Part 25: Ninja Gaiden Black: Chapter 11

The worst chapter of Ninja Gaiden Black is upon us, but thankfully the boss fight of this video is moment where the game kicks back up as we begin to enter the final third of Ryu's journey.



Spear Gun
An auto-reloading spear gun. It is not very useful out of water.

A weapon designed only for this chapter, and frankly can be easily skipped if you so want as the aquatic enemies of this chapter are easily disposed of with the Dragon Sword (hell, it's not even acquirable in the environment on higher difficulties). It also maps to the X and Y buttons for attacks, even though it's a projectile weapon which is just plain bizarre. At the very least, the game's auto lock on system does wonders for making this kinda gimmicky weapon work, so eh.


Fauna

Reptile Fish
The new enemies for this chapter only. They always swim in a circuit around the body of water they're assigned to, and so long as you aren't directly in their path, they can't harm you. Thing is, they swim faster than Ryu can, so going in for a melee kill is dangerous as the most reliable means to connect is to play chicken with them. Well, maybe not directly head on, going at a frontal angle is best, but directly head on leaves you liable to get chomped on for a fair amount of damage.

Bosses

Doku
The reason for Ryu's revenge in this game, Doku can finally be faced in this chapter and as you would hope, he is one of the better, fondly remembered fights of this game. He follows a lot of the same principles as Murai in that he moves slowly and his attacks are especially dangerous. However, while a single combo from him isn't always likely to mess you up, the opening on dealing damage to him is tighter and even when he's taking hits he'll still power through with attacks of his own. It's a challenging back and forth where I don't even mind having to chug elixers to keep going. It's that good of a fight.

• When starting at a distance, Doku's very likely to throw his sword, the Kitetsu, like a boomerang that actually does damage on the return trip, so staying directly in front is ill advised after blocking the first hit.
  
• The other attack he'll trigger at long range is an easily telegraphed shockwave where he prepares to thrust his sword into the ground. The hitbox of the shockwave itself is large, but is brief enough that a forward jump can easily clear it.
  
• As the range gets closer, Doku can perform a charge attack, not unlike Murai's own version back at the start. Of course, this also has the same disadvantages for him as it leaves a relatively large window to deal damage. Baiting this move is a good strategy for dealing safe, consistent damage.
  
• When up close, Doku's got a variety of strikes to keep you on your toes. He'll perform a simple 2 hit strike or a single upper slash. But his most devastating is a 5 hit auto combo that is easily distinguishable by the colored waves that come off his body. Each hit will always guard break but can be dodged through, so waiting for the final strike to dodge through than attack is the second best means to deal quick damage.
  
• Lastly, Doku has a grab of its own, and anyone who first experiences it is sure to become enraged at what it actually does. Doku will impale Ryu and siphon his health into his own, undoing a lot of the effort you'll put into taking him down. This is however mitigated by mashing furiously on the buttons to get off, which can prevent him from taking any health, or at the very least a sliver. It is a move that should absolutely be avoided at all costs, but even if you fall for it, it's not the end of the world.
  

Maps


Kunai Scrolls