Part 5: Ninja Gaiden II - Chapter 3

We are now officially Ninja in U.S.A. as Ryu Hayabusa's whirlwind tour of ass kicking takes him to New York City. Admittedly this part of the game isn't one of my favorite locations, especially since most of it counts as a sewer level, but we do start fighting brand new Fiends and get introduced to our first Test of Valor



Incendiary Shuriken
Shaped like a kunai, or throwing knife, this Shuriken has a small explosive attached. This Incendiary Shuriken is design to explode after being impaled in the target's body. To achieve this, the thrower must remove the small metal ring at the tail end of the weapon, thereby lighting the fuse. Although the history of this weapon is as old as gunpower itself, recent improvements inspired by modern grenade design have made it all the more lethal.

A returning projectile type from the first game, these are valuable to have if you're prioritizing the delimbing of enemies at every range. Because any enemy that is pegged with one of these will lose an extremity guaranteed. Better yet, with the Essence and Ultimate Techniques you can fire off multiple of these at once to nearby enemies. That said, pulling off the UT with these isn't as safe and instantaneous as the bow's, and the auto target can be somewhat finnicky. But I love these. They're another great example of how much charging projectiles adds to this game.


Art of the Wind Blades
This Ninpo amplifies sharp waves of vacuum created by lightning-fast movements of the arms. The blades of vacuum radiate from the caster, clashing to pieces any organic matter in teh vicinity. Clearly, this Ninpo is most useful when the caster is surrounded by enemies. Although not designed for pinpoint attacks, its lethality should not be underestimated. In the remote chance that a victim survives, undoubtedly they will have lost at least one of their extremities, leaving them with little remaining offensive capability.

Probably my first or second favorite Ninpo in NG2 depending what day you ask me. I always enjoy powerful, AoE style Ninpo hence my love for the Inazuma from Ninja Gaiden 1. Here, the Wind Blades hit all around and specialize in cutting off limbs. Of course, on weak enemies it'll kill them outright, but against the bigger enemies in the game it's another great way to set up an OT chain to keep you safe.


Fiends

Van Gelf
The first real Fiend you fight in the game. Quite different in a lot of ways from the Vigoor aligned Fiends from the first game. These guys are big, lanky, and pretty fucking agile. Good traits to have to match the increased speed and power of Ryu in Ninja Gaiden II. Though here, we get introduced to two types of Van Gelfs.

Immature Van Gelf
These are the purple skinned enemies, and the lowest on the Van Gelf totem pole. Reason they're immature is because their wings are under developed, preventing them from flying. As such, all they get are regular ground attacks, flame attacks, grab and their long range pounce.
Winged Van Gelf
As suggested by the name, these dark skinned Van Gelfs have full grown wings which allow them to fly, adding a bit of a wrinkle to fights as their ability to hover at varying distances and heights makes it tough to get to them. They have all the same moves as the Immature ones when on the ground, but when airborne they'll hang back alot and chuck a volley of fireballs at you. A good hit from an arrow or incendiary shuriken will knock it down to the ground, though the latter is more practical since it doubles as a delimbing.

Bosses

GigaDeath
If you asked me to put together a list of things in Ninja Gaiden II, a game I love, that I found less than desirable it would be bosses reliant on projectiles like GigaDeath. A giant, metallic electric worm that floats along the same path and the most reliable means of fighting it is to stand back and shoot it in the face with arrows. Granted that sounds simple, but this thing can get in your way with a multitude of different attacks.

• The biggest thing to watch out for is that going into close range will cause it to shoot electricity at you. The only good way to avoid it is to never get close in the first place. Unless...
  
• He flips over on his back and the electricity field is disabled, allowing you to get in close for melee damage. The problem is he rarely does this.
  
• Usually when in his direct path, GigaDeath will increase his speed to ram you. It's noticeable with both the speed increase and it wiggling around a lot. If it hits you, you'll get stuck in a lengthy animation of him grinding you against the subway tunnels.
  
• When GigaDeath stops moving, it's usually to fire a volley of electric orbs. While it would seem easy to just run a straight line from one end of the arena to the other, the firing trajectory is circular and somewhat erratic, which makes it more ideal to simply make very careful dashes and guards.
  
• GigaDeath can summon mini versions of itself that will beeline towards you. They explode on impact and the effects stack rapidly. It's hard to avoid them normally, but they can be shot down with your arrows. When that happens, they give up essence which can be easily used to charge your projectiles.
  
• GigaDeath's ultimate attack is summoning a giant electric face that homes in on Ryu, and once it collides creates a massive explosion that can easily kill if your health is low enough. By itself, it doesn't seem bad, but mixed with the boss's other attacks it's a pain.
  

Also if you're wondering from the concept art of GigaDeath I'm using in this update, I have no idea what that humanoid next to it is supposed to be. Maybe the control unit, considering that GigaDeath itself is very artificial? I don't know. The game never gives any further explanation. It's just a weird fucking thing that shows up and that's it. Quite a lame boss coming after the fight with Genshin last chapter.