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Yes, you heard that right: A walkthrough for newbs telling you how to not die once! Ninja Gaiden is not a series that needs any introduction. You've heard it all: "Fast-paced action, cinematic cutscenes that pushed the envelope, fun as H.F.I.L., and also one of the hardest games you'll ever play". Me, I love it just for how interesting it is. If you play it like I do (slow and methodical), then each Act becomes an interesting puzzle. You'll never beat them on your first try, but you will always feel like you learned something each time. If you want to speedrun it and feel like a god of war, you can ALSO do that. You'll die over and over, but the hero moves so fast, and kills enemies so quickly, that you feel like a veritable god when you DO clear a stage successfully! And that's really what it all boils down to: You just feel strong. You move fast, you jump VERY high in the air, you've got an arsenal of sub-weapons, and you kill almost everything in one hit (save for bosses). Plus, you've got a game with a rockin' soundtrack, and unparalleled presentation. It's a hoot! But enough about that; Let's talk about... THE WALKTHROUGH: Now, this here's the first time I've ever LPed a platformer. All my other LPs were focused on "how do I beat this game as fast as possible?", but that changes when you're not playing an RPG. There's a skill gap: One between me (who's used to the controls, knows where all the items are, how the bosses act, what everything does), and my audience (who still haven't mastered the controls). My philosophy, then, is that a walkthrough should bridge the skill gap as much as possible. I am almost never going to tell you “this will take timing and reflexes, so git good”, unless there really isn’t any other way. That’s the sign of a lazy walkthrough, to me. So, whatever I show, it should require as little skill as possible. I WILL include "speedrun sections" for each Act, but only for demonstration purposes. The bulk of this is going to be slow, methodical gameplay that people will (hopefully) be able to imitate without too much practice. Some of the strats will seem a little cheap... For example, the Jaquio strat I use... But, it's all for the newbies! Now! Let's begin!  Ninja Gaiden NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Acts 1 & 2) STRATS INTRODUCED THIS EPISODE: JUMPING SLASH: This is what you should try practicing, when you can. It’s not mandatory, and I try to avoid relying on it for the walkthrough, but it’s the only way you can attacking without Ryu stopping. PAUSE BUFFERING: This is where you hit Pause to… well, pause the game. The enemies may not hit hard, but they’re fast, and there’s a lot of them. Worst of all, the game will spam them near bottomless chasms, so beginners will need this trick (experts will have already memorized things). WALL CLIMB BUFFERING: I forgot to mention it in the video itself, but you don’t need to press A every time you want to jump off a wall. You can just hold it, then press Left or Right (whichever goes away from the wall). That will let you climb much faster! SWORD CANCELING: This is where you hold Down while slashing. This has two uses, but the main one is conserving “Ninpo” (your ammunition). This way, you can preserve your… SPIN SLASH: I keep calling it “the spinning buzz-saw”, but this is the proper name. It does damage every frame (1/60th of a second), grants temporary invincibility, and attacks from all directions. This is the greatest sub-weapon, by far. It’s what makes a “Deathless” play-through doable, even without memorization! INTENTIONAL DEATHS: This won’t be used in this Deathless playthrough, but it’s a handy trick nonetheless. The game checkpoints you every screen, so you can just die and refill your health! You lose half your Ninpo though, and you get kicked back to the beginning of Acts ?-1, ?-2, or ?-3? (depending on where you’re at). SCREEN-SCROLLING: If you can’t see the enemy, they don’t exist! They disappear the moment they leave the screen… Some don’t even respawn! So, you run away from them till the disappear. Primarily useful for flying bird enemies (they take 3 HP away!), but it also has applications for “Hammer Bros.” enemies (the ones who stand over gaps and throw objects in arcs). CHARACTERS SO FAR (Warning: The manual wasn’t proof-read very carefully :P ): 
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Aug 31, 2020 07:48
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seems like the strategy for hammer bros is to basically just kill them before they kill you
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Aug 31, 2020 19:58
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Seraphic Neoman posted:seems like the strategy for hammer bros is to basically just kill them before they kill you I mean, it's not so much you can't kill most of them without Spin Slash. Most of them have some sort of trick or another depending on where they are. For example, you can clip the guys in Act 2-2 with the very edge of your sword from the other platform... Ninja Gaiden Hammer Bros without Spin Slash (Addendum) Even so, they're a pain in the rear. You're gonna take a few hits, just like I did in the video... And of course, there's that guy in Act 6-2 that's just about impossible to handle with just the sword...  So you just really want a sub-weapon going into them; For convenience's sake, if nothing else. Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Aug 31, 2020 |
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Aug 31, 2020 21:04
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The CIA's in on it! The plot thickens!.png) Ninja Gaiden NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Acts 3 & 4) STRATS INTRODUCED THIS EPISODE: DAMAGE BOOSTING: Actually, this was in the last episode as well, but only for one brief moment. Now, though, the "speedrun" sections milk them for all they're worth. Ryu gets knocked back a good ways, depending on which side of the enemy he's facing. Additionally, he gets invincibility frames (the technical term for "he got hit, he's blinking, and he can't get hurt until he stops blinking"). You can take advantage of this in one of two ways... 1) You can "damage boost" Ryu onto a ledge he couldn't have gotten to with a regular jump. You'd jump in the air, land on the RIGHT side of the enemy, then get knocked right far enough to get to the other side. This allows for one very nice, very beginner-friendly trick in Act 6-2... But is otherwise too dangerous to use for newbies. So, apart from that one moment in Act 6-2, you'll only see it in the "speedrun" sections. 2) You can get Ryu onto a high ledge with an enemy on it. There are points where Ryu can't jump high enough to get onto a platform, but CAN jump high enough to hit an enemy ON said platform! The damage boost launches him *up* , as well as to the side, so there are some tricky spots you can get out of. You'll see this in Act 5! FIRE WHEEL DAMAGE: As mentioned, this is the wall of fire that goes to the upper-left or right. It's made of *three* parts, so the damage is different depending on how *many* of those parts hit. That's why we needed to be under that boss in Act 3. That was how we'd get ALL of the three parts to connect! CHARACTERS SO FAR: 
Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 11:11 on Sep 1, 2020 |
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Sep 1, 2020 10:27
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Man those are the 80-est villains ever.
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Sep 1, 2020 17:32
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Seraphic Neoman posted:Man those are the 80-est villains ever. Indeed. It's like stepping into a time capsule. Also, next update will be delayed. I found another snazzy thumbnail, but it's fan art. So, I want the artist's permission, first.
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Sep 2, 2020 11:21
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An old classic from my childhood! At my peak I could get to 6-3 but I never fully beat it until I was older and had an emulator. Enemies spawn off-screen based on your camera position. They can also de-spawn if they go off-screen. The spawn points are short and precise, so if your camera is at just the right position, an enemy can respawn in an endless loop. When dealing with birds or other pests, you should NEVER move back to get away. The bird will just come back and you'll have to do it again. Jump, duck, or go forward, but never go back. This only applies when the camera is moving with you. I also can't remember if it always worked, but when a bird is about to swoop in, stand while facing it and duck-slash right before it hits. It doesn't have to be frame perfect, but it's a good skill to learn, especially with these games (you should do the other 2).
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Sep 4, 2020 02:22
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Sorry for the delay! Got permission from the artist, then also had some issues working with the audio. It came out in lower quality for whatever reason, but I cleaned it up a bit. Here's the episode! Note that the final bosses and the ending will be in their own episode. There's a lot to unpack there, after all! Ninja Gaiden NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Act 5 & 6) THUMBNAIL ART BY:「O_FishBowl」 O_FishBowl's CONTENT: https://www.semiro.info/category/diary/game_pic_diary/ Special thanks for giving me permission to use it! LAST NEW CHARACTER: .png)
Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 17:07 on Sep 6, 2020 |
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Sep 6, 2020 16:52
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5-3: Using the same technique you showed in 6-3, you can climb up and down the the ladder and farm the 1-up on that stage. It's the only farm-able 1-up in the game that i know of. I learned this trick in one of those late 80s cheats and tricks books for Nintendo back in 3rd grade. Those were the days..
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Sep 7, 2020 04:48
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mastersord posted:5-3: Using the same technique you showed in 6-3, you can climb up and down the the ladder and farm the 1-up on that stage. It's the only farm-able 1-up in the game that i know of. I learned this trick in one of those late 80s cheats and tricks books for Nintendo back in 3rd grade. Those were the days.. The only compunction I have is that extra lives don't really do anything at the end. The final bosses send you back to 6-1 regardless of how many lives you have, as I'm about to demonstrate. I think that was why I glanced over it so much in the last episode, though I don't remember if I knew it respawned... Anyway, here's the end!  Ninja Gaiden NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Masked Devil, Jaquio, & The Demon) STRAT INTRODUCED THIS EPISODE: SWORD CANCELING (OFFENSE): This is the other use for sword-canceling I mentioned all the way at the start. You hold Down before slashing, then let go, to cancel the animation. This lets you slash as many times as you can pull this off, rather than being stuck at two slashes per jump. The Jaquio can be beaten without it through the Beginner strat I showed... But there's no easy way to beat the Demon (a.k.a, 破壊の悪魔, "Destroyer Fiend", "Demon of Destruction", etc.). Get good at this, if you can manage. If not, just use plenty of pause buffering to avoid the projectiles. Use the Spin Slash, if you die and have to come back; The bosses you kill STAY dead, after all! NINJA GAIDEN III ENDING SCREEN (Japanese; The English version of this was unused): JAPANESE:  ENGLISH (Unused): 
Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Sep 7, 2020 |
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Sep 7, 2020 12:02
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So you aren't gonna do 2 and 3? What a pitty.
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Sep 8, 2020 03:26
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Aw, where'd you get that? I was absolutely going to do them xD!
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Sep 8, 2020 04:06
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Fionordequester posted:Aw, where'd you get that? I was absolutely going to do them xD! Great! Can't wait for your next update!
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Sep 9, 2020 01:33
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mastersord posted:Great! Can't wait for your next update! Say! Before I start recording, what did you think of this? Was it easy to follow along, see what strats I was using? Would you be able to replicate them? Those're very important questions, for the sake of a walkthrough!
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Sep 10, 2020 12:52
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I could've sworn AVGN posted a follow-up video in which he beat the game, but I can't find it now.
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Sep 10, 2020 13:38
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A good poster posted:I could've sworn AVGN posted a follow-up video in which he beat the game, but I can't find it now. That was the "James & Mike Mondays" video, if I recall. That's where I got the "clip into mountain" trick I showed in Act 5-2! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcxWaH500IY Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Sep 10, 2020 |
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Sep 10, 2020 14:05
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Just found this thread but that was an *adorable* walkthrough and I can't wait for 2 and 3. Especially because 3 is some bullshit.
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Sep 12, 2020 04:42
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UnSmith posted:Just found this thread but that was an *adorable* walkthrough and I can't wait for 2 and 3. Especially because 3 is some bullshit. Aww, thanks  ! Just got done recording most of Ninja Gaiden 2, so I'll (hopefully) upload the first episode tomorrow!
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Sep 13, 2020 05:50
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Alright, so a bit later than "tomorrow", but HERE IT IS! Ninja Gaiden 2! Also, if I do continue the sub requests (I'm undecided), they'll only be at the start of each new LP. I figure anything after that is redundant; The person will have already decided. Ninja Gaiden II NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Act 1-3) CHANGES FROM NINJA GAIDEN 1: 1) No Spin Slash (!!) 2) No Sword Canceling 3) You can climb walls by just pressing Up or Down, now 4) Ryu flies more horizontally when he gets damaged, rather than in an arc, like in the last game. He still gets SOME vertical distance though, so clipping through ledges is still possible... Just a bit trickier. 5) A new Sub-Weapon was introduced; The "Fire Dragon Balls". They act just like the "Art of the Fire Wheel" from the last game, except they shoot downward, instead of upward. 6) The "Invincible Fire Wheel" (not to be confused with "Art of the Fire Wheel") doesn't go away with just one use, and can be activated at any time. It costs 15 Ninpo, however. 7) Ninpo now has a cap. The cap starts at 40, but can be increased by 10 via Ninja Scrolls found in most stages. TRICKS THAT STILL WORK: Pause Buffering: This is where you hit Pause to… well, pause the game. The enemies may not hit hard, but they’re fast, and there’s a lot of them. Worst of all, the game will spam them near bottomless chasms, so beginners will need this trick (experts will have already memorized things). Intentional Deaths: This won’t be used in this Deathless playthrough, but it’s a handy trick nonetheless. The game checkpoints you every screen, so you can just die and refill your health! You lose half your Ninpo though, and you get kicked back to the beginning of Acts ?-1, ?-2, or ?-3? (depending on where you’re at). Screen-scrolling: If you can’t see the enemy, they don’t exist! They disappear the moment they leave the screen… Some don’t even respawn! So, you run away from them till the disappear. Can be helpful for certain enemy types! THE CHARACTERS (All but one are in the 1st episode now, and it's a minor boss): 
Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Sep 14, 2020 |
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Sep 14, 2020 19:56
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double post, please ignore
Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Sep 14, 2020 |
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Sep 14, 2020 21:38
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I'm still waiting for you to give us info on the Special Bonus Offer Tecmo ID Badges! You can't drop a bomb like that on us in the very first image of the LP and then not tell us how to get one! 
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Sep 16, 2020 04:56
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...! posted:I'm still waiting for you to give us info on the Special Bonus Offer Tecmo ID Badges! You can't drop a bomb like that on us in the very first image of the LP and then not tell us how to get one! An informed query, but difficult to answer! You see, whenever you purchased one of Tecmo's fun-filled game paks...  You could cut out a special badge, found at the very end of each manual!  Now, what WAS this special prize you could share with your friends and family? Good question: I don't know! Whatever it was, you had to do it quick, because they stopped making these when Ninja Gaiden 3 came out! Maybe they started taking those out of the American versions... Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Sep 16, 2020 |
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Sep 16, 2020 07:37
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Oh, speaking of manuals, I forgot! Here's the one for Ninja Gaiden II! BPix was needed; This was too large for LPix!
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Sep 17, 2020 05:35
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Alright, the fateful battle! Ryu vs Ashtar! Note that I was slightly off in regards to the "Art of the Fire Wheel" location. It's on one of those tricky platforms right outside Ashtar's room, not immediately next to it. It's risky enough to get that it's probably worth ignoring. Also, I got this thumbnail from someone who wasn't the original artist. I tried to find out who did make it, to no avail. If I find him, I will ask for permission, then credit him in the description.  Ninja Gaiden 2 NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Act 4-5) Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Sep 17, 2020 |
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Sep 17, 2020 22:34
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It's kind of interesting how this series went from 2D side-scrolling into basically kinda floaty Devil May Cry. Especially since NGS2 is basically a retelling of NG1's story
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Sep 19, 2020 22:42
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I don't really have anything of note to say other than "holy poo poo you make this incredibly difficult series look easy, and this is interesting." Those little ice slide duck-slashes on the low creepy guys was pretty neat on the speed run, too.
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Sep 20, 2020 02:41
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I'm enjoying these, but the horrible buzzing whenever your co-commentator talks is really throwing me for a spin.
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Sep 20, 2020 02:45
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FairGame posted:I don't really have anything of note to say other than "holy poo poo you make this incredibly difficult series look easy, and this is interesting." Aw, thanks! I will say, however, that part of that is due to this being made post-production, and me only showing the success. Get me live while doing this, and you'd get a much less talkative Fionordequester. On that note, I also plan on uploading more addendums. Just a few tricks here and there that I found, having played through Ninja Gaiden 1 a few times since. syzpid posted:I'm enjoying these, but the horrible buzzing whenever your co-commentator talks is really throwing me for a spin. Thanks for your honesty. Because of that, I got to thinking, and I believe I found a solution. It won't take out the buzzing completely, but I think it'll make it better. Do tell me what you think next episode, alright?
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Sep 20, 2020 08:17
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Alright guys, lots of new things to get used to! I got a new mic, so you'll want to tell me how it sounds while I can still return it! Also, I'm doing something different with Skaizo's audio. Let me know what you think! Ninja Gaiden 2 NES: No Death Walkthrough for Beginners (Act 6-7) Fionordequester fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Sep 22, 2020 |
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Sep 22, 2020 09:22
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I feel compelled to call the Ninja Friends Ninja Options.
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Sep 22, 2020 11:16
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Skaizo's audio is way better and yours is as good as ever, Fionordequester!
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Sep 23, 2020 03:50
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oldskool posted:Skaizo's audio is way better and yours is as good as ever, Fionordequester! Seconding this! Thanks for fixing it, much appreciated!
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Sep 23, 2020 05:12
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oldskool posted:Skaizo's audio is way better and yours is as good as ever, Fionordequester! syzpid posted:Seconding this! Thanks for fixing it, much appreciated! Awesome! Glad to hear it! I'm always so nervous about stuff like that, lol  .
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Sep 24, 2020 03:59
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And that's game! Final Battle & Ending
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Sep 26, 2020 12:10
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You gonna do the Xbox Ninja games?
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Sep 27, 2020 01:26
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Nissin Cup Nudist posted:You gonna do the Xbox Ninja games? Never played 'em, sadly. Don't own an Xbox, either, so I'd want to either buy one, or wait for a super good emulator. Sorry!
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Sep 27, 2020 05:48
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Have you run the sega master system game? I have that on cartridge and swear I'll actually beat it someday. Can't pause buffer though as the pause button is on the console, not the controller 
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Sep 27, 2020 08:09
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Crazy Achmed posted:Have you run the sega master system game? I have that on cartridge and swear I'll actually beat it someday. Can't pause buffer though as the pause button is on the console, not the controller Oh yeah... I keep forgetting about that one. I'll definitely be looking at that AND the GBC game though, no worries there. Just don't know when. Speaking of which, Ninja Gaiden III will start sometime in October 1-3. Till then, I'll be uploading Castlevania 1, and working on some side stuff, like the FE4 LP and the Recaps for Dragon Quest VI. Hope you enjoy!
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Sep 27, 2020 08:27
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I used to have the strategy guide for Ninja Gaiden 2 from Nintendo Power. It got destroyed because I was a little kid back then and never put things away. Archive.org has a pdf of it and it gives you some extra artwork to go with most of the cutscenes. ..anyway, did you notice how some of the enemies look a bit familiar? Like you fought bigger versions somewhere else before? They actually made mini-versions of most of the Ninja Gaiden 1 bosses. Act 3-2 showcases at least 3 of them. Act 4-1: Actually, I think that color pallet is the stage gimmick and done intentionally. Act 4-2: We meet the last NG1 clone: The mini-Kerbeross Clone. I don't have much else to point out, but look for that guide if you can.
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Sep 30, 2020 06:16
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