.: The Official Ninja Gaiden II Thread (Reviews are coming in!) :. (56k warning)

[QUOTE="D3s7rUc71oN"]I'm done with this game for... now, the ch.9 end boss battle pushed it for me. The camera is so SUCKY its not even funny, I don't even know where I'm getting attacked from. I just can't put up with **** like this, the boss isn't tough but how can I fight when I don't even know where am I getting attacked from? I'm VERY dissapointed, I'll just wait and play DMC4 Heaven or Hell mode until MGS4 releases. dvader654

Its that bad, really. Is it cause the size of the areas, the camera worked fine in NG1 I thought, went went wrong in this one.

I rarely had any problems in the 1st game if any, you could just reset the camera pulling the right trigger. The problem in this game is the camera way lower than the 1st game, in some fights its centered around Ryu's waist making you have a limited amount of view. Pulling the right trigger doesn't help much in those cases, especially where I am. The camera gets wild due to enemies circling around in the air attacking you from different sides.

I don't want to ruin the game for those enjoying it, but the camera really BREAKS this game in some areas.

So I got further into 9, and it's almost as if two different teams were making this game. One team, with the adage of: what would be really cool in our game? The other with: how do we make this game suck and unfun to play?

The level is awesome from a design perspective, but you hit the first open area and are greeted with endlessly spawning rocket spammers, in the dark. So now not only do you have to wrestle the camera to see, but your enemies are in the dark. And it doesn't matter if you kill them anyway, since they just go all COD4 on you and respawn.

Someone very lame and with a complete hatred of life, all living things, and especially gamers worked on this game.

Someone very lame and with a complete hatred of life, all living things, and especially gamers worked on this game.

Shame-usBlackley

This guy?:P That is too bad about the camera and the cheapness guys. I knew this game was too tough for the likes of my pansy ass. You guys are just reaffirming that for me.

[QUOTE="Shame-usBlackley"]

Someone very lame and with a complete hatred of life, all living things, and especially gamers worked on this game.

rragnaar

This guy?:P That is too bad about the camera and the cheapness guys. I knew this game was too tough for the likes of my pansy ass. You guys are just reaffirming that for me.

Toughness is one thing, this is just poor mechanics. I just beat the open area in 9 that I was talking about, and it's just LOL-worthy. It's so bad that Itagaki shouldn't have even attached his name to it. After beating off the wave of rocket spammers, then you have to water-run to take out flying rocket-spamming turrets. The camera has absolutely no idea what to do, so it just craps its pants and sucks its thumb in the corner.

I really can't believe how quickly my opinion of this game is changing.

The camera has absolutely no idea what to do, so it just craps its pants and sucks its thumb in the corner.

Shame-usBlackley

:lol:...I realize the situation itself isn't funny, but this is the funniest thing I've read all day.

[QUOTE="rragnaar"][QUOTE="Shame-usBlackley"]

Someone very lame and with a complete hatred of life, all living things, and especially gamers worked on this game.

Shame-usBlackley

This guy?:P That is too bad about the camera and the cheapness guys. I knew this game was too tough for the likes of my pansy ass. You guys are just reaffirming that for me.

Toughness is one thing, this is just poor mechanics. I just beat the open area in 9 that I was talking about, and it's just LOL-worthy. It's so bad that Itagaki shouldn't have even attached his name to it. After beating off the wave of rocket spammers, then you have to water-run to take out flying rocket-spamming turrets. The camera has absolutely no idea what to do, so it just craps its pants and sucks its thumb in the corner.

I really can't believe how quickly my opinion of this game is changing.

Yikes, this sounds really bad. Same thing happened with me in a few games; enjoyed them thoroughly until later in the game I encountered some absolutely horrible design decisions, and it almost ruined the game for me (I can name a few, but I don't want to get off-topic). Itagaki is a good game designer, but this just sounds like a cheap way of extending the games' length.

- Other than the beginning of chapter 8 and 9 (nothing but rocket spamming in those areas), I haven't had too many problems anymore. Chapter 9 has a great place to farm for essence right after that multi-rocket water searchlight cluster**** area. Got all my weapons maxed out, with enough essence to keep the items going on and on.

- Difficulty-wise, I'd say this feels like the Hurricane Packs, which was somewhere between Hard and Very Hard in NG. Some of the later sections give you almost no breathing room and I'm always relying on ultimate techniques to get through. So many projectiles and exploding kunai, you really need to time your attacks to give you those invicibility frames to survive. The camera isn't bothering me like it is for some of you. I'm not going to excuse it, but at this point I've accepted the fact that I'm going to get hit from enemies I can't see. Over and over again.

- I think I finished all the Tests of Valor. The last few were much more manageable to take care of. Now you get three chests when you complete a test and two of them are usually ghostfish. Get the Flails ready.

- Chapter 10 puts so many enemies on-screen that the game started playing in slow motion for the whole duration of the fight. It was definitely a lot of fun to use different weapons on them and everything (Tonfa's are so awesome), but it was 5 minutes of slowdown.

- Just finished chapter 12, and I have to say that it is absolutely stunning. Easily the coolest looking stage in the game so far. I won't say much, but it's definitely something to look foreword to.

I'm done with this game for... now, the ch.9 end boss battle pushed it for me. The camera is so SUCKY its not even funny, I don't even know where I'm getting attacked from. I just can't put up with **** like this, the boss isn't tough but how can I fight when I don't even know where am I getting attacked from? I'm VERY dissapointed, I'll just wait and play DMC4 Heaven or Hell mode until MGS4 releases. D3s7rUc71oN

I just beat that encounter. Ugh, the camera so breaks that fight. The problem is that the enemies are VERY long range at times, and there's multiples. It's a lot better once you kill off a boss enemy fast (hint: use a certain level 3 ninpo to take out one of them FAST, your sanity will thank you). Also, what's up with all the bosses that essentially require nothing but arrows?

Chapter 9 was neat at first, but ugh. The problem is that at some points its very dark, and thus disorienting. There's that giant lake area that Shameus described, where the camera speed just couldn't keep up with the super fast turrets. Then, you go underground, in a long long long narrow passage with swarms of simple enemies. Problem? The camera flips like crazy in that fight, and at the end, you have no idea which way you were coming from. After a LONG run or two, I found out that I guessed wrong. Another underwater area follows, and I found it's easily exploitable, as the giant enemies can't fit into the nooks and crannies, letting you use the spear gun to kill them without any fear of taking damage. And for what it's worth, at least on Acolyte, the seventh trial is just so laughably easy, IMO the easiest one by far. Wonder what it's like in Warriror. It's just little swarm enemies, and there doesn't seem to be all that many of them considering. I swear I took out half the trial with one ninpo.

That about sums up the game. There's segments that are just pure awesomeness. Then you get to a segment that just feels untested and broken, with the lousy camera often being a key factor. Really, I don't recall a single game having as much of a camera issue as NG2 does at times. It just doesn't know what to do half the time, which makes you long for God of War's camera (or lack thereof).

I started using the Vigoor Flails at the start of chapter 10. Is it just me or are they a lot better in NG2? I only used them for the fish in the first game (and thankfully they toned down the fish a lot in NG2, plus the regen at the end of a fight helps a ton with them). I'm launching upgraded scorpion enemies into the air and just aerial comboing their asses as they float there helpless.

What chapters do they use for the demo? I assume the first. Because early in the game, your first impression is that NG2 is one of the best games ever. Later chapters? Not so much.argianas

It starts with a Blade Runner-esque credit sequence, so I'm assuming it is the opening of the game. I can't remember the name of the chapter, but you are fighitng on rooftops and it is nighttime.

[QUOTE="argianas"]What chapters do they use for the demo? I assume the first. Because early in the game, your first impression is that NG2 is one of the best games ever. Later chapters? Not so much.rragnaar

It starts with a Blade Runner-esque credit sequence, so I'm assuming it is the opening of the game. I can't remember the name of the chapter, but you are fighitng on rooftops and it is nighttime.

Yeah, that's the beginning. The first half of the game is awesome. So is the second half, it's just that the camera can't keep up with what's happening and is drawn down too tight for it to be useful during certain fights. It's manageable for most of the game, but when it falls apart, it flat has a NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

By the way, Level 3 Vigoorian Flail = Unmitigated win. I love the speed and fliudity of this weapon. It makes it so you can get some payback and juggle people the you were juggled by the machinegun and rocket dudes. Some enemies flat cannot attack you while you're ripping off a combo with these. Simply badass, this weapon is.

By the way, Level 3 Vigoorian Flail = Unmitigated win. I love the speed and fliudity of this weapon. It makes it so you can get some payback and juggle people the you were juggled by the machinegun and rocket dudes. Some enemies flat cannot attack you while you're ripping off a combo with these. Simply badass, this weapon is.Shame-usBlackley

Man, it's up there with the Scythe and Dragon Sword as my favorites this game. I also like the blade and chain weapon, whatever it's called. Never really got into the Lunar or the Tonfu all that much. The dual swords surprisingly haven't been a favorite of mine after using them a ton in Sigma. I think the triple Swallow for the DS just makes them that much better than the single for the dual swords. Falcon Talons I like, but I can't seem to squeeze them in over the other three as much. They were great back before I got the triple Swallow on the DS, though.

[QUOTE="Shame-usBlackley"]By the way, Level 3 Vigoorian Flail = Unmitigated win. I love the speed and fliudity of this weapon. It makes it so you can get some payback and juggle people the you were juggled by the machinegun and rocket dudes. Some enemies flat cannot attack you while you're ripping off a combo with these. Simply badass, this weapon is.argianas

Man, it's up there with the Scythe and Dragon Sword as my favorites this game. I also like the blade and chain weapon, whatever it's called. Never really got into the Lunar or the Tonfu all that much. The dual swords surprisingly haven't been a favorite of mine after using them a ton in Sigma. I think the triple Swallow for the DS just makes them that much better than the single for the dual swords. Falcon Talons I like, but I can't seem to squeeze them in over the other three as much. They were great back before I got the triple Swallow on the DS, though.

Yeah, the dual swords didn't click with me either. I figured that what they lacked in agility they'd make up for in strength, but I've found other weapons to be almost just as powerful and three times as fast. In a shooter, the dual swords would be the gun that looks really badass until you actually use it.

[QUOTE="argianas"]What chapters do they use for the demo? I assume the first. Because early in the game, your first impression is that NG2 is one of the best games ever. Later chapters? Not so much.rragnaar

It starts with a Blade Runner-esque credit sequence, so I'm assuming it is the opening of the game. I can't remember the name of the chapter, but you are fighitng on rooftops and it is nighttime.

I just gave the demo a fast go. You start off in Acolyte on chapter 1 with fully upgraded Dragon Sword, Talons, and... Scythe. Man, a level 3 scythe in the opening level on Acolyte is just outright murder, though very pretty murder. Then again, the first two chapters on Acolyte weren't all that much harder with a level 1 Dragon Sword, either.

That's really unfortunate that you guys have run into such severe camera problems. I definately had to play with the camera some and have had some issues with it but I haven't had the severity of issues like others.

In Chapter 9 after you fight the rocket dudes and those rocket launchers that hover on top of the water come out I was able to take them out easily by staying out of the water and using fully charged arrows to take them down. I stayed in one of the huts there for cover so they couldn't hit me and just waited for them to come into view and took them down with an arrow.

Difficulty wise I haven't had too many problems there either with the exception of a test valor or two where I used pretty much all of my healing items.

I'm currently on Chapter 13 and yeah Chapter 12 was pretty awesome.

Is it just me or does the whole 'Ninja Cinema' feature feel really tacked on? You can't fast-forward, rewind, or even slo-mo the footage you've recorded. Heck, I'm not even sure how to go about uploading my videos to Xbox Live. Lame.

Chapter 8 was cool... I guess. There was some heavy slowdown towards the end of it and I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to recycle boss battles.

Is it just me or does the whole 'Ninja Cinema' feature feel really tacked on? You can't fast-forward, rewind, or even slo-mo the footage you've recorded. Heck, I'm not even sure how to go about uploading my videos to Xbox Live. Lame.

Chapter 8 was cool... I guess. There was some heavy slowdown towards the end of it and I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to recycle boss battles.

Dutch_Mix

Hmm I was wondering how this feature turned out. I was really hoping that it would be just like the Halo 3 Saved Films feature where you could move the camera anywhere you wanted to and save still pictures and such. Sadly it doesn't sound as robust as that. I haven't tried it out yet myself but I'll definately have to check it out after. I've heard that you'll encounter more slowdown with this feature turned on.

I believe you can only upload Ninja Cinema clips once you've beaten the game.

Also, I ran into slowdown. Anyone who played chapter 10 can tell you about it. Basically, long straight staircase. Many many regular ninjas swarm you. I literally gained over a million karma points in that one fight, including a highlight UT with a scythe that probably killed 15 guys at once. They asplode. Decapitated heads were just rolling down the stairs left and right. The single digit framerate I could have lived without, though.

Is it just me or does the whole 'Ninja Cinema' feature feel really tacked on? You can't fast-forward, rewind, or even slo-mo the footage you've recorded. Heck, I'm not even sure how to go about uploading my videos to Xbox Live. Lame.

Chapter 8 was cool... I guess. There was some heavy slowdown towards the end of it and I'm not sure who thought it would be a good idea to recycle boss battles.

Dutch_Mix

Yeah, after Halo 3, I guess I was expecting a little more out of the replay feature this game had. I appreciate that they put it in there, but having no control over anything (other than a black and white filter) seems kind of silly.

This game does quite a bit of boss recycling... well, recycling may not be the best word to describe it. They're rematches but they're a bit different, so it doesn't feel completely artificial. I'm not really a big fan of the "fight all the bosses again" deal, but I think they managed to work it into the game pretty well.

I believe you can only upload Ninja Cinema clips once you've beaten the game.

Also, I ran into slowdown. Anyone who played chapter 10 can tell you about it. Basically, long straight staircase. Many many regular ninjas swarm you. I literally gained over a million karma points in that one fight, including a highlight UT with a scythe that probably killed 15 guys at once. They asplode. Decapitated heads were just rolling down the stairs left and right. The single digit framerate I could have lived without, though.

argianas

You know what's funny about that? I almost think that slowdown was intentional. For starters, it was way too consistent for it to be accidental. It drops down to about half the frames but stays RIGHT there the whole time. I'm torn on what to believe, because part of me thinks there's no way that Itagaki would intentionally put slowdown in one of his games, but on the other hand, the whole thing felt just like a scene out of "300."

We'll probably never know, and it probably totally wasn't intentional, but goddamn if that wasn't the nicest case of slowdown I've ever seen. It didn't feel like regular slowdown, you know?

Also, the raining blood stage is where the game begins to find its awesomeness again. The camera issues from the last few stages are nowhere to be seen, and it's getting really awesome again. I'm totally love/hate on this game. Definitely in the game's favor -- I love 90% of it, but that 10% that I don't like is really, really bad.

HOWEVER..... I've played this game non-stop with pretty much every spare minute I've had since Wednesday. It's been a while since I got that cracked out on a game, so it must be doing something right. I think it's like seeing a supermodel with a big ol' hairy mole on her forehead. The mole stands out and looks nasty because the rest of the package is so awesome.

Well, finally got some time in with the demo earlier...unfortunately for me, it wasn't a very encouraging experience, between the camera already coming off as more of an annoyance than anything else, and the gameplay itself just not really gelling with me.

It's a shame for me, because I remember back when I used to enjoy this genre...then again, I think the only main game that I really spent a lot of time on working through was the original DMC...that third one basically killed my interest in the entire genre, and it looks like NG is unfortunately lumped with the others.

How is everyone doing as far as Karma scores are concerned? I only have about 750K, but that's mostly due in part because I haven't been able to accomplish any of the Tests of Valor (I missed that item in Chapter 2).Dutch_Mix

You mean 7.5 million, right? Anyway, I'm not sure the trials even count towards karma. I could have sworn saves after I finish had the same karma score, but I can't check now since I finished the last one this evening. I think I have like 13-14 million after 11 chapters in Acolyte.

[QUOTE="Dutch_Mix"]How is everyone doing as far as Karma scores are concerned? I only have about 750K, but that's mostly due in part because I haven't been able to accomplish any of the Tests of Valor (I missed that item in Chapter 2).argianas

You mean 7.5 million, right? Anyway, I'm not sure the trials even count towards karma. I could have sworn saves after I finish had the same karma score, but I can't check now since I finished the last one this evening. I think I have like 13-14 million after 11 chapters in Acolyte.

Yeah.

Karma's taking a backseat to survival in my playthrough. :P

Well I just finished the game. Awesome, simply awesome. The last few levels were fantastic. Quite an imagination went into designing alot of this stuff. The whole game had a great epic feel to it both in the superbly satisfying fighting to the nice variation of locations you visit.

Overall I never really encountered anything cheap, it was all about finding the best solutions to a given situation and there were a number of ways to tackle them.

I also loved how the achievements were done. You always seem to be getting them at a good and steady flow. They also stack. So if you beat the game on Warrior you will also get the achievement for Acolyte.

If it weren't for the camera I would have no problem giving this game a 10. This is definately the best action game to date. As it stands now I would give this game a 9 to 9.5. While the camera is tricky I was able to manage with it somewhat reasonably throughout.

I seriously hope there is some very cool downloadable content for it such as a camera fix and some stuff like the Hurricane pack from the original Ninja Gaiden that gives you Mission modes and other cool extras. I am a little concerned however with what this content may end up like without Itagaki there though.

How is everyone doing as far as Karma scores are concerned? I only have about 750K, but that's mostly due in part because I haven't been able to accomplish any of the Tests of Valor (I missed that item in Chapter 2).Dutch_Mix

I finished the game with 21,128,704 Karma and a time of 11:47:17. Currently ranked at 519.

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

ASK_Story

Oddly enough, I haven't finished DMC4 yet, but based on what I have played of the two games? Ninja Gaiden by a landslide, warts and all.

Well I just finished the game. Awesome, simply awesome. The last few levels were fantastic. Quite an imagination went into designing alot of this stuff. The whole game had a great epic feel to it both in the superbly satisfying fighting to the nice variation of locations you visit.

Overall I never really encountered anything cheap, it was all about finding the best solutions to a given situation and there were a number of ways to tackle them.

I also loved how the achievements were done. You always seem to be getting them at a good and steady flow. They also stack. So if you beat the game on Warrior you will also get the achievement for Acolyte.

If it weren't for the camera I would have no problem giving this game a 10. This is definately the best action game to date. As it stands now I would give this game a 9 to 9.5. While the camera is tricky I was able to manage with it somewhat reasonably throughout.

I seriously hope there is some very cool downloadable content for it such as a camera fix and some stuff like the Hurricane pack from the original Ninja Gaiden that gives you Mission modes and other cool extras. I am a little concerned however with what this content may end up like without Itagaki there though.

Archangel3371

I agree with all of this. Sometimes it feels as if I played another game than some of you, I never noticed any huge camera issues in the mid-chapters, but I might just have other ideas of what the camera is supposed to do. I do know I personally never got into an impossible situation because of the camera.

The wormboss was the only part where I noticed the camera didn't cooperate but in the end I came up with a way of killing him that required no camera control at all.

Path of the Mentor is fun. Feels more like the first Ninja Gaiden IMO as it actually forces you to defend a lot even against normal ninjas.

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

ASK_Story

I think NGII is much better only thing that DMC4 has over it is more graphical polish and the story makes a little bit more sense, other than that NG all the way!

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

ASK_Story

Depends how you look at it. Combat system in NGII is miles better. On the other hand, character development is more substantial and satisfying in DMC4. Platforming is much better in NGII, but I think that in bossfights, DMC4 has the upper hand so far.

Man I'm drunk and it's my birthday,

All I can say is: I love you guys! And, Ninja Gaiden rocks. Apparantly, I bit some girls boob tonight. And she liked it. I got her number, Jbul out! :D

Jbul

Remember to drink water. And have some gatorade ready for tomorrow :P

Mentor is seriously kicking my butt. Even the first level is much harder than anything Warrior throws at you. I am in love. Just gotta buy a new 360 asap, this one is seriously giving up. Oh and did anyone notice you can turn on the black and white filter in the menu while you're playing? I thought it was restricted to video playback only but it's quite cool to watch the cutscenes this way. Makes the whole story and the settings seem even more surreal :lol:

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

ASK_Story

I would like to post my thoughts on this later, as I'm about to finish the game. Unfortunately, the game glitched and the boss I was fighting completely disappeared from the area, forcing me to reset. Not good.

I will say that as of right now, I'm leaning towards NG2 being the better action game of this generation. I do, however, prefer's DMC's free-style gameplay overall.

EDIT: Happy birthday, Jbul. It sounds like you had a good one.

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

ASK_Story

I would say NGII myself. Combat is better and more satisfying. It has a much more varied number of locations to fight in with little to no backtracking. I like the music in NGII much better then. Some cooler enemy and boss designs along with some better looking backgrounds to fight in.

I still think DMC4 was a great game and was better polished but NGII is just such a better game overall.

The end of chapter 10 was incredible.

[spoiler] The fight on that huge staircase where ninjas swarm all over you (the part where the framerate drops to single digits :P) was some of the most fun I've had in recent memory. The boss fight was good too. [/spoiler]

[QUOTE="ASK_Story"]

So, what's the more superior action-adventure game, NG2 or Devil May Cry 4?

Itagaki took some jabs at DMC4, but was he just being arrogant or is he right?

Archangel3371

I would say NGII myself. Combat is better and more satisfying. It has a much more varied number of locations to fight in with little to no backtracking. I like the music in NGII much better then. Some cooler enemy and boss designs along with some better looking backgrounds to fight in.

I still think DMC4 was a great game and was better polished but NGII is just such a better game overall.

Yeah I agree its saddening to say but NGII definitely feels unpolished in many ways, and thats something I never thought I'd be saying about the game. If its one thing that Team Ninja is known for, its for their commitment to polishing their games to a shine, but even having said that I'd still take NGII over the more polished DMC4. However, I think their is now a chance that my favorite action game of the year could be Dishwasher

Just beat it. Man, what an epic fight at the end. I'm really torn on this game. There's so much of it that is just perfection as far as action games go, but what I don't like, I hate. Still, I get that oddly compelling feeling that I get with all truly great games to play it through again right now.Shame-usBlackley

Yeah that was a pretty awesome final battle and freaky too. One of his eyes was hanging out of it's socket. I also had the urge to play again. I played through the first chapter on Path of the Mentor which feels a good deal tougher then Warrior. I also played the first four chapters on Acolyte and it feels a good deal easier the Warrior. Enemies deal less damage, Ryu deals more damage, and the red portion of your health bar takes a long time to fill therefor when you finish a battle you'll have most of your bar refilled. The more powerful enemies don't show up in the game at the same point and while you still fight the same number of enemies I think there are fewer of them overall. Items cost less as do weapon upgrades and you start off with a resurrection scroll. It's actually pretty fun mowing through the game on Acolyte. I'm fearful at how brutal the very hard setting is, Path of the Ninja Master. Yikes.

[QUOTE="Shame-usBlackley"]Just beat it. Man, what an epic fight at the end. I'm really torn on this game. There's so much of it that is just perfection as far as action games go, but what I don't like, I hate. Still, I get that oddly compelling feeling that I get with all truly great games to play it through again right now.Archangel3371

Yeah that was a pretty awesome final battle and freaky too. One of his eyes was hanging out of it's socket. I also had the urge to play again. I played through the first chapter on Path of the Mentor which feels a good deal tougher then Warrior. I also played the first four chapters on Acolyte and it feels a good deal easier the Warrior. Enemies deal less damage, Ryu deals more damage, and the red portion of your health bar takes a long time to fill therefor when you finish a battle you'll have most of your bar refilled. The more powerful enemies don't show up in the game at the same point and while you still fight the same number of enemies I think there are fewer of them overall. Items cost less as do weapon upgrades and you start off with a resurrection scroll. It's actually pretty fun mowing through the game on Acolyte. I'm fearful at how brutal the very hard setting is, Path of the Ninja Master. Yikes.

Yeah, dude -- Mentor is mental. I've been playing the first chapter for like 45 minutes and I've died like 50 times.

EDIT: What's truly weird is that I only died on the final boss like 4 times, two of which were on the final form. He wasn't as crazy hard as I was expecting, but I went in armed for bear. I had full minor and major potions, a rebirth, and whatever the medicine you get from Muramasa was (which I never used). I like the red outfit that unlocks after you beat the game. I wonder what unlocks after you beat Mental?

Finally finished the game and started on Mentor. Final boss wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Karma: 20 million Deaths: 18 Rank: Last time I checked, it was 1030 something.

The beginning of chapters 8 and 9 were the really low points in the game for me, but I found the game to be immensely satisfying to play through. I like how game felt a bit more episodic in its storyline and the stages themselves were self-contained. There was very few backtracking and the game kept a mostly engaging pace. The outdoor environments were very impressive, especially the stages at the end. The indoor areas... not so much. Of course, this didn't really bother me because I was so focused on the core gameplay. It's fun. It did feel like the later levels required you to rely on Flying Swallows and Ultimate Techniques all the time, but there were so many awesome combat moments, that I'm not too bothered by it right now.

Had a quick taste of the hard difficulty... Mentor will test your commitment to this game. Rocket goons, exploding kunai and soldiers by the dozen. I died so many times to get to the boss and got completely shredded by the spider boss. Give me a break, I had no idea he regenerates health if you stop attacking him. Will have to try again tomorrow.

Finished Ninja Gaiden 2 this afternoon. Wow. My opinion of the game turned a complete 180 degrees over the last few chapters. I don't know what happened, but I feel like never playing this game ever again. Mentally, I feel pretty exhausted so I won't be writing any final impressions... expect a review sometime later this week.

6/10... (at best)

Finished Ninja Gaiden 2 this afternoon. Wow. My opinion of the game turned a complete 180 degrees over the last few chapters. I don't know what happened, but I feel like never playing this game ever again. Mentally, I feel pretty exhausted so I won't be writing any final impressions... expect a review sometime later this week.

6/10... (at best)

Dutch_Mix

Really? Aside from the boss spree in the end I thought the last chapters were some of the best in the game.

Mentor is seriously hard. I made it to the midboss of chapter 2 quite easily but died at least 20 times against him. The combination of exploding shurikens and a very aggressive boss and very little space is quite deadly. Managed to kill him two times only to be killed just before the save point after that :lol:

Otherwise I have nothing but praise for Mentor. It feels just as good if not better than Warrior. I just wish I was better at killing bosses, it's such an obvious weakpoint in my NG "skills".

Finished Ninja Gaiden 2 this afternoon. Wow. My opinion of the game turned a complete 180 degrees over the last few chapters. I don't know what happened, but I feel like never playing this game ever again. Mentally, I feel pretty exhausted so I won't be writing any final impressions... expect a review sometime later this week.

6/10... (at best)

Dutch_Mix

It's so funny how polarizing this game is. I was in love with the game through chapter 5, almost got jacked by a bad save point, slowly started to hate going in to chapter 8 (which everyone said I would hate), actually ended up liking chapter 8, but fell right back into seething hatred in chapter 10 (or was it 9? the one with the lame rocket spammers in the jungle?), and then fell stark raving in love with it again for the final 3 chapters. It ended with one of the best boss fights in recent memory.

I wanted to ding this game more because of how awful the camera is at times, but I can't picture giving it any less than an 8.5 now. All the crappy camera angles and poor design choices in the world can't kill what is arguably the greatest fighting engine ever put in an action game.