Review: Ninja Gaiden II

Back in 2004, Tecmo brought back the Ninja Gaiden series with a new Xbox version of the game named... wait for it... Ninja Gaiden. It became one of the premier action games on the market. Admittedly, I didn't get a chance to play it until the PS3 remake Sigma, but it was still quite impressive. Now, four years since the Xbox reboot, Team Ninja has finally crafted an NG sequel for the Xbox 360. But how did Ninja Gaiden II turn out? Read on to find out.

Ninja Gaiden II again puts you in control of ninja extrodinaire Ryu Hayabusa. It seems someone is trying to resurrect the archfiend and it's Ryu's job as a member of the Dragon Ninja Clan to stop him. The story is really just an excuse to have you hop-scotching around the world killing all types of rival ninjas and fiends. While the story isn't anything to write home about, the cutscenes can be pretty amusing. They'll usually have Ryu engaging in some ridiculous action sequence where he's gliding through the sky like a flying squirrel or telling some enemy he's going to kill them. But in a day when many action/adventure games' stories are quite good, NGII's is pretty dissappointing.

The new Eclipse Scythe is brilliant...

Luckily, the gameplay makes playing through this game worthwhile. The brilliant combat system from the original remains the focus of the gameplay and it’s just as deep and fast as ever and a bit bloodier too. What you’d expect is back: light, strong, and ranged attacks; charged Ultimate Techniques and aerial attacks; Ninpo magic; long combo strings; counterattacks; upgradeable weapons (which unlocks more combos and moves), ninpo and lifeline upgrades. All that works well and they added some new elements to the mix though to freshen things up. For one, they’ve added some new weapons like a giant scythe and a pair of claws with blades for your feet. These along with a few others join some old favorites like the Dragon Sword (which is as awesome as ever) and the lunar staff. Overall, the weapon set is much faster than the first game’s. One major addition to the combat is the Obliteration Technique which ties in with the new bloodier combat. Basically, while in combat you’ll lop off all kinds of limbs. These enemies will continue to try and hurt you though (even resorting to killing themselves in order to deal you a lot of damage). To finish these enemies off, you just tap Y next to them which will launch a cinematic finisher. The move will be dependant on the enemy, missing limb, and weapon. They’re pretty cool, add a new wrinkle of strategy to the frantic action, and can even be used against bosses. Another addition to the combat is the ability to charge up your ranged weapons like your bow and arrows. They’ve added enemies and even bosses designed to take advantage of this new skill.

... the Tonfas, not so much.

Some other changes have been made that affect the combat as well. Your life will now fill back up (at least partially) when no enemies are around and can be filled back up completely when you first use a save statue. On the Path of the Warrior difficulty (which is basically the original's normal, they also added an "easy" mode which I didn't play), this regenerating health meter makes normal encounters a bit easier than in the first game, though the bosses as a group are just as plentiful and about as difficult. Having said that, the bosses altogether aren't as strong in quality as the first game's and there were a few I could have done without (not because of difficulty, but because of design). There’s also a mix of new and familiar enemies. Just like before there are a good variety of enemies from ninjas to demons with all types of weapons like claws, magic, and rocket launchers. All the different enemies take different strategies and techniques. As a whole, the combat is about as good as before which means it’s still one of the best combat systems in gaming and the new elements are welcome.

There are also some platforming and puzzle elements to break up the action. The platforming will have you running on walls and swinging on poles. It's not all that compelling though some of the wall-running techniques are pretty cool. Running on water is also cool, but I think they missed some opportunities to flesh that out more. Controls while moving along and swinging on poles are kind of clunky as well. Puzzles are for the most part of the completely archaic “find a key to open some door” variety and even more simple than the first game's. These portions of the game are pretty meh, but the focus is on the action so it doesn’t really matter too much.

The level design has changed a bit in the sequel. The game has become much more linear, but has more diverse environments as you'll be going all around the world from a futuristic Tokyo to a rebuilt Hayabusa village to New York and many other cool places. I like the added variety of levels, but I actually preferred the original's capitol Tairon with it's outlying areas and it's less linear design. Overall, the level design is okay though some sections made me scatch my head in what the were thinking when the came up with them.

Slicing up fiends is great fun and the combat is still really sweet.

One of the big issues with the gameplay is the camera. For my money, it's maybe a bit worse than in Sigma, but not too much. Basically, it's gets caught in bad places sometimes and makes it possible to get hit by an off-screen enemy. And on the occasion that you must fight two bosses at once, it becomes a complete mess as neither the "focus on the boss" option or the free option is ideal. There is a set-behind button, but the camera is pretty bad (I got used to it, but that doesn‘t make it alright).

Ninja Gaiden on Xbox was probably the best looking console game when it came out and maybe the best looking game of last generation. Ninja Gaiden II doesn’t have the same impact as the original. It’s still quite the looker. The game hosts some nice animations with blood and limbs flying everywhere as Ryu swiftly takes out his foes. The art is kind of a mixed bag though. Ryu, some of the enemies, and most of the levels look really nice. On the other hand some of the character designs are pretty bad (Genshin I’m looking in your direction). The game runs fairly well, but there are some framerate drops and mid-level loads. When these happen during a fight, they can negatively affect your play which is annoying. Overall, the game is a good-looking game, but I expected more from Team Ninja and some art and performance issues drag down the look of the game.

The game has a pretty good soundtrack. It fits the action well switching between ambient pieces and more rock inspired ones for the fights. The English voiceovers have gotten beaten up pretty bad by players, but I don’t believe they are that bad. I mean average at best I suppose, but they wouldn’t sound so bad if the writing (particularly for the fiends) wasn’t so terrible. The sound effects are what you'd expect and well-done.

This is the first chapter's boss. After a while you'll just be fighting him as if he was a normal enemy. Awesome.

One good thing about Ninja Gaiden II is that while most action games are lasting less than ten hours to complete these days, this game clocks in between 15 and 20 hours long. Sure, some of that is due to dying and restarting, but I was happy with game’s length. As far as reasons to come back, that really depends on how hardcore a player you are. Big NG fans will eat up the harder difficulties and tougher to get achievements. There are also leader boards and the ability to take videos of your play that add some replay to the game. One new addition I enjoyed was the ability to carry your weapons over to a second play through on the same difficulty. There are also some hidden skulls to find and a series of special fights within the game to beat if you haven’t in your first run-through. I’m a bit disappointed that Mission Mode wasn’t in the game (it was released as DLC), but the game has a pretty decent play value for a single-player game. There isn’t a ton of extras to unlock, but you do get some alternate costumes when you finish the game.

Summary

Story

Don't come here for the story. While some of Ryu's antics in cutscenes are amusing, the game's story is pretty bad.

Gameplay

This game is all about the combat which is deep, fast, fun, and challenging. New elements like the scythe, claws and obliteration techniques among others are good additions. The games platforming and puzzles are unsatisfying, the camera is pretty bad, and I think the more linear level design is a step backward, but if you are looking for great action and combat, it doesn't get too much better than this.

Graphics

I expect more from a Team Ninja game, but it's still a good looking game. Some art and performance issues do hold it back a bit.

Sound

The soundtrack is pretty good and the sound effects are well-done. The American voice-acting isn't too good, but the bad writing makes it seem worse than it is in my opinion.

Replay Value and Extras

The game is a pretty good length (15-20 hours on Path of the Warrior) and longer than your average single-player action games these days. Secrets within the game, achievements, and leaderboards also add some longevity to the game. The lack of Mission Mode on the disc is a bit dissappointing, but the game has some good value. Unlockable extras are minimal and in the form of some different costumes.

Overall

Ninja Gaiden II is a very good action game. It's not quite as great as the first game (even if just comparing the combat), but it's still a solid game. The combat is still awesome, but the other gameplay elements and story are kind of dissappointing. But if you're looking for good challenging combat with smart enemies and cool boss fights, Ninja Gaiden II is a good choice.

Score-8.5/10