Part 10: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 - Chapter 5
The first of three Sigma 2 exclusive chapters. If you recall from the first Sigma, the three new chapters in that forced us to play as Rachel, which was awful. This time each Sigma 2 exclusive chapter has us play as a new character for each one. And all of them are better than what Rachel was like in the first game. Because of that, these chapters are actually the least offensive things in Sigma 2 (because it's everything else in Ryu's campaign that is fucked).
Momiji is a character that was created for Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword on the DS, and has since been a part of the mainline games and even included as a playable character in DOA5. She's the younger sister of the previous Hayabusa Shrine Maiden and Ryu's childhood friend, Kureha. In Dragon Sword she was a damsel in distress for most of it, but since that time she's become a much more capable fighter that fulfills the duties of both a ninja and shrine maiden. It's kinda for that reason that she's easily the best female character of the whole series. Even if her outfit still exists for fanservicy reason, she's not as throwaway as someone like Rachel. She has agency, and looks out for the rest of the village just as much as Ryu does.
She's also the first of three new playable characters in Sigma 2, so we'll only be getting to play as her for this one chapter. Kinda nice, though I still would've appreciated if the game did not force me to stop playing as Ryu at various points. How do I like her, mechanics wise? Not too bad but easily my least favorite. Not for any particular design flaw, just that compared to the later two characters they've got other things that I find more appealing.
Heavenly Dragon Naginata
A roughly two meter pole arm.
Traditionally used by women, many naginata are of a "Tomoe" type, with a short grip for ease of use. But the Heavenly Dragon is a longer "Shizuka" type, allowing Momiji to utilize an integrated combination of centriugal force and physical prowess to cut down broad swaths of opponents with every swing.
The blade and pole are said to have been carved from the tailbone of a dragon. The weapon boasts unparalleled strength and flexibility with a light weight, allowing delicate cuts of the sort impossible with a normal naginata. It is a sacred relic passed down from generation to generation of Dragon Shrine maidens
A fitting weapon for Momiji, as the description says it was common for Japanese women to be tought how to use this weapon to defend themselves. Of course with Hayabusa style ninjutsu, Momiji can do so much more with it. The biggest hook behind this weapon is that it has airborne Ultimate Techniques. Momiji is the only character in the game that can double jump, and during that double jump you can hold down Triangle to absorb essence and go straight into a UT from a largely safe vantage point. Sadly, that is the only thing about the moveset that is particularly special. Compared to that, all the other ground and air combos are fairly normal, and the speed on the whole is on the medium/slow end of the spectrum.
Note that I'm not going to be dedicating a weapon exhibition section for this weapon, or the other weapons used by the remaining two extra characters. There's not enough to them compared to Ryu's arsenal and you can't even use them in anything outside of their given missions, so eh.
Heavensong Bow
A Japanese bow used by Dragon Shrine-maiden Momiji.
From times of old, the Heavensong Bow has played a central role in the Heavensong rite, in which shrine maidens pluck the bowstring like an instrument to drive away evil spirits.
The astounding power of arrows launched by its resilient woven-leather bowstring is like a miracle unto itself, and the bow, carved from a sacred tree, is wrapped with a cloth given by Momiji by the children of the village, in prayer of her safety.
It's a bow. It's functionally the exact same as what Ryu has. Nothing else to say.
The Art of the Crimson Lotus
An art that allows the user to generate and channel a whirlwind of fire at will.
Gesturing the characters "rin," "byo," "to," "sha," "kai," "jin," "retsu," "zai," and "zen" in sequence activates the spell, transforming the leaves dancing within the magic circle into an inferno of fireballs that incinerate and consume all enemies in their path. The divine flames burn only the wicked, leaving those pure of heart unscathed.
It's exactly like Ryu's Art of the Inferno, but perpetually at Level 3 so you get to fire three separate orbs of flame. And the enemies burning to death animation still remains pathetic.
Bosses
Tengu Brothers
The first of exactly two new bosses in Sigma 2 that I would classify as being good. We're done with the embarrassments that were the Giant Buddha and Statue of Liberty, now we got motherfucking Tengus. I gotta say as far as non traditional designs go for these type of demons, I really love the design of the Tengu brothers. Obviously there's the red and blue dichotomy, but also their mouth beaks and looking somewhat menacing. As for the fight itself, it's a two on one fight that behaves more fairly than the two on one boss missions in Ninja Gaiden Black were. For one, it follows DMC/Platinum Games rules of "if it's off screen, it won't get a cheap shot". This means you can focus the camera on one Tengu and deal with that, or have two on screen and have a harder time as a result.
- Each Tengu wields a giant spiked club that swings fast but has an easy to spot wind up on each swing. Blocking and dodging is relatively trivial with this.
- The Tengus can also do a giant off screen air stomp that can be blocked, but does leave Momiji stunned for a long while. More often than not, once the Tengus do the first stomp they'll follow it up for a second. Enough practice and you can figure out the correct time to dodge it.
- There is a charging move that leads into a command grab that you have to look out for. It's signified by the Tengu outstretching its arms, but because there's no single range it starts at it could easily happen while up close.
- They also have a projectile move where they throw a spread of incendiary shuriken.
- The last and hardest move to deal with is their Ninpo, which is just the Tengu using the Art of the Wind Blade. Blocking or dodging through it is impossible, if you see it start up then get as far away as possible.