Part 31: Ninja Gaiden Black: Chapter 13

One of the best chapters in the game, we revisit an old place, obtain the most significant weapon in the Ninja Gaiden series, and take on what I'd say is the most challenging boss in the base game. Also we create another time paradox.



True Dragon Sword
Movest
The legendary ultimate form of the Dragon Sword, achieved by fitting the Dragon's Eye into it.

The only weapon in the game that can go up to level 4, and can't be earned any earlier than this point. As always, the new moves added aren't plentiful, but what's there is very useful, between two new ground combos, an updated form of the 360 UT, and an entirely new UT that quite simply triggers all the pleasure centers in my brain in just the right ways. It's just so fucking cool looking.


Fiends

Fiendish Vigoorian Soldier
A reskin of the Ghuls all the way back in Chapter 6, this is what happens to the Vigoorian Military troops. Unlike the SAT Fiends, they're big, slow, and have a ludicrous amount of health that it takes multiple UTs from any weapon to take them down. Thankfully, the Drawbridge Square is the only location they're fought in the game, and there's a reward for taking the time to kill them if you're so inclined.

Bosses

Awakened Alma
In my opinion, the hardest boss of the original version, and one of the most exhilirating to fight. Awakened Alma follows the same core rules as her regular version, but with less holes in her defense and some new abilities of her own.

• She still has her multi-energy orb and pillar projectiles so that is unchanged, but she also can charge up a single, powerful energy blast that fires extremely fast. In a sense, this replaces her Flying Swallow type maneuver since her new body wouldn't make it work, and the moment right before firing is often a good chance to nail a Flying Swallow on her.
  
• When on the ground, her centipede-like abdomen lets her move around extremely fast, in contrast to her slow ground movement initially. The flip side is that because her new monstrous body she doesn't have her ground combos and leg hold, instead simply charging right into Ryu.
  
• Her vortex command grab is replaced with a different move where she swings her abdomen upwards to scoop Ryu off the ground and squeeze him. Much like the original grab attack from the first Alma attack, this is the most devastating to look out for.
  

Maps



Archives