Part 1: Ninja Gaiden II - Chapter 1

Ninja Gaiden II's first level can be described as being in complete contrast to the first level of the original Ninja Gaiden. This game's all about the action, and showing that Ryu is not the same Ninja he was once before. Also the locale is just so damn cool. Fuck modern day Tokyo, I wanna book a vacation to THIS Tokyo.



Dragon Sword
The symbol of the Dragon Ninja, passed down for generations.

It wouldn't be a Ninja Gaiden game without the Dragon Sword, and starting the game out it serves the same well rounded role it had in the previous game. I'm not gonna go into detail about the weapon's specific traits or moves here, as that's what the weapon exhibitions will be for. Just that it's here, and still pretty good, if not limited at Level 1. But then again, the weapon was even more limited at Level 1 in the original Ninja Gaiden, so everythign here is still an upgrade in some manner.


Lunar Staff
A staff said to harbor the mysterious powers of the moon.

Ninja Gaiden II makes sure that you finish the first chapter with not one, but two weapons in your inventory, and the Lunar is a great compliment to the Dragon Sword. While the DS is all about versatility in both ground and air, Lunar emphasizes longer reach and pokes to deal with damage in huge crowds. You'll end up pulverizing single enemies faster than you would with a blade, but that's not so bad when you want a weapon that takes off the pressure from being swarmed. And as you'll see later in the game, it's especially valuable when dealing with larger, more durable foes.


Shuriken
It is no exaggeration to say that this weapon epitomizes the Ninja. Shuriken are implements designed to cause injury when thrown at an enemy, and most Ninja carry them at all times. This particular type of Shuriken. which boasts six blades, is officially known as a Roppoken, or six-sided star, and is of the Kuruma-ken (round) category of Shuriken that spin when thrown. Due to the disposable nature of these weapons, expensive materials are rarely used in their construction. However, they are crafted with great precision in order to stabilize their trajectory when thrown, thereby increasing accuracy.

They're the same, go to projectile that it was in the original. You throw them, they stun enemies, you can cancel out of combos with them, the utility's all there. What's more to say.


Art of the Inferno
This ninpo uses the power of telekinesis to hurl a flaming mass of pyrokinetic energy at a desired target. The Art of the Inferno is highly effective against enemies in front of the caster. Those unlucky enough to fall victim to this ninpo are completely engulfed in flame. The fire it unleashes is no ordinary flame; akin to the flame of a Dragon's breath, it is no surprise that records fail to mention anyone surviving the intense heat of the inferno.

The only returning Ninpo from Ninja Gaiden 1, this spell is slightly modified from its predecessor. As the description implies, an orb of fire does not shoot straight at the target but floats then seeks them out. And when it connects, the enemy will go through a very lengthy, painful death animation as it gets burned to death. This does mean however that it won't yield essence until the animation finishes and you can't really interrupt or speed up the process. In addition, as we upgrade this Ninpo, the number of projectiles will increase, meaning at the max level Ryu can fire three fire balls at individual targets. Very nice.


Humanoids

Black Spider Ninja
The Hayabusa's arch rivals, the Black Spider Ninja take center stage as the primary humanoid enemies of the game. That might come off as a bit limiting compared to the various ninjas, riot cops, and military troops we fought in Tairon, but there's enough variety within their ranks to make up for it, including the higher tier ones we'll face near the end.

These ninja are the most fun to fight, yet on the same coin they can be the most infuriating when in large numbers, as their tendency to attack in very random ways makes it necessary to use powerful crowd clearing moves to let off the pressure. Though once it's down to only a few stragglers, they're less of an issue, though a single ninja can still put up a decent fight if you aren't paying attention. In addition, they're one of the few enemies that when delimbed will attempt to Kamikaze Ryu. The type of attack varies based on which limb is missing, and it also determines if it can be escaped. If they're only missing an arm, you fucked up if they grab you as it can't be shaken off. If they're crawling and try to pin you down, mashing buttons can easily throw them off, plus open them for an Obliteration in return.


Sword
The lowest tier of Black Spider, denoted by their dark green garb. They always carry a pair of dual swords, and can perform a series of light attacks, a single heavy attack (that guard breaks and cannot be countered), or two grab moves either initiated from the ground or via jump. They've got the basics covered, but as they're the lowest on the totem pole they're especially fragile and it doesn't take long to delimb them.

Also these ninja can sometimes come equipped with a bow, fitting their arrow tips with fire which makes them pack a punch. When getting close to them, they will pull out their swords as a defense, but because they're primary role is to play keep away they have a higher dodge rate than the normal sword ninjas. That said, if they're the only ones left in a fight with no other reinforcements they may just drop the bow and go in for the attack.


Claw
The next tier of ninja, these are clothed in dark brown (not shown in the picture above because I couldn't find a concept artwork of the right color). On first glance, you might think these ninja are handled about the same as the sword ones, despite wielding a different weapon. And you'd be right most of time. They still have light attack combos, heavy attacks, and a grab, so they aren't lacking in essentials. However, because of the claws, they're capable of combos that hit way more rapidly which can lead to serious consequences if you mess up the timing of a counter attack. Put on the plus side, they're only limited to one grab move on the ground, lacking the forward jump grab of the lower tier ninja.


Mages
Rounding out the bottom tier forces are the mages. Clothed in purple and carrying a pair of sais, they're the successor to the Vigoorian mages Ryu fought back in Ninja Gaiden 1, but with clearly different attacks. Whereas the old mages would just disappear and reappear with not special effects, ripples can be seen whereever the mages are hiding in the ground, allowing you to anticipate a surprise attack. They also have a projectile attack, in addition to a long incantation that summons a pillar of fire to erupt underneath Ryu. This is recognizable by the sounds made by these enemies, so when you hear it it's necessary to attack them in order for the spell to be interrupted.

They aren't totally defenseless however, as they can still do some decent hits up close with their sais. The rapid combos they can do are much faster than the claw ninjas, and if they're short an arm, letting one hide in the ground is dangerous as the next time they pop up will be to perform a suicide attack, which is harder to avoid the grab range than you'd expect.

Bosses

Shadow Ninja Rasetsu
The fisrt boss fight that will inevitably be repeated as a regular, though still powerful enemy. Rasetsu moves fast and hits quickly, but his patterns become very predictable over time due to the wind up on every attack. The hardest part of the fight can be discerning which attack will be a melee combo or a grab, but the guy takes damage so quickly from a single combo that brute forcing at this point in the game can be a viable tactic. But unless you want to actually learn something from this fight, here's the breakdown.

• Even as a giant man spider, Rasetsu carries over many of the signature swings and cartwheel attacks of the regular Black Spider clan. As with most bosses of this type, the length of the boss's combos rely on the player's set distance from the boss.
  
• Sometimes Rasetsu will jump up off screen then come crashing down like Goro in Mortal Kombat. For the purposes of normal mode, the animation only plays once, but as you go higher up, he'll quickly follow up with a second pounce. It's not detrimental to block it, and it's fairly easy to dodge out of when you got the rhythm.
  
• Rasetsu has two grab attacks that have different start ups and one is much harder to read than the other. The hardest one obviously when he's up close and does a single swing with his arm, which is nearly identical to the single melee swipe that he has. The easier one to see coming is where he jumps back than leaps forward, which also is very similar to his regular forward pounce, but since that's a heavy attack that can knock Ryu off balance, it's necessary to dodge either version just to be safe.
  

Now, Rasetsu illustrates some traits that future bosses will demonstrate. The first is the nature of counter attacks. These bosses I think are the primary reason for why changing the timing for counter attacks in 2 compared to 1 is for the better, as Rasetsu can hit much harder than any ninja enemy. But by initiating the counter before his attacks connect, something you could never do against any regular fight in the original, you can actually keep getting hits in with some additional i-frames.
The second difference, and is only really shared with a select few fights, is that you can perform an Obliteration Technique when the target is at ~20% health left. The primary reason you'd want this is for Karma score purposes, as OTs on bosses have a much higher point value than on normal enemies, much like Kill Score is higher by comparison. But Rasetsu goes down so fast that if you're kicking ass with the Lunar you might miss the opportunity. But it's nice to do, especially when you got all the weapons on repeat playthroughs and you can see the resources spent on making each kill look as cool as possible.



Notebooks