pressure off. So you have your three attack types as it were: The light attacks which are the start of your more lengthy combos, the forward attacks for giving chase to the enemy/mobile cover for Ryu, and the heavy attacks for when the pressure is just too severe. You always have the means to turn the battle in your favor and it comes from understanding the properties and utility of these attacks. And these principles still apply to all weapons, but with some modifications to the forward attacks based on the weapon's strengths and weaknesses (Lunar as you've seen, doesn't send Ryu forward so much as give the pole extra reach via thrusts). From Ground to Air then Back Again One area that the Dragon Sword is extremely good in compared to other weapons is its ease of transitioning between different combos. There are many ways to link moves into lengthy combos, and the Dragon Sword demonstrates this with ease. There are still heavy restrictions in place at Level 1, but fully upgraded the Dragon Sword can take multiple ground combos into the air, dive towards targets from a wall jump, and end these with an on landing attack or even Ultimate Technique. But let's start with the most obvious, going from Ground to Air. At level 2, the iconic Izuna Drop combo is unlocked (XYXXXY). However, there is a combo that ends in a launcher and leaves Ryu in a state where the XXXY portion of the Izuna Drop can be performed. That move is the Dragon of Heaven, a forward attack combo that starts with Forward XX, followed by Forward YY, and lastly a Forward Y where the button can either be pressed once or held to keep Ryu on the ground. The former is obviously what we want, and after those five hits the enemy can be Izuna Dropped with ease. Or maybe not at all. A shuriken cancel can work just fine in letting you fall back to the ground and straight into an on landing state. And when you want to get back into the air without first using a launcher, there's another combo unlocked level 3 called Fortuitous Phoenix (XXYYYY) which is an extension of Ryu's XXYYY combo that he had in the first game. You can even do the Y Counter Attack or 360 Y to do the Flying Crane, which can now be followed up with an air combo. And if you thought linking combos was only limited to ground and air attacks, wall attacks can even be used. In the first game pressing either X or Y would've resulted in the same downward Cicada Slash, but now the game makes a distinction between them. The Y version does the same move as it always did, whether on a wall or mid wall jump. But pressing X during those two states will send Ryu into a Flying Swallow esque move called the Flying Dragon, that leaves him in the perfect position for an on landing attack or UT. Then the ground to air combo cycle can continue. With this weapon, knowing the transition points between attacks, and the basic shuriken, you can create some clever combo strings when you're down to a single foe that can't do anything to you. Flying Swallow Perfected One of the Dragon Sword's signature yet somewhat problematic moves in terms of game balance was the Flying Swallow. Remembered in the very first version of Ninja Gaiden for being highly abusable, Black made adjustments to the enemy AI and even created specific enemy types that were designed to shut down that tactic. But if you could still get one in, the damage remained pretty devastating and useful during any point in a battle. Here the attack power and chance of decapitation has been further reduced, but is not rendered pointless. The attack and stopping power is still there, but more importantly are brand new versions and applications of this recognizable technique. As you've seen with each level the Dragon Sword is upgraded, Ryu can perform consecutive flying swallows. This changes the application of this move slightly as you have different options to take should the first attack not insta kill your opponent. At level 1, doing a flying swallow would send you straight to the ground and vulnerable to enemies around you, but in Level 2 you get brief but extended air time as you have more options to follow up with. You can do another Flying Swallow in quick succession, or cancel out with a handy shuriken cancel. Even if it doesn't decapitate the stun on enemies that don't block it is valuable, so it might be smart to use on a huge crowd versus a single foe. Hell, when you're water running, you can press Y to go straight into a Flying Swallow variant that doesn't require you to jump before hand. And of course if you got shuriken to juggle an enemy, there's nothing they can do about getting their mid section cut open with a quick dive. The Flying Swallow has always been a difficult thing to get right in terms of utility and power, and in the context of Ninja Gaiden II's battles the changes made to the move make up for the slight decrease in attack power, possibly making this game's version of the technique the best it has been in the whole series. Sigma 2 and especially both versions of Ninja Gaiden 3 never got it right again due to those games' particular bullshit and design ideas. Sigma Changes The Dragon Sword maintains its all rounder status even with the major changes Sigma 2 makes to its damage system and the scale of battles. Low level mooks get chopped up like they would in the 360 game while the higher level ones tend to give this weapon more trouble. Many of the short and quick ground combos still work but don't expect the same results with dismemberment. That said, the Dragon Sword along with other weapons eschews the rule of air combos and the Izuna Drop being unlocked at Level 2, with the drop being available right from the start though with decreased overall power to compensate. Also when looking at the movelist Team Ninja somehow decided they needed to give names to the air combos that exist between Blade of the Empty Air and Blade of Nirrti. Which by the way, is the renamed version of Blade of Susano'o (XYXXXX). I suppose the team thought it should be consistent considering the original movelist lists the "while jumping" variant as Blade of Nirrti. Doesn't matter much in the end though. Point is, you know how to use the sword in NGII, you can use it to the almost same effect in Sigma 2.   
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Jan 2, 2018 02:00
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Nice avatar upgrade.
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Jan 2, 2018 20:20
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It's kind of sad realizing how forgettable so much of this game was, even the 360 version. I can't remember any of the levels in this game that are yet to come, and even seeing New York it seems like I've never seen it before.
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Jan 2, 2018 22:11
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the littlest prince posted:It's kind of sad realizing how forgettable so much of this game was, even the 360 version. I can't remember any of the levels in this game that are yet to come, and even seeing New York it seems like I've never seen it before. There was an armadillo that's all I remember besides some of the most plot important stuff
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Jan 2, 2018 22:37
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Oh hey, this was the last level I played. I already mentioned that I was not feeling this game when I got it (because it was not literally the first game again, more or less) and so I got to the sewer level and just declared myself done with it.
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Jan 3, 2018 05:42
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feelix posted:There was an armadillo that's all I remember besides some of the most plot important stuff I remember this boss as a train. I mean its train like but I remembered a literal animated electric train.
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Jan 3, 2018 16:09
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 Once again we head back underground in Sigma 2 to find the path through the sewers made much shorter, as well as the presence of a weapon we aren't technically supposed to see until several chapters from now because this game can't leave stuff that was already fine well alone. The obvious changes to level pacing and direction are present in Chapter 3, with some of the side areas in the sewers being completely removed to push you along the primary path. Not to mention the changes to enemy layouts of which I'm of two minds in this particular chapter. On the one hand, I much prefer the introduction of the Vangelfs via the cutscene prior to entering the sewers, as it feels more reminiscent of the first real introduction to the Gallas in Ninja Gaiden 1. You've been dealing with humanoid enemies up to this point, and there should be emphasis on you fighting a proper fiend with a cutscene introduction. On the other though, the enemy amounts are still scaled back as is the norm for Sigma 2, but also the Winged Vangelfs aren't even introduced in this chapter. Though the extra funny part is that what I described with introducing the Vangelfs does actually happen in Ninja Gaiden II vanilla...on Acolyte mode only. Yeah, it's way easier than playing on normal, but it still doesn't skimp on the enemy amounts that you face. Though the bigger change in this chapter is one that actually has long term effects on the rest of the game. We got our first three weapons in the same manner as we did in the 360 game, but now Sigma 2 throws a wrench in the works as far as weapon acquisition by giving us the Vigoorian Flails. For context, the flails don't show up in the 360 game until chapter 9. It is the last melee weapon the player gets, and Sigma 2 chooses to give them to us in the 3rd chapter. Now, the weapons in Ninja Gaiden 2 I will say are designed that you could likely remix the order in which you acquire them any number of ways and it wouldn't matter much, because no one weapon is meant to supplant the other and enemies can be easily managed with any of them. It's very much a contrast to Ninja Gaiden 1's with it's more limited weapon types and certain weapons being made to deal with more resilient enemies in the latter half. Really, my only complaint with this change is that I'm basing the Test of Valor footage and weapon exhibition updates on the weapon order in the 360 game, so for LP purposes this is somewhat annoying and I have to deliberately hold myself off from talking about the flails in detail until we get to that point in the 360 game. Still, one last difference that I can say as a major positive? The tunnel with Vangelfs before the GigaDeath fight is much more manageable and better paced, since your playing field in that is relatively narrow. I love the chaos that comes from Ninja Gaiden II's battles but as you'll see, some parts of that game went too far in some regards.
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Jan 8, 2018 20:30
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I can't believe how much more boring the Sigma 2 version of this level is. The 360 version had interesting and numerous encounters to keep you on your toes and at least be somewhat involved in a bland sewer level but Sigma 2 just felt like a ghost town where Ryu was wandering around in silence with no enemies in sight. What the hell was Yosuke Hayashi thinking?
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Jan 9, 2018 19:22
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Mr. Fortitude posted:What the hell was Yosuke Hayashi thinking? How much he hates fun and difficulty.
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Jan 9, 2018 19:58
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Mr. Fortitude posted:I can't believe how much more boring the Sigma 2 version of this level is. The 360 version had interesting and numerous encounters to keep you on your toes and at least be somewhat involved in a bland sewer level but Sigma 2 just felt like a ghost town where Ryu was wandering around in silence with no enemies in sight. After playing the original version of the level he felt that people couldn't appreciate the design and scenery of one of the more interesting (or at least one of the less offensive) sewer levels in video games due to all the combat. So he gave people the opportunity to see all the wonder and splendor of a sewer. You might be able to apply that last part to the rest of Sigma 2.
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Jan 9, 2018 23:11
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Nioh was awesome so that at least gives me some small shred of hope that maybe Team Ninja will put out another Ninja Gaiden game that actually kicks rear end properly. Also port these loving games to Steam. My 360 feels like it's running on fumes, and since it's the Xbox 360 it probably is. Quick question about Ninja Gaiden Black, do the fiend challenges stick around after the chapter they show up in, letting you backtrack to get them in Chapter 15, or am I screwed if I missed them?
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Jan 10, 2018 16:33
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Augus posted:Nioh was awesome so that at least gives me some small shred of hope that maybe Team Ninja will put out another Ninja Gaiden game that actually kicks rear end properly. And as for the fiend challenges, all except for one are available whenever. The challenge in the Archives Room of the Monastery goes after chapter 7 as it's tied to the room being in its pre-destroyed state. Every other challenge can still be done later on theoretically, haven't tested myself but I know the Archives challenge is one that has a point of no return. Of course, there's also the part where your karma score for those encounters will be invalidated if you leave the area at any point mid battle, though I can't recall if that had an effect on the rewards you received from them. Which is why I always went and did them as soon as I could because why not?
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Jan 10, 2018 16:59
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My ideal dream scenario would be an enhanced port that keeps the core gameplay and design of Black/NGII while having extra features from Sigma as purely optional stuff. But that's probably hoping too much Porting Ninja Gaiden 2's quick weapon menu to Ninja Gaiden Black on its own would make the game a lot smoother to play Augus fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Jan 10, 2018 |
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Jan 10, 2018 17:28
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A combination of the best of Black and Sigma 1 would probably be the definitive version of the first game. A definitive version of 2 would mostly just be the original with completely different balance tweaks to Sigma 2 though.
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Jan 10, 2018 19:12
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 The second half of New York is done, as Ninja Gaiden 2 joins the ranks of games like Deus Ex where you go to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Though instead of apprehending a terrorist, we fight our first Greater Fiend, and it's a strong one.  Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang Large Japanese swords, they are wielded as a pair. Sigma's exclusive weapon returns, in the form that it was always intended. Its combos are generally more unwieldy than using the Dragon Sword, but that lack of precision is made up for with its wide attack range and cutting power. A perfect weapon for the many enemy swarms you face in the game, and is basically the weapon that turns Ryu Hayabusa into the human blender. Bosses  Godomus A giant, blind demon that is the first real example of a boss requiring perfect dodge timing. It's a simple fight in all fairness, but the shockwaves produced by its attacks are extremely powerful even if you don't get hit directly.
 Alexei The Master of Lightning, Alexei is a step up from the first Genshin fight as he doubles down hard on mix ups, from melee strikes, to grabs, and to all manner electric based attacks. He's actually my favorite of the Four Greater Fiends to fight, not to say the rest that we'll see are terrible, but this guy's battle strategy is such that he's always within reach yet you still have to pay attention to what's happening at all times.
 quote:The Four Greater Fiends, Part 2  quote:The Book of Genesis
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Jan 21, 2018 21:54
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That pole is so loving sick as balls. I want one.
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Jan 22, 2018 03:13
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bman in 2288 posted:That pole is so loving sick as balls. Yes those sick rear end balls are sick as balls
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Jan 22, 2018 08:37
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 Another returning weapon from the previous games, the Lunar makes up for the short comings of the Dragon Sword's reach, but that doesn't mean it's dealing less damage per hit to compensate. What it does have are a variety of swings, pokes, multi hit attacks per input at the highest level, and even multiple Izuna Drop combos. May not have the highest speed and provide less mobility for Ryu, but drat is it ever a good back up when the Sword's not cutting against some pesky ninja or fiend. Limited Movement for Extra Crowd Control The Lunar is one of the best familiar weapons to use as it is very complimentary to the utility of the Dragon Sword, dealing with enemies in certain contexts far more efficiently. You have very wide swings that cover almost all of Ryu's sides, and you even have pokes for extra reach. All that, and the base attack power combined with the rapid hits you can do makes the Lunar seem like an honest to god upgrade over the Dragon Sword that you wouldn't use anything else (and if you're trying to get through Master Ninja because of masochism, that stick will be your lifeline). But this actually highlights that while you can go through a game using only one of the eight weapons, you cannot discount the actual disadvantages it has, of which the Lunar has. They're just not as pronounced as some of the later tools we get. For start, to use the Dragon Sword as a point of comparison, the extra reach of the Lunar's swings and thrusts are designed to counter balance the fact that you're not gonna be moving forward as much during attacks as you can with the DS. Every weapon has forward input attacks to denote a form of attack that's different from the default combos. With the Dragon Sword, forward input attacks initiated slashes that moved Ryu forward to chase after enemies that try to flip out of your combos. In the case of the Lunar, forward attacks are the weapon's thrusts, which in certain contexts can be more devastating than just flying the stick around wildly as it puts all the power in a single point and has a high chance of pulverizing a limb. In fact, some moves that don't have forward inputs are still powerful as they are because the final hit is a linear, precise swing (Gleaming Shadow being the most effective in any circumstance) The Lunar's crowd control moves, while very potent and far reaching, are not the sole focus of its power, as you'll have to make a precise swing or poke at points to make sure an enemy's decapitated. There is one exception as it might be an oversight in the game's balancing, but one crowd control move that is more powerful than most, even more than some of the precision attacks, is the 360 ET Hazy Shadow. For start, it's more potent than the 360 UT and is about even with the default UT, and anything caught in its vortex is guaranteed dead. Under any circumstance. Alongside Gleaming Shadow, these are the two moves you often find yourself using to get through the higher difficulties due to being short and extremely high in attack power that it can kinda diminish the remaining utility of the weapon. But that's only with regards to fighting on the ground. In the air, it's quite an interesting beast. Many Ways to (Izuna) Drop The Lunar in the original game had access to the Izuna Drop even though most didn't know how to properly initiate it due to how the command list was set up. You couldn't initiate the move the same way you could the Dragon Sword, requiring a very different set of inputs to accomplish. Ninja Gaiden II doesn't change this aspect. You won't be pressing XYXXXY to get that signature move, but what it does give you is multiple ways to initiate a drop from a variety of combos. If the Dragon Sword had multiple ground to air options, the Lunar has multiple ground to Izuna options. And even an option for when you're already airborne. First things first, if you want to you can use the exact same input from Ninja Gaiden Black and you'll get the Izuna Drop (->YYXY). However, some additional methods are available based on how you want to first open up your opponent. The first thing you'll see on the movelist is X->X. This is what initiates the series of rapid thrust moves the Lunar has (The Infinity Thrust and its varients), but pressing Y after the forward X input will go into a launcher that can be followed with XY for an Izuna Drop. The range on the actual launcher portion of the combo is very far reaching so this opener is usually good for foes that are not in touching distance with Ryu. The 360 UT Heavenly Shadow has a special follow up if you're using it on an a human enemy, as it launches them skyward, as well as Ryu. Pressing Y again will initiate the drop, otherwise Ryu will do the default downward heavy attack. This specific launcher coming out the UT is reused for the weapon's Y counter attack, and requires a bit more button presses and precision to get consistently. Lastly, even if you forgo the launcher entirely, you can jump towards an enemy and time your hits to pull an enemy from the ground into an Izuna Drop. Yes, that's right. The airborne hits with the Lunar will vortex the opponent, but it is a bit finicky depending on distance and height. But if you want to get a drop on someone and the ground's not giving you a lot of means to do so, this is a very hand alternative. More viable and less situational than trying to do the exact same thing in Black. Sigma Changes The Lunar is the one weapon in Sigma 2 to have the most changes to its core moveset. As explained already, the weapons that are capable of an Izuna Drop can do so at level 1, but in addition to this they share almost the exact same inputs as the Dragon Sword's version. The Lunar readjusts its moveset so that there is a drop available at Level 1, and the input is Square-Triangle-Square-Square-Triangle. This kinda has ramifications on the rest of the weapon's inputs, because in the original game, XY would be the start of Molten Rock or Strange Soul. Now in Sigma 2, those moves remain but the beginning input is changed to Square-Forward-Triangle. It's weird, and I'm not particularly a fan of the notion by the devs that a move like that should be as similar as possible across all weapons. The point of the Lunar is that it's moves behave radically different from the Dragon Sword, and as such the inputs should reflect that. Besides, there's already several other means to do the Izuna Drop, adding an extra one that fucks up the existing moves is pointless.
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Jan 24, 2018 17:57
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 We finish New York again, but not before being pitted against another "brilliant" Sigma 2 addition. Because one Colossus of Rhodes knockoff wasn't loving enough...   Enma's Fang A massively powerful longsword capable of pulverizing enemies. Much like how Sigma 1 introduced a new weapon, so does Sigma 2 with the Enma's Fang. Though in contrast to the Dual Swords where they were a new weapon type that was somewhat shallow, this one is another take on a familiar weapon or two from Ninja Gaiden 1. NGII has a scythe that we'll be getting a few chapters from now, and was always meant to be the game's designated heavy weapon. So the Enma's Fang feels like a new take on the Dabilharo, with a bit of the Unlabored Flawlessness mixed in, to try and nudge at you to be like "hey, remember Ninja Gaiden 1 and how awesome it was, here's a sword that's big like that other one to make you remember it." I'm still somewhat conflicted on this weapon's inclusion only because the full 8 melee weapons in NGII vanilla was already perfect and it didn't need anything else. But it's not as bad as how the dual swords were in Sigma 1, as this does still have some use despite its relatively limited moveset.  Bosses  The Statue of Liberty ...Why. I'm not even gonna give a summary on this poo poo, the video speaks for itself. Just...gently caress this thing. If you've been paying close attention to enemies shown between both versions of the game, you might notice that the only Vangelfs we had to fight in chapter 3 of Sigma 2 were the pink, immature ones. The Winged Vangelfs were not present there and are still not present yet in Sigma 2. Instead we get a recolor of the immature Vangelfs where the skin is black instead of pink (I misspoke in the video about the winged Vangelfs skin being black as well, it's actually dark green). It's easy to guess what the difference between these two colors are, and it's that the black ones are more resilient. In a game where every enemy tougher than the bottom rung Black Spider ninjas have stupid health values and resistance to being delimbed. Admittedly the base game isn't free of the same crime of recoloring enemies with no moveset variance, but at least they still all die at the same rate, so there's still a mark against Sigma 2. Aside from that, the already above mentioned boss fight after Alexei and the Enma's Fang are the only other major changes of note to this level.
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Feb 1, 2018 05:16
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Before I even watched the video I scrolled down and burst out laughing. Why indeed. And why make the boss fight so boring if you're going to be that ridiculous?
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Feb 2, 2018 22:35
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Someone on the Sigma team really loving hates iconic statuary, apparently. Having played most of the original and none of Sigma 2, I am excited/dreading what other landmarks you can have a C-tier Donkey King Country boss fight with.
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Feb 5, 2018 02:41
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ThePlanetBuster posted:Someone on the Sigma team really loving hates iconic statuary, apparently. Having played most of the original and none of Sigma 2, I am excited/dreading what other landmarks you can have a C-tier Donkey King Country boss fight with. Although this game does have a mission mode, so they make sure to give this and the Buddha Statue some extra use...by making you fight both at once. 'Cause gently caress you, why not?
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Feb 5, 2018 09:16
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ArclightBorealis posted:I can at least thankfully/regrettably say that this is the last off these kind of new bosses added to Sigma 2, and every boss after this point that is exclusive to this version is significantly better. Please tell me this tanks the framerate.
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Feb 5, 2018 18:07
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ArclightBorealis posted:I can at least thankfully/regrettably say that this is the last off these kind of new bosses added to Sigma 2  ArclightBorealis posted:Although this game does have a mission mode, so they make sure to give this and the Buddha Statue some extra use...by making you fight both at once. 'Cause gently caress you, why not? 
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Feb 5, 2018 19:44
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 We've got a Sigma 2 exclusive chapter coming up, so before then it's time for a bonus update to keep the progress in both games fairly even. This time, we're looking at another Ninja Gaiden game, one that is very different and I have a strong fondness for. That is, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, on the DS. Also as a heads up in case you're wondering about the audio quality in this video (from the game, not so much the commentary), recording this game and getting it to cooperate with any video editing software was a bitch and a half to deal with so that's it.  This is one of those games that epitomize what I like about handheld games and what a lot of games for something like, say, the PSP or Vita, missed the point of. No one wants a console experience scaled or dumbed down for a smaller platform, especially if the system you're making it for isn't especially impressive from a 3D standpoint. So the best way to approach it is to not make the same game, but a completely different experience that still respects the spirit of the original. In Ninja Gaiden's case, the approach was to make a game that took advantage of drat near every unique thing that could be done with the platform and not feel like a gimmick. You control everything in game with the stylus, with the exception of blocking which is still a button. You jump, run, slash, use ninpo, shoot projectiles, everything with the touch screen and it works consistently. Next, you hold the DS on its side like a book, so the screen's vertical, and it becomes way more comfortable to hold it in one hand while using the stylus in the other as opposed to the way it would be used in something like Metroid Prime Hunters. Compared to the ports of Sigma 1 and 2 on the Vita, this is way more polished and impressive than those technically scaled down ports. Yes, you can't perform every single move you could in the console games, nor do you have any weapon other than the Dragon Sword, but that's not the point. It's not a replacement or mainline sequel. It fits the definition of spin off and is better for it. Plus it gives a different perspective and look into the Ninja Gaiden world by focusing on something that was never really shown in detail prior, which was the people that make up the Hayabusa village. Also, fun fact. Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword exists because Tomonobu Itagaki's daughter asked him to make a DS game, so that her friends would be able to play one of his games. Isn't that sweet? The Hayabusa Village As I mentioned, the game gives a look into the Hayabusa Village and the people to make it, as the main games were far more focused on being engaged in combat at all times. We don't get to see Joe sadly, probably still training in the sacred wildnerness or something, but during the game you'll get to know several of these characters that are important to Ryu  Of the cast in Ninja Gaiden DS, most of the interactions are with the village children. As this is set six months after Ninja Gaiden 1, these kids are pretty much all implied to be orphaned as a result of Doku's raid on the village. They all look up to Ryu and want to do what they can to help him and the village in their own ways. These are the characters from left to right. Sanji is one who aspires the most to be like Ryu in every way that's possible for a Ninja. His father died during the Dark Dragon Blade incident and was supposed to a proficient user of dual swords. While he only carries a single bokken for now, it's the initiative and thought that counts. Of the four children, Sanji's the only one that has a slight bit of story significance in one of Sigma 2's extra chapters. Hanamaru is something of a crybaby. He's not that much in shape, but that does not mean he's unable to show any aptitude in the ninja arts. He's just got some growing to do in regards to gumption. Denroku is the bookworm of the group, and spends the game giving gameplay tips to Ryu whenever you talk to him, with each exchange ending in some variation of "according to this book, at least." There's also a hint in some of the unlockable files that he's got something of a crush for Ayane, based on a sketch on the back of one of his books. Young love... Sakura is a young girl who's not skilled in any ninjutsu and her life is pretty much decided to be that of a new shrine maiden in the future. There's moments during the game that she's in danger by the Black Spider Clan, but even without the ability to fight she still shows courage in the face of death.   Genjiro is pretty much a Ninja veteran. He's old now, but you can look at him and tell that he's seen some poo poo, fighting along side Joe Hayabusa in his prime. Nowadays he serves to train the other Ninja in the village. Not much else to him, just a cool old guy. Omitsu is a curious case of looking younger than she actually is, but she is the caretaker of the Village children, and even knew Ryu and Kureha back when they were little. More impressively however is that, while not a full fledged Ninja, she's considered legendary among the Village as a master with a bow.
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Feb 13, 2018 18:16
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Huh. It does look pretty good for a DS game. Not sure I'd be able to react with the stylus in time though. Looks like there is a bit of a learning curve for the controls
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Feb 14, 2018 23:48
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