Ninja Gaiden

A long time ago on a system far, far away

Reviewed by mattun on November 12, 2008  |  report this review

A long time ago (1989), on a system far, far, away (the NES) the folks at Tecmo dropped a tiny bombshell on the gaming world... it was called Ninja Gaiden. The game was an action-platformer that revolved around a young ninja named Ryu Hayabusa who searched for his missing father. Part of what made the game so spectacular was the use of cinematic "cut-scenes" which served to flesh-out and drive the storyline, something which isn't seen often these days (yes, gentle reader, that's sarcasm). Ryu hacked, slashed, jumped - sometimes off walls(!) - and otherwise battled his way through six levels, two sequels, and into the hearts of millions...
Ryu put down his sword in later years to focus on beating the snot out of others (usually women in various stages of undress) in the prestigious Dead or Alive tournaments. It seemed that Ryu's days of ninjatastic hijinxs were over... until now.

Ryu is back in all his head-chopping glory with Tecmo's latest game entitled, oddly enough, Ninja Gaiden. In this installment, Ryu is charged with retrieving the Dark Dragon sword from insidious foes who have murdered his clan and stolen it. The storyline itself isn't really big on plot and only serves to drive the action onscreen, but it's shown to you through gorgeous cut-scenes and certainly has a handful of "wow" moments. Will Ryu overcome the hordes of ninjas, soldiers, monsters, demons, and fish ghosts(?) that stand between him and his goal? Depends on how much patience you have.

Ninja Gaiden's leap from side-scrolling to full-blown 3D is one of many fresh changes made to the series. Ryu now has the ability to wield a small arsenal of weapons including a variety swords, nunchaku, shuriken, bows and arrows, and the viciously fun Vigoorian Flails to name a few. Gone are the days of the simple "tap the button/swing the sword" brand of combat. Each weapon now has a different move list set similar to what game like Soul Calibur or Dead or Alive (no, not the volleyball one) and can be "charged" to unleash some fantastic amounts of whoop-azz on unsuspecting minions. The weapons can also be upgraded at the shop to make them more powerful, give them more abilities, and even changes their appearance. Ryu's also kept his wall-jumping abilities and can even run along the walls now like a certain Persian Prince, which helps him overcome environmental obstacles or to escape and engage enemies. He can even run on water, even though you'll be lucky to do it twice over the course of the game. There are even a few magical attacks at his disposal, as well. Yes, Ryu can kick a lot of tail and he's more ninjariffic than ever before.

How to beat enemies without getting hit.

Hint by lyanhead on February 13, 2008  |  report this hint

A lot of people say this game is too hard but thats just because they don't take them time to try and out smart the computer. A good technique to use while fighting any enemy is to wait for them to make a move then just roll out of the way and make your attack. Some enemies have quicker recovery times than others so you'll have to make short and quick attacks for stronger enemies, but I've found this to be useful for every enemy.