Part 7: Ninja Gaiden Black: Chapter 4

We've made it to Tairon, the primary location of Ninja Gaiden. From this chapter onward we'll be exploring many of the neighboring locations in the Vigoor Empire and the ways in which they all connect to each other as we hunt down the ones responsible for the destruction of the Hayabusa Village. But before then, we need to get a ticket for the party...



Nunchaku
Moveset
A weapon made by joining two sticks together with a chain. It is very suited to free-form combo attacks.

One of few weapons in the game that are non-upgradeable. The nunchaku are fast weapons with attacks that, while not heavy on damage, can build up high combos which lead to more essence dropped. A significant part of this weapon is its kick moves, which used alongside the Armlet of Potency give them an extra boost in battle. That said, these weapons aren't viable for the rest of the game due to their non-upgradeable status and the fact that we will get something both similar and better much later on.


Lunar Lvl. 2
Moveset

Much like the Lvl. 2 Dragon Sword, the Lvl. 2 version of the Lunar is essentially an extra attack added onto the default combos. It's more powerful than before and still as reliable as it was when first acquired. And despite having an Izuna Drop of its own, the viability of that technique will not be apparent until it reaches Lvl. 3.


Windmill Shuriken
A giant shuriken with four folding blades. When thrown, it returns to the thrower like a boomerang.

An optional projectile weapon that I personally enjoy for its sleekness and stopping power. It deals good damage to enemies without the need to spend an arrow, and in the case of ending combos this is a good way to do it. It only falls short when thrown at an enemy that is prepared to block it, but it's use, power, and reusability make for very strong reasons to have equipped often.



Armlet of Potency
An armlet emblazoned with the picture of a horse, it increases the damage done by kick and throw techniques

An attack power increasing armlet that only applies to two specific types of moves. Unlike the Armlet of the Sun which gave a 5% increase to every type of attack, kicks and throws get a major buff from this armlet by 40%. Mixed with the nunchucks or other weapons with specific kick moves, some fights can be ended much faster when using these specific attacks.


Armlet of the Moon
An armlet engraved with a picture of the moon. When equipped, Ryu's defensive power will increase.

The only armlet I will not use once during this LP because of how pointless it is for my playstyle, but I put it here anyway. It does the opposite of the Armlet of the Sun, but instead of increasing attack power it reduces damage taken by 5%. That's it. Use it if you want to not get hurt as much.


Humans

Black Spider Ninja
The Hayabusa Ninja Clan's eternal rivals. These black/dark green garbed ninjas are more capable than what was shown from the Shadow Clan Ninja, and at this point in the game are also capable of using grabs on Ryu. In addition to that and expanded melee moves is arguably their signature weapon (and grievance of many players first experiencing it): The Incendiary Shuriken. Once Ryu is pegged with one, it interrupts any action he was doing, and second later explodes. At first, this seems unavoidable, but what the game doesn't explicitely tell, but is encouraged, is to make use of moves with invincibility frames to avoid damage from the explosion. This includes moves such as the Izuna Drop, Guillotine Throw, or Ultiamte Techniques to name a few. Almost always facing three at a time, these ninja are a fun if not challenging fight each time.

note: I could only find a render of the sigma versions of these enemies as this is their official design throughout the rest of the series. The ones in Black are just reskins of the Lesser Shadow Clan Ninjas anyway. More on these once the Sigma version of this chapter goes up.


SAT Grenadier
The final SAT enemy type, these don't have the extra defenses that the Riot Guards do, but their long range weapon is the most damaging. At range they'll fire a volley of several grenades that thankfully don't explode on contact, but are still pretty accurate. It's pretty easy to see them coming as they leave a trail and are slow enough that roll jumping isn't an issue. At close range they're as easy to kill as the Commandos. In fact, killing them quickly is a good strategy to remove a dangerous element and use its essence for an Ultimate Technique.


Tairon


Capital of Vigoor



Kunai Scrolls



Archives