Ninja Gaiden Series

[talonmalon333]

I just spent a lot of time trying to get through a single area. Just past that portion in the village where you're attacked by those horseback riders, I had to fight another one of them on a small bridge, and they were on fire and had the help of those enemies that teleport and shoot beams. I really died quite a few times in that area. But what I like about the difficulty is that, when I die, I can frequently pinpoint the reason why I failed, so that I can try to correct it when I try again. I have yet to feel like I died for something that couldn't have possibly been my fault, and even though I'm still early in the game, I have faith that the game will continue to balance its difficulty this way until the end. It's that good kind of challenge where, even when you get frustrated, it's frustrating in a way that makes you want to try again and do it right, and then feel such satisfaction when you accomplish that.

Though I'm sure you guys have said that countless times by now, even just within this thread, so I'm probably not saying anything new. Just humor me because, as much as you guys are probably well familiar with this game, it's new to me. I just wanted to state that early on because I'll probably be preaching to the choir all throughout my playthrough of this game.

Now I have a question, which I want to ask while I'm still this early in the game. To start... I kind of... missed the Lunar Staff that you were referring to earlier, E-K. I'm a bit annoyed with myself because, considering how hard this game will probably be, I can't be making mistakes like that again. Will I get the chance to go back to earlier areas in the near future, such as the first part of the village as well as the temple from Act I, so that I can pick it up? If not, do you think it would be best if I just start the game over again and make sure I get that staff before getting too far?

[Foggle]

The Lunar Staff is not available until Chapter 4 in Sigma. It's only unlocked from the start in Black.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, my bad Talon. I forgot that Hayashit saw fit to change the placement of the Lunar Staff for no reason (at least on Normal difficulty). It's really useful for that fight. But don't worry, you can still use the strategy that I told you about with the Dragon Sword instead. Just keep in mind that it has a shorter attack range than the staff, so you'll have to let enemies get a bit closer to connect with a UT.

And yes, I love how the challenge in this game is by design rather than cheap enemies or bad controls, something that Team Ninja forgot after Itagaki left. I also died a shit-ton on my first playthrough, but rather than get frustrated and quit, I was usually just compelled to come back for more, and keep trying again until I got it right. Very few games these days can perfectly craft that intense but still fun and rewarding level of challenge.

The best part is that on replays, you can easily brush off sections that beat the crap out of you on your first playthrough like they are nothing, and wonder how you ever found them hard to begin with. That happened to me when I just replayed NGB on Normal for fun a few years ago, a game that I had already beat on Master Ninja.

[talonmalon333]

No problem. I'm just glad I didn't miss it.

Another thing I really like is that the enemies in the game seem really smart. I'm not sure how smart they are compared to enemies from other hack and slash games, but the AI for them seems especially good as if they were actually being controlled by a real player!

Also, whenever I die multiple times in a row, on the Game Over screen it will occasionally ask me if I want to abandon the ways of the ninja. Is that a recommendation to switch over to easy mode? If I were to name a tiny nitpick I have with the game so far, that would be the only one, if only because when I die I have a habit of repeatedly hitting the X button to get past the Game Over screen, but I have to be careful to avoid not saying "Yes" to abandoning the ways of the ninja. And I'm going to play through this game on nothing less than Normal difficulty.

[gunswordfist]

Heh, I played II on Ninja Dog and enjoyed it.

[Foggle]

Also, whenever I die multiple times in a row, on the Game Over screen it will occasionally ask me if I want to abandon the ways of the ninja. Is that a recommendation to switch over to easy mode? If I were to name a tiny nitpick I have with the game so far, that would be the only one, if only because when I die I have a habit of repeatedly hitting the X button to get past the Game Over screen, but I have to be careful to avoid not saying "Yes" to abandoning the ways of the ninja. And I'm going to play through this game on nothing less than Normal difficulty.

Hayashit really wants you to take the easy way out.

I need to pick up a retail copy of Black someday.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That particular feature only comes up during the first level in NGB, and was copied directly from that very same feature from the first Devil May Cry game. After you clear the first level, it never asks you again no matter how many times that you die, since the logic is that clearly you either don't want or need to switch to easy (Ninja Dog) mode by that point. Hayashit clearly couldn't comprehend this concept, and thus fixed it so that the game would keep pestering you about this at challenging sections no matter how far you get.

[talonmalon333]

So between constantly asking you to abandon the ways of the ninja, and moving the Lunar Staff, I'm already starting to see why you guys don't like Yosuke Hayashi.

Also, taking the discussion to the 2D games for a moment, I recently learned about the SNES remakes of the NG trilogy. Are those good?

[Foggle]

The Sigma 1 changes are stupid but not particularly egregious. It's inferior to Black, sure, but nothing like what Team Ninja Dog did with Sigma 2 and NG3...

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've only played the emulated version of those. Sometimes the controls are unresponsive (but rarely) and it uses the Japanese version of NG3 with regular health damage and unlimited continues, but the game also has some inexplicable lag issues in some sections that weren't present in the original. So, they aren't perfect ports, but aside from a few minor changes and set-backs, they are the same exact games and perfectly playable.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Sigma 1 had a few positive changes:

-Better graphics and lighting (obviously)
-The ability to shoot your bow from mid-air
-Running on water is simplified
-Adds the Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang as a new weapon

Every other change or addition is either pointless or serves to only make the game feel inferior to Black. Aside from the Rachael missions, though, it's still a great game and mostly follows the original version.

Also, it inexplicably removes the two coolest unlockable alternate costumes from NGB.

[talonmalon333]

I'm in the middle of the third chapter, the airship, and just conquered one of the most fun parts of the game so far that I've experienced. It's a giant room where you face wave after wave of enemies. I love the combat in this game and found that part to be really exhilarating. Seriously, I spent over half an hour on that room, constantly trying to beat it and constantly failing. But I ultimately came out on top and it felt so good.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Oh, quick note: make sure that you grab all 3 Golden Scarabs on the airship before completing the chapter (unless Hayashit changed the locations of those as well), since this is one of the few areas in the game that you can't go back to once you complete it. It's not too big a deal, though, if you don't really care about getting 100% completion, but the reward for collecting all 50 of them is pretty cool.

As for that airship section, are you talking about the bit where you are turning the crank to extend the bridge while waves of enemies attack you, or where you have to descend in an elevator and fight waves of enemies in different rooms around the command deck?

Either way, it's a really cool level aesthetically, and a fun way to introduce you to the industrial theme of the Vigoor Empire.

Speaking of large waves of enemies, you should be aware that there are certain sections in the game where it seems like endless waves of enemies keep spawning in certain rooms. If this happens, it's called a Fiend challenge, and that means that it's optional to complete, or you can skip it and move on. These do however yield a reward upon completion, and you earn a ton of currency just for all of the enemies that you kill, so it is worth completting the easier ones like the ones with the Pill Bug or Wasp demons. Stuff with ninjas or bigger enemies will be considerably harder to complete, though, and aren't worth the effort on your first run through, as they are meant for more experienced players.

[talonmalon333]

Oh, quick note: make sure that you grab all 3 Golden Scarabs on the airship before completing the chapter (unless Hayashit changed the locations of those as well), since this is one of the few areas in the game that you can't go back to once you complete it. It's not too big a deal, though, if you don't really care about getting 100% completion, but the reward for collecting all 50 of them is pretty cool.

Thanks for letting me know. I don't think I've seen any yet but I'll try to find them.

As for that airship section, are you talking about the bit where you are turning the crank to extend the bridge while waves of enemies attack you, or where you have to descend in an elevator and fight waves of enemies in different rooms around the command deck?

Either way, it's a really cool level aesthetically, and a fun way to introduce you to the industrial theme of the Vigoor Empire.

It was shortly after the bit where I had to turn the crank. It was a big square room with a bunch of crates in the back, and enemies were leaping through the windows non-stop. It was a lot of fun. Every time I died, I felt less frustrated, and more good about how I could tell I was slowly getting better and better.

One thing I think I need to make improvement on is that I haven't yet found many good uses for the bow and charge-up moves. This is because the combat is so fast paced that, during battles, I can never find ways to effectively pull off slower attacks. There have been a few moments where I used the charge up moves, but with the bow I only found one moment I was able to use it well (it was a section in the airship where I had to kill two enemies that were far away). I imagine when I get better I will find better ways to utilize these strengths, though.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

The bow is really only meant for long-range kills, shooting switches to activate something (exactly like in Zelda), and certain boss fights. It's not really meant to be used for regular combat with normal enemies, so don't worry about that too much. The shurikens are useful for stunning enemies, canceling out of certain attacks (an advanced mechanic that you don't need to worry about at all on Normal difficulty), and killing bats quickly.

With the charge-up moves (UTs), just reference my earlier post explaining how that mechanic works. Maybe I could also see if there is a tutorial video to link to. I'm all for having you discover stuff on your own, but that one aspect of combat comes in really handy.

As for the Golden Scarabs, just look up the location of the ones on the airship online. Most of the other ones are in places that you can access at multiple points throughout the game, but you only get one chance to grab the ones on the airship.