Part 7: Ninja Gaiden II - Chapter 4
The second half of New York is done, as Ninja Gaiden 2 joins the ranks of games like Deus Ex where you go to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Though instead of apprehending a terrorist, we fight our first Greater Fiend, and it's a strong one.
Dragon's Claw and Tiger's Fang
Large Japanese swords, they are wielded as a pair.
Sigma's exclusive weapon returns, in the form that it was always intended. Its combos are generally more unwieldy than using the Dragon Sword, but that lack of precision is made up for with its wide attack range and cutting power. A perfect weapon for the many enemy swarms you face in the game, and is basically the weapon that turns Ryu Hayabusa into the human blender.
Bosses
Godomus
A giant, blind demon that is the first real example of a boss requiring perfect dodge timing. It's a simple fight in all fairness, but the shockwaves produced by its attacks are extremely powerful even if you don't get hit directly.
- When at medium-long range, Godomus will slam the ground with his fists. Nothing fancy
- At close range, which would be when you're attacking its legs, it'll try and stomp you with its feet. This and the above ground pounds produce shockwaves that cannot be dodged early, meaning you either dodge the instant it attacks, or confirm it on block then go into a Furious Wind.
- Very rarely it can grab debris in the environment (cars in this case), and throw them at you.
- Godomus' most devastating attack is its sonic breath, and the range on this thing is way longer than you would expect. Best way around it is to be by its feet in the first place and get behind it. Seriously, this is like an almost half health gone type of attack.
Alexei
The Master of Lightning, Alexei is a step up from the first Genshin fight as he doubles down hard on mix ups, from melee strikes, to grabs, and to all manner electric based attacks. He's actually my favorite of the Four Greater Fiends to fight, not to say the rest that we'll see are terrible, but this guy's battle strategy is such that he's always within reach yet you still have to pay attention to what's happening at all times.
- Most common attack you'll see is a quick forward dash from Alexei. It can be blocked, though it has noticeable stun if it connects.
- Alexei will sometimes try to hang back and shoot two lightning strikes in quick succession. Timing isn't an issue with this.
- Alternatively, he'll summon orbs of electricity to fire at Ryu. If you remember dodging Alma's projectiles in Ninja Gaiden 1, it's like that.
- And speaking of Ninja Gaiden 1, Alexei can even create a temporary electric field around him, similar to Dynamo.
- Hardest attack to dodge is his cyclone attack, where Alexei creates a vortex around himself and charges at Ryu. The timing is obviously different depending on how far away Ryu is, but there's no real range limit. He'll go from one corner to the other if it means hitting you, which means dodging with the proper timing
- Of course, Alexei has his own melee hit combo where he varies up the length. If you let him get the full combo, it'll end with Ryu being put into a juggle state
- It also would not be a humanoid Ninja Gaiden boss if it didn't have its own command grab. He effectively has two versions of the same one (shocking Ryu with lightning as he's held up), but it actually all comes down to how this move and all the others are mixed together. Alexei can grab you out of a forward dash, or even at the end of the melee combo. Sometimes he might not use that and instead blast you away with lightning. There's a surprising amount of variety that comes from this fight.
quote:
The Four Greater Fiends, Part 2
Eventually, the tension between the four Fiend Rulers turned
into a fierce battle. The world was plunged into chaos, as
though Hell had erupted upon Earth.
This infernal conflict drew the attention of one of the Archfiends
known as Vazdah. Slowly, he arose from his deep slumber
to glimpse at the commotion.
Lord Vazdah's eyes opened upon a man, a lone human who
plummeted into the deep abyss of the Archfiend's stare.
quote:
The Book of Genesis
In the beginning, a great inconsistency flowed out
into the nothing; a nothing that was afraid of its
own nothingness. A pure terror without color,
without sound, without smell, it formed the root of
all deification, and eventually it coalesced into the
shape of the first Deity, Gurdu. Gurdu gave birth to
all elements, and provided them with order and function.
In a remote area of space from where Gurdu provided order,
there existed the territory of a chaos formed from
elements without shape. This chaos, which had been
forgotten during the blessings of Gurdu, existed at
first as only a instinctual fear, but eventually the
chaos began to take shape and a consciousness was
formed within it.
At first this was just a small envious presence, but
eventually it grew and became clearer. This marked
the appearance of the Hatred. The chaotic nature of
the Hatred further evolved it, bringing it to the level
of a deity. Thus, the ancestor of all Archfiends,
Vigoor, came into being, and the first conflict was
set into motion.
The Book of Evil Deities
The ancestor of all Archfiends, Vigoor, began
to devour the territory of Gurdu, beginning at
its center. During endless solar and lunar eclipses,
the earth shook and split, the seas dried up only to
flood into existence again, and intense winds swept
over everything and fires burned down all of existence,
ignroing even the concept of time itself. Eventually,
Gurdu lost his strength, and the world once again plunged
into the chaos from which it had come.
Then, a great change occured. During the throes of the
unending destruction, the body of Gurdu himself split
into fourths. Each part became a deity itself, controlling
Sentiment, Wisdom, Immorality, and Creation. Eventually
they would come together to restore shape to the world
again, but in their panic-stricken state after their
birth they still had little power.
The Book of the Dragons
In this age of panic, the Serpent, Deity of
Creation was the only one of the Deities who
managed to keep some semblence of sanity. The
Serpent gave birth to a tiny presence, something
that no other being would even notice... the seeds
of life.these seeds managed to take hold and
grow in the storm of chaos, and ever so slightly
began to evolve, eventually becoming thirteen
Dragons, whose destinies were to be found in battle.
The Dragons waged an endless battle against Vigoor,
who never ceased in his attempts to bring the world
into a chaos of hatred. Eventually the Dragons
were able to banish Vigoor to the very ends of
the world.
However, it was at this time that the youngest
and lowest in position of the Dragons, the Dark Dragon,
summoned the Hatred with its feelings of inferiority.
Due to this betrayl, Vigoor was able to keep
from being completely destroyed.
The Book of the Fiends
The Dark Dragon, now full of evil intent, joined
with Vigoor and his spawn of Evil Deities to
further capture the territory of Gurdu. This
conflict continued throughout the eons of history,
and during its struggle the first spark of human
life appeared in teh form of the Ancient tribes.
Of course, old conflicts never cease, and even
in the age of the Ancient tribes the Dragon Lineage
and Archfiends continued their battle for tens
of thousands of generations, a struggle that finally
ended when the members of the Dragon Lineage were
able to seal away the Archfiends and their spawn.
However, in that age of chaos all of the bloodlines
of the Ancient tribes were mixed, and the form and
nature of the Ancients has been curried on by us,
the Fiends.
The Book of the Future
The land that the Archfiend Vigoor once held
as his final territory has become this, the
land of Vigoor. The treachery of the Dark Dragon
also occured here, and this was where the Ancient
tribes lived. That is why their descendents, we
Fiends, have taken over control of these lands.
With this land as a barrier, the power of Vigoor
is limited only to this Earth.
Vigoor is the Demon of Destruction, and the deity
who creates history; when the decadence of this
world has piled up he will return in a blaze of all-
destroying flame and re-create the world. Chaso,
like the floods on the banks of a great river,
will fulfill this world once again, and we will be
the first recipients of this fulfillment. Evolution
has and always will begin from here, the land of
Vigoor.
It has been several hundred years since the Supreme
Fiend Gogohn established what would eventually become
the Vigoor Empire here on these lands. if a new warrior
of the Dragon Lineage shall appear, the Holy Emperor shall
be infused with the power of the Archfiends. After
seven days from the uniting of His Majesty with the
Dark Dragon once again, we Fiends will be blessed
with an exquisite harmony.