Support NeoGAF

[The Librarian]

EDIT: You may be thinking of TOV 5, not 6, that is the one with the BRUTAL ED-209 walkers

With a fully leveled up Sycthe, those guys aren't THAT much trouble, its the bastards with the rocket launchers that are driving me nuts.

I'm playing on warrior, BTW.

If I try and chuck explosive shrunkiens, they auto target the walkers cuz they are closer

I use the fire ninpo, because it takes out more targets.

I have a 1 herb, 1 grains, and one Life of the Gods, but I'm trying to save the LOTG for the boss.

:lol Ha ha, I'm on Acolyte. And you're right, I am probably thinking of five or six, but I would imagine I still used the piercing void ninpo on those ED walkers. Yeah, those rocket dudes piss me off too.

 

[SuperBonk]

All of the bosses have patterns and all of them are fun to fight. Even the robo face worm has its own retarded charm.

BTW you can injure the second form Archfiend when he's hanging on the edge of the cliff, and you can probably shoot him while he's hovering around, though I didn't try. You don't have to wait for him to walk around.

I don't think you can damage him at all when he's hovering, but you can do a shitload of damage when he's hanging on to the ledge.

I had to beat him twice on Warrior because the game froze. In my first attempt, I just tried to dodge everything until he started walking around. This took a long time and multiple tries but eventually I did it.

The 2nd time, I just hacked the shit out of him when he was on the edge. This is really dangerous though because of his ground pound, laser attack, and through. To reconcile this, I just used Ninpo for a good invincibility window, unleashed a long combo on him, and then used Ninpo again. This seems to work the best. The one problem is the throw, which takes like 70% of your health. But after he throws you, he usually starts walking so you can deal even more damage to him. The 2nd time was much easier and I did it in one try.

 

[Llyranor]

Oh. Man.

It took about 3-4+ hrs, but I finally finished the Test of Valor in Chapter 5 (Warrior, no items) against the

Spoiler

werewolves/flyers

. What a fantastic fight. Nice mix of melee against tough opponents that can rip you to shreds pretty quickly if you're careless, and avoiding ranged attacks from afar while trying to shoot them down (and avoiding the

Spoiler

werewolves

).

I'm a sucker for challenging fights (as opposed to dying/restarting over and over again due to bad design), and that battle was pure challenge. Finding new ways to take out the enemies quickly each try, trying out the different weapons against them, or bolder tactics. So satisfying. This is easily one of my favorite games this generation so far.

Every fan of challenging action games needs to own this game. Buy a 360 if you have to.

 

[FirstInHell]

I just powered through levels 11,12, and 13 (playing on Warrior). I got up to the first mini-boss on chapter 14 (Genshi), and got my ass handed to me. I cannot bring myself to play anymore tonight. I just want to beat this game and be done with it. The challenge is ceasing to be fun, it is just annoying and aggravating at this point.

 

[Mamesj]

awesome, broken leader boards and infinite enemy respawns everywhere. Itagaki needs to take Team Ninja independent, buy the NG franchise from Tecmo (which will be out of business in this fantasy scenario), then make this game into the game its supposed to be. I know everyone's having a shitload of fun with it, which is great, but we need another action game that's supported and honed for a few years by TN. This isn't enough...

 

[Shadow Moses]

All of the bosses have patterns and all of them are fun to fight. Even the robo face worm has its own retarded charm.

BTW you can injure the second form Archfiend when he's hanging on the edge of the cliff, and you can probably shoot him while he's hovering around, though I didn't try. You don't have to wait for him to walk around.

play mentor or MN and come back with that statement.

 

[goldenpp72]

Im on master ninja mode level 4 and I can say the bosses have patterns and are mostly fun to fight.

 

[Future]

All of the bosses have patterns and all of them are fun to fight. Even the robo face worm has its own retarded charm.

BTW you can injure the second form Archfiend when he's hanging on the edge of the cliff, and you can probably shoot him while he's hovering around, though I didn't try. You don't have to wait for him to walk around.

I fought the last boss for 10 minutes before he decided to do any of those things. Yes I know you can hit him whenever he's "perched" on the side, but he can decide not to do that if he doesnt feel like it either. Hence, the bullshit solution of walking around like an idiot so you can hit him

Disagree on the fun to fight bit. I honestly cant really understand how any of them are really that fun, but of course thats subjective so whatever. Most boil down to what feels like cheap deaths or cheap wins...with zero satisfaction when either occurs. Bow only bosses are an excercise in patience and not skill. As I mentioned, there ARE patterns...but they are all the same for almost every boss. Dodge 5-10 hit string. Retaliate. Watch for the instant throw whiff (hardly any bosses in NG1 had throw whiffs as sudden, as often or as fast as these) Rinse and repeat. Feels like work in the end.

Still gonna keep playing though...to much of a NG fan not to. Just as I go through these weapon runs, I notice the fun just stops when I hit the bosses

 

[Kadey]

Anyone recommend what spells I should upgrade?

 

[PhatSaqs]

Anyone recommend what spells I should upgrade?

Wind Blades and later Void.

 

[Saya]

Anyone recommend what spells I should upgrade?

I always upgrade the Wind Blades first, because that one is fantastic to use against groups of enemies. It cuts of limbs so most of the enemies are ready to be obliterated. I found that the Void ninpo is most usefull against bosses so I upgrade that one asap after the wind blades. I don't even use the other ninpos anymore.

I just started my Kusari-gama single weapon run now and I have a feeling this is going to be a hard one. :lol Maybe the weapon gets better after a few upgrades....

 

[goldenpp72]

Wind, void, fireballs then phoenix is basically the best order to go, the fireballs ARE useful over the void sometimes, but not usually. Void can only go linear and requires a skill to aim where as the fireball can hit 3 targets and requires very little aiming, and those targets can be in various places. I found it very helpful against those horse guys in chapter.. 12 or 13 and beyond.

 

[Choabac]

Finally got around to picking up my pre-order of this, it came with a free Gillette Fusion razor. :lol

Truly this is a game for real men.

 

[Kreed]

Anyone recommend what spells I should upgrade?

I recommend you upgrading Art of Inferno first. Once you fully upgrade it, it's an instant death attack to 3 regular enemies and you can target the enemies you want. This is very useful for enemies you want/need to kill first, like enemies with projectile attacks that attack from far away (especially in later levels/harder difficulties).

Once you have this upgraded save the rest of your jewels for Piercing Void. Then use what you have left for Wind Blades, and finally Phoenix.

 

[goldenpp72]

Id have to strongly disagree, most of the difficult encounters are when you're being cluster fucked and the wind is by far the best thing to handle this, you can't even begin upgrading magic until after you get the wind scroll so its always good to start with that.

 

[Kreed]

Id have to strongly disagree, most of the difficult encounters are when you're being cluster fucked and the wind is by far the best thing to handle this, you can't even begin upgrading magic until after you get the wind scroll so its always good to start with that.

I used Wind Blades over Art of Inferno on my Acolyte run and it was useful then, but from Warrior/Mentor onwards Art of Inferno has taken priority for me (and looking at my old play throughs on Ninja Cinema I wish I had used Art of Inferno on Acolyte too). Even with mobs that have enemies that aren't using projectile attacks, instantly killing three enemies has been far more useful than causing limb damage on a bunch of enemies that can still perform dangerous attacks/throws. And against stronger foes/fiends/Mechs that attack you in smaller mobs (usually in groups of 3) Art of Inferno is the best move to use as it's doing more damage even if it doesn't kill them.

Then again, I mainly use mob killing weapons like the Scythe/Lunar Staff. So Wind Blades may be more useful for some of the other weapons like the Dragon Sword.

 

[outsida]

Anyone recommend what spells I should upgrade?

Really I would say it depends on what you have the most problems with. If its projectile enemies upgrade Art of Inferno, If its swarms of enemies Wind Blades, If its bosses do Piercing Void. I found the Phoenix magic to be almost worthless so do that one last no matter what.

 

[eshwaaz]

I just finished it last night, and I think my biggest complaint is that most of the long, fancy combos the game gives you for each weapon are useless. I'm no expert (so feel free to explain why I'm wrong here), but it seems that trying to use combos longer than 3 - 4 hits is just begging to get your ass kicked, even against grunt enemies, unless there are only a couple of them left.

It just feels like a waste of some amazing-looking moves and depth when there are almost no situations where they make sense to use. Again, let me know if I just suck, and how to use them effectively!

 

[PhatSaqs]

I just finished it last night, and I think my biggest complaint is that most of the long, fancy combos the game gives you for each weapon are useless. I'm no expert (so feel free to explain why I'm wrong here), but it seems that trying to use combos longer than 3 - 4 hits is just begging to get your ass kicked, even against grunt enemies, unless there are only a couple of them left.

It just feels like a waste of some amazing-looking moves and depth when there are almost no situations where they make sense to use. Again, let me know if I just suck, and how to use them effectively!

Against large groups or bosses stick and move is pretty much the only way to survive. You can usually only get fancy when there's not a mob around you.

 

[Shadow Moses]

Even an easier way to beat mid boss in chapter 9. I found it by mistake on my mentor run. This is a vid (poor quality) I uploaded of how to beat it. Works for Mentor and Master Ninja. You don't even have to do much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7KStEEZrHE

 

[Skilletor]

For that worm, I just charged up a UT with the Kusigama, waited until the screen started shaking and let go. The UT would hit, worm would run away, rinse repeat. I didn't get hit once.

 

[Shadow Moses]

For that worm, I just charged up a UT with the Kusigama, waited until the screen started shaking and let go. The UT would hit, worm would run away, rinse repeat. I didn't get hit once.

That worked for acolyte and warrior but I couldn't get it to work on mentor. I accidentally discovered the above method after dying a dozen+ times.

 

[Skilletor]

Eye sea. I'm only playing Warrior right now.

 

[FIREBABY]

Wow. I feel so sorry for the enemies now. Really. Once you learn the patterns this game is as easy as pie. My first play through kicked my balls hard. But now its like it has made me a better player. Go figure. Even with the Tonfas, I'm deadly now. On my third play through now. Also, the airship stage PA system messages are hilarious. I didn't listen to it the first time, but wow is it corny. "Protect the armadillo core!" ,I was wondering where/why the hell that thing popped out of the ship. Class A ninja alert!!!

 

[ShinAmano]

Boss Strategy for

Spoiler

Alexi

(On Mentor)...

Not sure if this is universal, but i just beat him without taking any damage...and it was really simple. Dragon Sword (level 2) XYY...repeat...win.

I don't stand by this as it may not work for everyone, but it seemed to stun him and he could not get out of it.

 

[ShinAmano]

Class A ninja alert!!!

Was awesome

Also if you think easy as pie...move on to Mentor and enjoy it being 'hard' again.

 

[FIREBABY]

Was awesome

Also if you think easy as pie...move on to Mentor and enjoy it being 'hard' again.

I'll think about it. I have a very nice Bravia I don't won't to destroy in a fit of anger:lol So close the first time. By the way what's really different besides enemy placements?

 

[ShinAmano]

I'll think about it. I have a very nice Bravia I don't won't to destroy in a fit of anger:lol So close the first time. By the way what's really different besides enemy placements?

They are stronger...and along with placement you encounter enemies from later in the game early on...plus they seem more aggressive.

 

[Kadey]

One thing I learned about this game. A good defense is a good offense. Being the aggressor makes a difference for me. I try and play guard and I get beaten pretty bad but if I keep attacking, I usually run around dodging stuff out of luck.

 

[sixteen-bit]

One thing I learned about this game. A good defense is a good offense. Being the aggressor makes a difference for me. I try and play guard and I get beaten pretty bad but if I keep attacking, I usually run around dodging stuff out of luck.

Pretty much.

Which is a shame because I preferred NG/NGB's unique defensive combat to other games in the genre.

 

[ElyrionX]

Pretty much.

Which is a shame because I preferred NG/NGB's unique defensive combat to other games in the genre.

Yep. I don't why people say the two games are the same. Sure, they have the same shitty art, the same graphics, the same enemies, the same weapons and even the same loading icon. But when it comes to the combat (the only thing that matters), the two games are like night and day. NG1's combat is so much more defensive oriented and strategic in nature whereas NGS2's combat is a lot more fluid and chaotic. You need to switch up your play style in order to succeed in each game.

To me, I got bored of NG1 around Chapter 12 or so but I really don't see myself getting bored with NG2. The combat is fantastic and the weapon is simply amazing. Every single weapon I've seen thus far is a viable option and every one of them is just so much fun to use.

I'm a huge DMC fanboy and think that DMC3 > NG1 but goddamnit NG2 is far and away my favourite action game ever. That's pretty amazing considering how much flaws the game has.

 

[bob_arctor]

Chapter 12 was so damn pretty and awesome. Wow. On 13 now, the very beginning. I don't want this game to end. :-(

 

[jay]

From beyond the grave, vaxadrin brings you the only TRUE Ninja Gaiden 2 review.

"Ninja Gaiden 2 is not an earth-shattering masterpiece. As much as the fan in me wants to spout absurd levels of hyperbole that put recent GTA4 and MGS4 reviews to shame, and devote five paragraphs to how this game’s Oscar-worthy story made me regret having even existed before its release date, I feel it’s more relevant to discuss why games like this are so important in the current landscape of the video game industry.

The game represents what I consider to be the “Nintendo Legacy.” Back in the Sega & Nintendo days, game were short. A combination of small development groups, limited resources, and hardware abilities of the time meant that games of the era were around 2-5 hours long. So how do you give a player lasting value to justify the price tag for such a short experience? You make your game balls-to-the-wall punishing, and force them to master the game mechanics simply to see the next level or boss fight.

However, something changed around the PS1 era. Suddenly people were playing 40 hour long JRPG’s just to see the FMV sequences, or marveling over Half Life because “that one thing explodes and kills that dude when you enter the room”. High scores became obsolete. Spectacle took priority over replayability and depth. All of this has escalated in magnitude with each succeeding generation."

More - http://videolamer.com/3542

 

[MCD]

If you’re a fan of action games in any capacity, and especially if you’re looking for a rewarding challenge, Ninja Gaiden 2 will welcome you with open arms, lovingly embrace you, then snap your neck. That is the mantra of the old Nintendo Legacy, before they started making games for the people who watch Oprah. That is why this game is so important.

:bow vaxadrin :bow2

 

[ShinAmano]

Chapter 12 was so damn pretty and awesome. Wow. On 13 now, the very beginning. I don't want this game to end. :-(

There is always Mentor and Master ninja to keep you occupied...and you could switch to OG Japanese voices and add the film filter to make a whole new experience.

 

[Saya]

Damn, I'm horrible with the kusarigama and having trouble with the single weapon run. I think it's the small delay when you start a combo with Y that's giving me trouble. Does anyone have some tips?

 

[bob_arctor]

There is always Mentor and Master ninja to keep you occupied...and you could switch to OG Japanese voices and add the film filter to make a whole new experience.

heh That was already done right from the start. I heard the American voices for the 1st time at my friends house over the weekend. Just awful. I think I may do single weapon runs before hitting up Mentor...

 

[Skilotonn]

Yep. I don't why people say the two games are the same. Sure, they have the same shitty art, the same graphics, the same enemies, the same weapons and even the same loading icon. But when it comes to the combat (the only thing that matters), the two games are like night and day. NG1's combat is so much more defensive oriented and strategic in nature whereas NGS2's combat is a lot more fluid and chaotic. You need to switch up your play style in order to succeed in each game.

To me, I got bored of NG1 around Chapter 12 or so but I really don't see myself getting bored with NG2. The combat is fantastic and the weapon is simply amazing. Every single weapon I've seen thus far is a viable option and every one of them is just so much fun to use.

I'm a huge DMC fanboy and think that DMC3 > NG1 but goddamnit NG2 is far and away my favourite action game ever. That's pretty amazing considering how much flaws the game has.

Well, seeing as I believe it was the very first interview with Itagaki about NGII, he saidsince way back that II going to be all about offense, which is one of the reasons why they put in the Obliteration Techniques, made the combat even faster, etc. - so congrats on coming up with that conclusion on your own...

Itagaki is smiling somewhere knowing that he succeeded in his goal to yet another person...

 

[goldenpp72]

im about to hit chapter 5 of master, very difficult so far. For those who are going to do it, A little one two punch that helped me, on chapter 3 after the second save I think, there is a ladder right next to it, when you go up you can turn around and jump back to find a talismen of rebirth. Why is that helpful? Well aside from being badass, in the next chapter the test of valor would usually reward you with one of those, so in turn it gives you a nice 50k on top of all the essence you earned in the test itself, I made like 80k just by doing that and im a lot more comfortable, even better is this level contains the xbox that refills all your health so it should be smooth sailing now.

 

[Spruce Moose]

Man, I'm just loving this game. Easily my favorite game this gen.

 

[Duderz]

Okay, so I just finished the demo on Acolyte (Ninja Dog!) and thought it was the perfect mix of difficulty for me. Is the whole game roughly this hard on this difficulty? If so, I may pick it up.

 

[C- Warrior]

Okay, so I just finished the demo on Acolyte (Ninja Dog!) and thought it was the perfect mix of difficulty for me. Is the whole game roughly this hard on this difficulty? If so, I may pick it up.

No.

 

[Attack You]

Okay, so I just finished the demo on Acolyte (Ninja Dog!) and thought it was the perfect mix of difficulty for me. Is the whole game roughly this hard on this difficulty? If so, I may pick it up.

Sure. Although, I played through Warrior (next step up from Acolyte) first, and found myself dozing off* at times when playing through Acolyte afterwards. I think Acolyte and Warrior strike a fair balance in their enemy mobs -- unlike Mentor with its projectile spam. Grr.

* - I was sleepy at the time.

Edit:

Well that's a first. Was fighting the ch.3 boss and as I ran away from the blue face, I turned back around and the boss was gone. Life bar was stil lthere, but the boss just u pand dissapeared.

Yeah, that happened to me once. I got the camera to track him eventually, and found him floating around in "dead" space far outside the play area. He could still fire those electric shots at me and cause damage, too.

 

[X26]

Well that's a first. Was fighting the ch.3 boss and as I ran away from the blue face, I turned back around and the boss was gone. Life bar was stil lthere, but the boss just u pand dissapeared.

 

[a Master Ninja]

Well that's a first. Was fighting the ch.3 boss and as I ran away from the blue face, I turned back around and the boss was gone. Life bar was stil lthere, but the boss just u pand dissapeared.

I love this game but that is reason #435 it needs a patch badly.

 

[Duderz]

No.

Sure.

Awesome. Thanks guys!

 

[C- Warrior]

Sure. Although, I played through Warrior (next step up from Acolyte) first, and found myself dozing off* at times when playing through Acolyte afterwards. I think Acolyte and Warrior strike a fair balance in their enemy mobs -- unlike Mentor with its projectile spam. Grr.

* - I was sleepy at the time.

Okay, not really.

To the poster who poised this question : the game gets harder. The game gets annoying in many spots. And in my opinion, the demo stage is probably one of the better stages, other than maybe the airplane stage.

I do believe I'm more versed in action games than most people, I even completed Ninja Gaiden Black on it's higher difficulty settings. But even on acolyte I had trouble with NG II. The instances of bad boss design, annoying camera doesn't really come to fruition on the demo level. Fighting back to back bosses with no saves, fighting two of the most annoying bosses at the same time, fighting all the bosses over again many back to back without saves represents a higher difficulty setting than what was in the demo.

As for anecdotal evidence, my roommate or anyone in my floor can't get passed the quarter mark in this game and simply gave up. They aren't hardcore GAF gamers, but let's just say this game -does not have- an easy mode.

All I can say is that I play a lot of action games and playing NG II even on easy had many instances of frustration.

If you're concerned with difficulty you really should give it a rent. I finished the game at about 8 to 9 hours. And this game does have a lot of value in it's gameplay (there aren't any extras), but this value only comes through a hardcore tinge. For those aiming for leaderboards, finishing the game on absurdly hard difficulty levels etc. I feel the game is worth the price since I can play it on multiple difficulty settings. But if you feel you can barely clear it on easy, than there is no value.

Also I'm annoyed that there aren't carry over stats between difficulty settings. I really wanted to use the Tonfas on the next playthrough on Mentor in the earlier chapters.

 

[Duderz]

Okay, sounds like I'd better rent the game instead from what you said. I definitely enjoyed what I played, but boss rushes would definitely have me pulling my hair out. Thanks for the info.

 

[Gig]

Hmm, something weird happened, when I was fighting the water dragon after I died the Talisman of Rebirth didn't activate, and this happened more than once. Also, man is fighting on water annoying!

 

[C- Warrior]

Okay, sounds like I'd better rent the game instead from what you said. I definitely enjoyed what I played, but boss rushes would definitely have me pulling my hair out. Thanks for the info.

Yeah, if you want to experience the game on it's easiest (most fair) setting, a rental is more than enough. Keep in mind easy (ninja dog/ acolyte / whatever you want to call it) is not easy at all.

If you like to master and play through action games on multiple higher difficulty settings, this game has a lot of value. But it's a type of value that only resonates with certain gamers looking for a certain experience.