Ninja Gaiden II Black (2025)

I really wanted to like this game. At the beginning it was promising. But its inconsistencies in the core mechanics just would not allow me to overlook the flaws. It has those unanimated delays between attack and block, but once you get used to the timing it gets pretty simple. Even the boss fights. For me, I found the first two bosses very difficult because I had to get used to the timing and movement but once I got the hang of it I barely found any enemy difficult to handle.

There are so many frustrating elements, even though I could get used to them, I found myself unable to play for more than an hour each session. I just felt that it is too tiresome, every single time.

That weird camera angle, which sometimes you can control and sometimes not. Then, no enemy lock on - Ryu would attack in the air if you aren't facing the enemy (this is especially annoying when you're fighting just one enemy). If you're in the center of a hoard it is very difficult to see where you are, especially if you are surrounded by ninjas. A lot of times I found myself pressing buttons blindly to get out of the hoard. Then, the camera does not automatically focus on enemies when you are in combat, and sometimes it does, it is very inconsistent at that. The game wants you to be aware of all the enemies during combat so you can time your blocks and dodges but the camera just wouldn't move the way you want it to. In combat you have to plan 2 steps ahead, once you begin your combo / rush you must be remain aware of what other enemies are doing so you can be ready to dodge, because you can't interrupt the chain and must wait for it to finish, plus an additional ~300 ms to 500 ms for the block button to respond (unanimated delay). BUT you can't see yourself when you're inside the hoard and the camera would just set itself at an inconvenient angle as you move around in the arena. This becomes extremely annoying when the hoard just doesn't stop spawning. Also, the camera doesn't respond well to mouse inputs. It is not smooth, it will not move in certain direction. Button inputs are fine.

The story is quite generic nothing special here. The narrative doesn't really help you to connect with the characters either. I haven't played the old Ninja Gaiden, but the graphics are well polished, visually appealing, which can make you forget that it is a remaster of an old game.

All that being said, the even though the combat system is annoying, executing combos is very satisfying. All that hack and slash kept me coming back enough that I wanted to complete the story, albeit halfheartedly. But I just couldn't cope with all that frustration building up. At one point the game started throwing unceasing hoard of enemies, I could barely see what my character is doing and I was more or less smashing buttons blindly, the camera angles added to the frustration.

I am unsure if I will go back to finish it.

Update: Finished it despite all that annoyance, not feeling so great.

The original Ninja Gaiden 2 came out the day I graduated High School. Then about a week later Metal Gear Solid 4 came out. That was a good time.

I'm really shocked at how glad I am that this series is coming back to prominence. The announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 being developed by Platinum gave me something to look forward to. Which is something I think we all really need lately.

Anyway, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. An enhanced version of Ninja Gaiden 2, which is absolutely one of the most insane games ever made. There's so little consistency in the areas and enemies that you come across. Start in a Tokyo that has flying cars for some reason, then head to NYC to fight a lightning demon on top of the Statue of Liberty, and then make a beeline to Venice to fight werewolves. It's in stark contrast to the first game that starts with you fighting enemy ninja, then some SWAT style security guys, the military, and then pretty much just demons. It's much less congruous than the first game, which I didn't like as a teen, but now, I kind of think of it just as part of the game's charm.

This game made me realize that action games have changed quite a bit since I was 18. I remember being absolutely floored with Bayonetta when I first played it. The dodge into Witch Time was one of the coolest gameplay mechanics I had seen at that point. But now, that's almost standard for action games. That kind of became Platinum's go-to for defensive options.

No such option exists in Ninja Gaiden. Ryu is improbably good at blocking, and you have a dash to avoid incoming attacks, but mainly you'll be blocking. And you'll be doing it a lot, because the enemies in this game are RELENTLESS. Even de-limbing them won't stop them. It will just make them more likely to use attacks dangerous for both of you. But that's where the Obliteration move comes in.

This is fast-paced, frenetic game where you will fight waves of ninjas, demons, and demon ninjas, often at the same time. At its peak, it's incredibly fun, and the weapon variety is frankly kind of too big, but that just gives you more options.

On the downside: The bosses are a bit disappointing compared to what we may be used to from more recent action games. Sometimes they have invincibility frames, sometimes they don't. It's kind of hard to figure out. Occasionally an attack that hit them seconds ago just won't land even though you clearly passed through them. Probably some way to balance out the Flying Swallow move to keep it from destroying bosses like it did in the first game.

Also, the difficulty is all over the place. Some bosses will absolutely melt against a decent sword combo, but others just won't stop attacking and I had to rely on the Ninpo attacks to take them down. But that also gets balanced out by health items which are much more accessible in NG2. Despite the difficulty, I think only died like twice (not counting my one use of a Talisman of Rebirth).

The main takeaway is that this is really more a beat-em-up style game, rather than a character action game. Enemies absolutely mob you, but you're given plenty of fun ways to deal with them. It's insanely fun.

Ninja Gaiden was my introduction into the genre now known as character action. Character action then became my favorite genre, so Ninja Gaiden is foundational to my love of video games. This series is what I use to compare other action games to in order to determine what they are doing right and wrong. It captures everything an action game needs to be great:

1. Feels amazing to play
2. Has depth and variety that's fun to engage with
3. It's cool as hell

These are what matter to me. There's been talk of this being built from Sigma 2 which I've never played. I notice how there are fewer enemies to fight compared to when I last played the original Ninja Gaiden 2 a few years ago. It doesn't effect my enjoyment because I never idolized the difficulty of Ninja Gaiden. These games just need to be difficult enough to require players to dig into the depth and variety it has to offer. It makes learning the game rewarding. They don't need to be hard. It's because Ninja Gaiden nails the three qualities I'm looking for in an action game that I keep playing in spite of the high difficulty. I always felt Ninja Gaiden 2 was easier than 1 anyways, and that never made me love it less.

Since I've never played Sigma 2, I was surprised and delighted by the extra levels starring Momiji, Rachel, and Ayane. This was cool as hell and proves to me the Sigma hate was bullshit. You got all of this and complained. I saw people whining that these levels weren't skippable. We are not the same. I am disappointed I can't play as them for the entire game like in Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge though.

This is a better-looking, better-running version of one of the greatest games of all time. This is a very exciting time to be a Ninja Gaiden fan.

To jump in on the Ninja Gaiden vs. Souls-likes conversation. Souls-likes are definitely not the same thing, but it did bother me how they are credited for high difficulty as if super hard games didn't exist before. I don't care much for the genre outside of what Team Ninja themselves made. I feel Team Ninja's Souls-likes hit the three qualities I mentioned earlier to make a great action game while also nailing the customization and character-building I love in RPGs. From Software's Bloodborne and Sekiro don't. Those are the only two I've played from them, and I don't plan on playing any more. I think there's some cool things about them such as strange and grotesque enemy designs, but they don't feel as good to play and there are some mechanics I don't think are good in those games such as the gun parry. They also lack the depth Team Ninja brings to the table. From Software seems to find a couple of ideas and stick to them. Their games feel basic to me and end up getting tired and boring.