Ninja Gaiden II is an excellent sequel that'll have you lopping off heads and performing all sorts of sweet moves. It takes everything that worked in the original and bumps it up to even more insane levels. We're talking gallons of blood, and that's just in the first stage.
In the game, you take control of the masterful Ryu as he embarks on a quest to save the world. The mysterious Black Spider Ninja Clan, who takes a strange artifact to awaken a creature known as the Arch Fiend, has ravaged his village. The story's told in chunks, laid out through cheesy computer-generated sequences, with overconfident villains cackling amongst themselves as they attempt to unleash their evil plans upon the world. It's nothing to worry about, though, as these scenes are mere placeholders for the game's action.
Just another cozy night by the fire. Click on image for more screenshots.
Boy, does it deliver. Ninja Gaiden II is a hardcore gamer's dream, with refined controls that let you rip apart enemies in a number of ways. You have your weak attacks, strong attacks, projectile attacks, Ninpo attacks and the ability to block and weave out of harm's way. These combine to create a nice and fluid gameplay technique, as Ryu can mix up attacks to beat up his enemies.
There are refinements that make this system work better than before. First off, Ryu can now replenish energy with an auto-health regeneration system. It has its limits, with red space on your health bar unable to refill until you reach a crucial save point, scattered throughout the game. The rest, though, re-accumulates after a fight, leaving Ryu fresh for the next battle. This is a huge plus for the game, as it won't have you scrambling to find blue orbs or using a precious item to stay alive.
In addition, Ryu can finish off opponents that are on their last legs with moves called Obliteration Techniques. Simply get close to a downed or weakened enemy, hit an attack button and watch him go to work, unfazed by other opponents. Considering you're hit by groups of five or six of them at a time, it's wonderful to have these moves available.
Along with his traditional Dragon Sword, Ryu can also utilize other weapons. Among these are a metallic staff that lets him smack an enemy multiple times with a few swings, a pair of Wolverine-ish claws that can turn a foe into sashimi and an archer's bow that enables him to shoot enemies from afar. You can charge up a shot, aim at a bad guy's head and lop it off with ease. To switch off between these weapons, once acquired, you simply press the D-pad to access a sub-menu. You can even do this in the middle of a fight.
Overall, the gameplay gels brilliantly. Over the course of each stage, Ryu can learn new techniques that prove useful for his survival, offensive and defensive. The blocking system is quite effective, not only keeping him from taking damage but preparing him for counterattacking and charge-up moves. He also has the same athletic maneuvers as he did in his previous game, such as running along and bouncing up walls.
Initially, Ninja Gaiden II has two difficulty levels to choose from, with more unlockable as you complete the game. Dedicated players will immediately go to Path of the Warrior, where enemies will eat them for lunch. Those who aren't used to such extremes can go with the Path of the Acolyte, a fair difficulty level that doesn't humiliate them with a pink armband this time around (like in Ninja Gaiden Sigma with its "Ninja Dog" difficulty). Just remember one thing, though. No matter which path you take, you'll have your work cut out for you. Enemies will come at you in droves and bosses are damn near unbeatable unless you get around their defenses.
Right now this guy's wishing that he WASN'T a ninja. Click on image for more screenshots.
Itagaki and company put a lot of work into Ninja Gaiden II's visuals. The stages look breathtaking, whether you're traveling through the rooftops of Sky City or running through a hellish underworld. The action runs at sixty frames per second, with some mild bouts of slowdown when too many enemies flood the screen. The individual animations are excellent, particularly when Ryu smashes an enemy into a bloody mess. You can stain the floors and walls with relative ease, and it actually stays there after the fight is over. The only negative aspect we could find is the in-game camera. On occasion, it follows Ryu a little too closely, resulting in not seeing certain enemies around a corner. You can manually re-adjust, but not before you take damage from someone off-screen.
In the sound department, Team Ninja does mostly good work. The background music is energetic, maintaining a certain level of "save-the-world" mantra to keep you pumped in battle. The sound effects are right on the money too, with lots of cool weapon effects and plenty of chopping noises. Again, the English dialogue is overly cheesy, but fortunately there's a Japanese audio track available and more in sync with the game's super-serious tone. It really isn't that big a deal once the action kicks in.
If you're still uncomfortable getting into the game's skill set, Ninja Gaiden II serves up one more excellent benefit. You can record ninja movies and upload them to Xbox Live for the world to see. Once the game launches on June 3rd, you'll be able to see some expert players at work by watching their movies. You might even learn a thing or two along the way. There are no hands-on directing controls, but you can add a cool black-and-white filter, giving your film a Kill Bill look or an old-school Kurosawa classic.
Ninja Gaiden II isn't perfect, but it's an incredible attempt. Lame English dialogue, a somewhat limp story and awkward camera angles aren't nearly enough to derail the splendid gameplay and eye-popping visuals. If you're a hardcore player, you owe it to yourself to pick it up and dominate it. If you're a rookie, this is a fine place to start earning your stripes. Either way, Team Ninja concludes the saga on a sharp note.
Reader Comments (4)
Grahamcracker, that's because Ninja Gaiden Black and Sigma WERE recopies. They weren't Part 2, unlike this one. NGB was a recopy with a few more add-ons and Sigma was a recopy built specifically for the PS3. But, this isn't a re-copy. This is the official sequel. I've seen trailers and screen-shots. This is NOT the original. This is WAY more epic than the first.
shut up grahamcracker
ninja gaiden is epic
Every ninja giaden game i've played has been a clone of the one previous, with a few add-ons if this is just another repeat pass it up, save your money for an original game that hasen't been rechurned again and again.