If it were anything but the follow-up to one of the greatest action games in existence, it could have shined.
However, in Ninja Gaiden 2, everything, and I do mean everything, changes. The same weapons from the first game don't have the same attacks. The Reverse Wind technique of rolling out of the way has been changed to an awkward dash which nearly has the effect of stunning Ryu rather than helping him. The smartest action game I've ever played has been reduced to a veritable hack-and-slash. I was expecting an extension of the first game, another adventure with the same character I'd come to know so well. What I got was a completely changed character, and were it not for familiar faces at the very least, I wouldn't have known I was playing a sequel, but a completely different game and series altogether. Some complain that a sequel that plays too much like the original feels like reheated leftovers, and I agree to a certain point . . but it's up to the game makers to introduce new skills, abilities, and challenges to the player while maintaining the mechanics and gameplay that drew you into its predecessor. In essence, a game that is like a good sequel to a movie you watched a hundred times. Ninja Gaiden 2 feels like they reached to a completely different audience while trying to trick the fans of the first into thinking they were getting a continuation.
Here's where it gets tricky. As a sequel to Ninja Gaiden, it feels like a massive, albeit very pretty and flashy failure. As a standalone game played by someone who didn't play the original or who doesn't mind that it's nothing like it, it still packs a very nice punch. For as disappointed as I am, an objective viewpoint still sees an action game that stands above most of the competition in the genre. While I don't see many graphical improvements over the original game, (which was a visually stunning standout for the last console generation), which is surprising, given the next-gen platform, the animations are a silky smooth, bloody show that will make even the toughest guy snicker with glee. The finishing moves are a nice addition, and the whole feel of battle is more realistic thanks to sword slashes removing limbs and crippling opponents. However, as previously mentioned, the encounters have been dumbed down to where it feels more like Dynasty Warriors than a game featuring a ninja. Even gamers that are truly impressed all will agree about the camera, which makes the quicker, more frantically out of control battles a trial and error experience on par with games circa the Nintendo and Super Nintendo era, where you learned an enemies' pattern and then had to execute a set in stone strategy to defeat them. Only in Ninja Gaiden 2, in one of the few consistencies with the first, there is no pattern to the enemies. In fact, they're all smarter, quicker, and in some instances ridiculously tougher. You're constantly being hit by enemies you can't see, and who are very tough to eventually find even when you know the general area you need to turn to. There are very few times when the camera actually pulls back far enough to let you see what's around Ryu rather than showcasing the hero, and nearly only the hero himself.
The scope of the game is a bit broader, but that also makes it more confusing, because you frequently find yourself wandering around looking for a way to move out of the area you're in. And because of Ryu's agile ability to reach higher and further than mere mortals, some of the exits are out of the range of what you initially look for, and very few clues are given to lead you in the right direction. The bosses are more frequent, but in another surprising twist, some of them are downright impossible to successfully and carefully defeat. Some bosses execute several unblockable attacks and are very difficult to even navigate around without getting swatted, and the best strategy against them is to stock up on grains and herbs of spiritual life. In a game that feels like more fantasy than reality, it seems odd that the battle mechanics would take a turn for the realistic.
Overall, the game is objectively solid. However, since the opinion reflected in this review is my own, I'm greatly disappointed that this game feels nothing like its predecessor, and seems to have gone the way of the summer blockbuster sequel. Bigger, flashier, bloodier, and faster, but utterly devoid of anything that resembles the game that spends most of its time spinning in my console, which is a real shame, because with a little polish here and there, it could really be a solid game.