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Retro Game Club Discussion Thread - 03 - Ninja Gaiden [community]
 

Ninja Gaiden. What can I say about Ninja Gaiden on the NES? The original NG in the arcades (also available on the Virtual Console) was a beat-em-up in the same vein as Final Fight, in which you played as Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja with an arsenal of three different moves and who could only use his sword for a limited time after grabbing a power-up. Awesome, right?

Tecmo didn't seem to think so either. And so when it came time to bring the game to the NES, which had no hope of ever running a decent post, Tecmo decided to instead make a completely new original game, an action platformer instead of a brawler. The game has a strange resemblance to Castlevania: close range weapon, sub-weapons activated by holding up when attacking, having to hit candles or lanterns to find these weapons and ammunition... even the HUD bears a resemblance. But Ninja Gaiden is a much faster-paced game, and its hero is much more agile: he can run, change direction mid-jump, grab on walls and, if you are dexterous enough, climb them.

The game has a reputation for being balls-hard. The "problem" here is that as agile as Ryu is, the enemies are not limited to close-range weapons and some of them, such as birds and bats, are even faster than the hero. Plus, they respawn immediately should you backtrack even a millimeter when you kill them. But victory is nonetheless possible, if only by memorizing the levels as you get pushed into the omnipresent bottomless pits over and over again.

Oh, I almost forgot: the story in this old NES game is actually worth talking about. Ryu is not on a quest to save a princess from some villain, but is trying to elucidate the mystery surrounding his father's death. This story was told through cutscenes which were simply amazing at the time. They were detailed, well directed, and full of intrigue. Negative Worlders, you may just play through this game for the story.

Then again, you probably won't.


Why not add Ninja Gaiden (NES) or perhaps even Ninja Gaiden: Arcade to your collection, and indicate you are currently playing it?


List of Awesome:
X‑pert74 (beat the game overnight!)
ludist210 (beat the game also overnight? What's going on!?)
TriforceBun
Jargon
Guillaume
anon_mastermind
Paleo_Orca
Rebonack
CPA Wei

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04/29/11, 08:40    Edited: 10/27/11, 08:06
 
   
 
@Zero

Yea there's nothing wrong with the controls at all, as far as I'm concerned. They're fast, fluid and responsive, as they have to be in order to actually deal with the game's challenge.
05/06/11, 23:19   
Yup, never had a problem with the controls except for wall-scaling. Well, until I flat-out invented the proper technique, that is.
05/06/11, 23:21   
Well, tried the boss and failed, and got through 6-2 again and now on 6-3 now... man... I need a rest... this game is torture.
05/06/11, 23:49   
Now I'm playing through Ninja Gaiden II!

It feels quite a bit easier than the first if you play it right after running through Act 6 a million times. Some of the new elements work pretty well, and the respawning (and even the knockback to some degree) is tweaked for the better.

Currently at Act 6 in NG2. Took about an hour, fun game.

NG3 is the one I've never beaten though...
05/07/11, 00:07   
I'm definitely gonna follow your lead TB! Gonna download me NG II when I'm done with this one.
05/07/11, 00:09   
@TriforceBun@anon_mastermind

Boo. Pace yourself guys. I was hoping we could NG2 sometime in the future.
05/07/11, 01:48   
Castlevania feels more solid to me and has a better sense of weight. I don't like the lack of impact when you slash through an enemy in Ninja Gaiden. It feels like you're popping a balloon. And the momentum of the running and jumping always felt kind of iffy.

And, of course, the respawning, knockback, and flickering.
05/07/11, 02:05   
Edited: 05/07/11, 02:07
Okay guys, I have 6-1 to 6-3 pretty much ingrained as a reflex now, but...

I'm having trouble with the first boss, is there any kind of strategy you guys used? I see everyone seems to be having trouble with the second form, but I'm having trouble with the first!
05/07/11, 02:30   
@Paleo_Orca Just hit the orb in the center as much as possible. If necessary avoid the boss' attacks, but focus your attention on the orb. I'm usually done with that fight in seconds, so I can't give more detailed advice, sorry.
05/07/11, 02:34   
I'm still in act 5 in Ninja Gaiden 1, and it's definitely getting hard (that's what she said). It's really frustrating the way they send you back to the beginning of the level when you die at a boss, and I can't say I'm looking forward to going back several levels in act 6. But the mechanics in the game are pretty sound -- good controls and whatnot, and the more you replay a level the easier it is.

Although I just collected a bunch of extra lives in 5-3, and when I climbed to the top of the ladder to the next area, I died instantly
05/07/11, 02:41   
@Paleo_Orca

Get a few its in, while he's on the other side of the room, then jump and hang onto the wall as high as you can and he won't be able to hit you. Once he's all the way over, the orb will start shooting, so jump over him and get few more hits in, then jump up on the wall on that side. Rinse and repeat.
05/07/11, 03:04   
@X-pert74

That's the thing though...

I'm having trouble avoiding his attacks
05/07/11, 03:10   
@Jargon

Ah okay, I see.
05/07/11, 03:11   
One ass of a boss down. 2 to go.
05/07/11, 09:44   
The boss in act 5 sucks. Is there any way to dodge his attacks?
05/07/11, 18:21   
@rebonack

Yes, but don't bother. If you just wail on him you can kill him before he kills you.
05/07/11, 18:22   
Yeah, it's pretty much a frag fest. Just charge him and wail on him like no tomorrow, and take his attacks on the chin.
05/07/11, 18:46   
Well that seems to be working. I didn't quite beat him, but I got him down to two bars of health, so I think I will be able to. Thanks!
05/07/11, 20:29   
That's it, I quit. I never have enough time to get the pattern down for the second form.
05/07/11, 20:58   
@Paleo_Orca

Don't quit. There is another way: If you can make it to the boss with the spin cut from the first part of 6-3 (bottom right of the stage), you can kill the second form in one hit. Cheap? Maybe a little, but not as cheap as some of the shit the designers pull.
05/07/11, 21:03   
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