Ninja Gaiden Series

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, in terms of there being no hype, this series was always more of an underground hit, since it was more for hardcore gamers. I remember that NG2 barely had any hype behind it either except for from Ninja Gaiden fans. The fact that NG3 is trying to reach out to the casual crowd and still has almost no hype surrounding it just proves how lackluster the game becomes when it loses focus on what made the first 2 games so special in the first place. That is to say, it looks like another generic action game. I could easily see people confusing this game with Ninja Blade and they honestly wouldn't be too far off based on what I've seen of the game in previews and such.

I'm willing to be that the game will receive relatively low reception from both fans and critics alike, though, so maybe if Team Ninja is actually listening this time, they'll realize they're going in completely the wrong direction and keep that in mind for the next game....IF there is a next game in the NG series. I still fear that this game will be the death of the franchise, but maybe I'm just overreacting and jumping to conclusions.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, being that I finally have a bit of free-time on my hands to get in a few hours of gaming, I popped in Ninja Gaiden II for the first time in nearly a year just to have a little bit of mindless fun. I say mindless in that I was playing on Warrior difficulty, which when I used to play the game a lot because so easy for me compared to the harder difficulties that it almost felt like a joke. Well....boy have I gotten rusty in the year that I've been away from this game. I could still make it through the first level without having to heal (including by using save statues, being that I didn't bother saving at all except for after beating the level itself), and I never died once for what I played through (which was only up to the mid-way point of the 2nd level), but I was really getting my ass-kicked by the most basic enemies in the game. The main reason for this was because my timing was way off. I didn't realize it before when I used to play the game a lot because I got so used to timing my attacks/combos, blocks, counters, and skillful dodging of enemy attacks. However, after having played other action games with much more forgiving timing and looser combat mechanics, coming back to NG2 really shows me how much stricter the game is. Its a lot more tight and responsive than the combat controls for most other action games, but it does require a certain amount of practice to get down right, otherwise you'll just be button mashing for the whole game and will get your ass kicked. Really, though, I like this sort of system. It makes me want to get better at it all over again and really experiment with the different strategical uses for various weapons and their unique combos and such.

From what I've heard from skilled NG veterans who've played various versions of the NG3 preview-build demos via various public gaming events, the combat mechanics in that game are apparently a lot more forgiving than previous games, and the game allows for a lot more button-mashing than in previous games (though they did at least say that Hard mode forced you to start playing a bit more carefully). If the game really does turn out to screw with the basic combat mechanics, then it'll be more disheartening than I thought. I mean limiting the game to only the sword was more than stupid enough as it is, but I really hope that they didn't seriously fuck around with even the combat mechanics of swords in this game as well.

[Foggle]

The whole sword-only thing doesn't really bother me, to be honest. By that, I mean to say that I often play with only the Dragon Sword, just because I find it more satisfying to use than the other weapons (I'm not really sure why, though). But it's stupid that they cut all the other weapons out of the game, since I know I'm in the minority there.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I used to be like that because it was easier to use the Dragon Sword, since its sort of like a crutch being that it has some easy to spam attacks and is probably the fastest weapon in terms of getting that initial hit in (which is important since once you get one hit in you can temporarily stun-lock the enemy and get them into a combo). But honestly, I'd argue that relying only on the Dragon Sword is like missing out on more than half of the game. To be honest the other weapons have just as much depth to them as the Dragon Sword, and its clear that the developers put a lot of effort into each one. Its just that they reach require an initial hurdle to overcome since unlike most other games with more than one weapon, these ones are actually all unique to one another and play completely differently. So I can understand only relying on the DS because initially that's all I wanted to do as well, but honestly as far as NG2 goes, I no longer think that they are even close to the best weapon in the game. Most of the hardcore fans gravitate towards the Tonfas, and that's because those are INSANELY fun to use once you realize how you're supposed to use them. They also have the most satisfying UT in the game.

Also, in terms of usefulness, the Lunar Staff is actually by far the most useful weapon in NG2 when you need it on the harder difficulty settings. That said, its only because one one specific ability it has, which is its alternate UT (which is funny because I never even KNEW that some weapons had alternate UTs until my 2nd time playing through the game ). Seriously, though, that thing absolutely destroys fiends and rapes most boss's health if you use it effectively. Its almost too overpowered in some instances. The Falcon's Talons are also overpowered, but not to quite the same extent, but they are also quite fun to use.

The other weapons, being the Dual Katanas (which aren't as well-controlled as just the Dragon Sword alone), Kusari-Gama, Vigoorian Flails, and Eclipse Scythe aren't nearly as good as the Dragon Sword or the other 3 weapons on the same level, IMO, but they are still fun to experiment with and definitely each have their own unique charm going for them.

To me taking all of those other weapons out of the game just takes away so much of the soul of a 3D NG game. The Dragon Sword is a great weapon, but I just love having the option to experiment with something new whenever I want to, and I do feel that NG players at least deserve that option even if some such as yourself don't really care to use it (which is fine, but like I said, its still great to have the option available). To me, personally, having an NG game without other weapons is like having a Ratchet and Clank game without any weapons except for the most basic starting gun. To some that may seem like a stretch, but that's really how I feel about it, honestly.

[Foggle]

I'm pretty decent with a good portion of the other weapons, but I guess I just like the feel of the regular sword more because I'm better at using it. I'm definitely not hardcore enough for the higher difficulties.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, Mentor mode is pretty bearable once you get used to it and actually really fun with the perfect level of challenge once you get good at it. Master Ninja in NG2, on the other hand, is a fucking chore. Its very beatable, yes, but it really forces you to utlize some cheap tactics like spamming UTs and such throughout various portions of the game. Trying to free-style your way through that mode means that you're basically just relying on luck half of the time. Its the only part of the game where I do agree with most of the statements regarding BS difficulty and cheapness, because it does cross that fine line between challenging and just being plane unfair. That said Mentor mode is the perfect difficulty setting for me. When I was playing this game a lot, I couldn't bear to go back to Acolyte or Warrior mode because they ended up feeling so easy in comparison that they weren't even fun for me. That said now I suck at Warrior mode too, so it works well enough if I decide to continue playing through the rest of the game during my free-time.

[Foggle]

I tried Mentor mode once and the first boss buttblasted me so hard that I almost developed PTSD from it. Path of the Warrior is good enough for me, thanks.

Acolyte is lame, though. That's like playing Ninja Dog... it's just too easy for a game such as this one.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yet somehow reviewers claimed that Acolyte mode was still far too hard for new players. Well, maybe they were right for all I know, but I thought it was a joke in terms of difficulty, and I for one always fully admitted that I am not very good at video games, but just merely average at most of them. I mean, you could basically get away with button-mashing through almost every single fight in that mode. Its quite saddening if modern gamers actually consider that to be a challenge....

[Foggle]

Yeah, I'm admittedly not very good at vidya games, and I was able to make it through Warrior mode okay. Unfortunately, my achievements were tied to someone else's account by accident, so the internet will never know of my accomplishment (oh noes!). I do plan on finishing my current playthrough soon, though. It's kind of strange that I've only beaten NG 2 once, though... I keep going back to the first game for more.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That's no surprise. The thing is, NG2 has great foundations but its a very flawed game. That is to say that it has a great groundwork (an amazing combat system), and it has some awesome and challenging enemies, but everything else about the game is severely lacking. To put it simply, its an unfinished game, and its all too obvious. Its extremely glitchy in some areas, most of the boss fights are crap and a lot of them feel like they function without rhyme or reason, and there isn't nearly as much thought put into the level design as with the previous game. The game was clearly rushed out the door since Itagaki wanted to leave Tecmo as soon as possible (or they wanted him to leave as soon as possible, I'm not sure which, but either way he had to leave quickly). I really feel like this game still needed another year in development to be tweaked and fine-tuned to be as polished as it possibly could. And no, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is NOT what I think a polished, finished version of this game was meant to look like.

As for Ninja Gaiden Black, it was in development for a long longer than NG2, and it was itself a re-working of an already solid game, since NG1 was already the best action game around when it came out. Itagaki just took it and actually finished it with NGB.

[Foggle]

Sigma 2 is really dumb. If anything, it feels more unfinished than the original. "Let's replace fun enemy encounters with some of those dogs! Yeah, that'll be great!"

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I still LOVE to use this example of how big of a fuck-up Sigma 2 is.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, if nothing else at least its confirmed that fiends are in NG3. I mean its already shitty enough with how it limits you in every other department, so having only human enemies in the game would have been yet another nail in the coffin, but it has been confirmed in various instances that "fantastical creatures/monsters appear as enemies in the game." According to BBFC (basically Britain's equivalent of ESRB), they even have "zombies" back in this game again.

Still, that's not enough to save it from being a piece of shit, but I guess even this little bit of info makes me glad to see that it hasn't totally abandoned everything from previous NG games.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Here is a really good video I found about how awesome of a game NG1 is. Granted that, I'm not sure why the reviewer seems to think that everyone hated this game, especially when he admits that it was a critically acclaimed game. That said he's totally right that this game got unfairly overshadowed by all of the other big 2004 releases. Had this released either a year earlier or a year later, it probably would have been far more popular and mainstream than it is now (which is to say that its still mainstream, but just barely cross that line between mainstream and a niche title).

The only thing I really disagree with him on (and everyone else for that matter), is that the camera really isn't that bad, especially in NGB where you have the ability to control it manually. It only ever screwed me up a few times in the game, but at least 99% of my hundreds of deaths in this game were my fault, completely. Also, he's right about how after you get over the initial hump in the first couple of levels, the difficulty only ever seems just barely above you're current skill level, so it feels like an attainable goal rather than something that's ridiculously impossible. That's what kept me playing through the game the whole way through. The difficulty and challenge level was just right that it compelled me to get better and beat the next big challenge to move on. Basically this game is difficulty done right.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, according to a leaked version of the OXM review, this game is pretty much everything I expected: A watered down version of the previous 3D NG games. It does state that the game has 5 difficulty modes, though, and here are the descriptions for each (as worded from the magazine, apparently, according to the person who posted up the info of the review):

Hero: A Nice label for what this pathetically easy mode has always been called- Ninja Dog.

Normal: Might as well call it "wuss-fest 2012" If you're a Gaiden veteran. Do not start here if you've ever completed a Ninja Gaiden game.

Hard: Bad guys get a bit tougher and it takes longer for your ninpo meter to build up. Series fans should probably start here.

Master Ninja: The badge of honor for masochistic gamers. Here you'll face not only tougher foes, but more of them as well. The attack dogs thrown at you here on the very first level aren't seen on the lower difficulty tiers until halfway through the game.

Ultimate Ninja: Itagaki would be proud. Your technique had better be perfect, because one hit from the weakest enemy will drain half of your health. Happy hunting...or more accurately, happy dying!

Ultimate Ninja sounds fucking stupid and its COMPLETELY against what the difficulty of Itagaki's NG games were all about. Both NGB and NG2 never had OHK moves from enemies even on Master Ninja mode. The game didn't punish you for making just 1 mistake, but instead the design took into account that you would inevitably make some mistakes and instead the difficulty was more about adjusting to the current situation and making up for any mistakes that you made as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Apparently nobody told Hayashi this after he made grabs kill you in just 1 hit in Master Ninja mode for NGS2. People hated this mode even more than the original game's Master Ninja mode, as broken as that could be at times. Hayashi claimed that he had listened to fan input, but that's obviously a load of shit. While I have beaten the first 2 games on their hardest difficulties and was looking to carry on the tradition even in this lesser installment of the series (whenever I actually even get to it), it looks as though this may be the first time I don't bother beating an NG game on its hardest difficulty. That's because Ultimate Ninja seems way harder than any previous NG game....but for the dumbest possible reason.

Shit like this is basically the definition of artificial difficulty. That is to say, rather than carefully designing and balancing the harder difficulty levels from the ground up, Hayashi took the lazy way out and just made it so that you die in a couple of hits, and then decided that hardcore fans would like that since apparently he thinks we are masochists. Fucking bullshit.