Sliced, Diced, or Made Whole? (cntd)

Several changes and additions make up for this a little but don’t make the overall experience any more inviting than the first game. The refinement of the health system from being static to being regenerative once all the enemies in the area have been dispatched is very welcoming. Seemingly hearing the heart-retching cries of its fans Team Ninja has increased the number of save points within each stage and has spaced them out appropriately this time around, meaning you won’t have to go far before you find one right after a boss battle. Save points also fully heal this time around which is a godsend. The new weapons, bringing the total to nine in all, are a mixed bag of both well thought out and poor planned ideas. The scythe is without doubt the most powerful weapon of the game and the talons are absurdly fun to use weapons like the kusari-gama. The twin swords are disappointingly weak even when maxed out.

One of the best refinements however doesn’t truly affect the gameplay but instead eases the burden upon the player. I’m speaking of the menu system which this time around has been streamlined and is much faster and easier to work with than ever before. Taking exclusive control of the Xbox 360’s directional pad, players can on-the-fly equip any weapon or use almost any item in their arsenal. While character refining items like the Jewel of Demon Souls have to be accessed within the game’s pause menu, the d-pad select option is a great way to pause and assess the situation before jumping right back into the heat of battle.

Overall though the additions and changes, while beneficial, are simply not enough to justify Itagaki-san’s claims of Ninja Gaiden II being an evolutionary step over the first game.

You Didn’t Really Need that Arm, Did You?

The gameplay in Ninja Gaiden is a very memorable experience for everyone as it, while very similar in concept, feels worlds apart from games like Devil May Cry and God of War. Focusing almost entirely on melee combat save for a few unique instances, Ninja Gaiden II continues on from its predecessor with lightning fast combat with unrelenting enemies outnumbering you at times more than a dozen to one.

The most exciting addition, and one that changes up the combat significantly, is the ability to dismember your enemies. When this occurs the enemy will continue to attack but won’t be near a threat as the other intact ones on screen. Some will even attempt to take you out kamikaze style should you do so. Dismembering an enemy allows you to initiate what is called an obliteration technique, a God of War-like sequence in which Ryu kills the enemy in various gruesome ways that are dependent on both what weapon you are using and what enemy is the target. The end result is a spectacular gore fest that never gets old and even counts toward gamer score points.

Ninja Gaiden II still has some issues though. The difficulty curve, while more friendly to players on the lower settings, can be obscenely annoying at times for even veterans. Several poor game design choices have been implemented specifically to select boss fights designed to hamper a player’s progress. The most prominent example is the battle against the giant volcanic armadillo (you read that right) who, when you defeat him, explodes and instantly kills the player unless they are using a ninpo spell at the exact time of the explosion. It is not uncommon for levels to have 2 or even 3 boss battles apiece as well as large brawls after several of them as well. One particularly frustrating event occurs directly after a tough fight toward the end of the game. After you have defeated a boss a path is opened to you to advance only to be blocked by a field of mines that are near invisible onscreen. This ultimately leads you to your death and having to redo the previous boss battle again. Shame Itagaki, shame.