Thread 11920225

After playing the NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound demo and enjoying it very much, my autism kicked in and I decided to play every single Ninja Gaiden game in release order. Just finished 3 and holy fuck, this game is amazing. Looking forward to the GG/GB/SMS games before going into NG Black/II/3:RE.

also Ninja Gaiden thread I guess

The GG game is way too short and easy, but still a good game.

The GB game is also too short and easy (though not as) but it's carried hard by its presentation, music and graphics are peak Natsume.

It was made by Nastume and the game feels like a weird middle ground between Ninja Gaiden and Shadow of the Ninja to the point that I wonder if it wasn't originally supposed to be a GB version of Shadow of the Ninja. Still a great game.

I have yet to play the SMS version but thanks for the reminder

The Lynx also got a port of the arcade game and of NES 3

>>11920225 (OP)
I recommend skipping NG: Dragon Sword on the DS. It just reuses NG Xbox assets, and the gameplay is nothing by swiping the touchscreen on enemies.
>>11920761
Yes, NG:Shadow wasn't developed by Tecmo, so it's a Shadow of the Ninja game at heart. Pulls in some decent versions of NES tracks though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Gaiden_Shadow

>>11920225 (OP)
I'm halfway through the first game for the first time, also motivated by Ragebound, and this plot is hilarious. Ryu is in a room with an archeologist discussing this demon statue that can destroy the world and how important it is, yet they apparently left it unattended and a random ninja just steals it right under their noses. Previously, this ninja who was murdering random people in America in broad daylight gets shot by a random woman, stablishing that guns are a threat in this low power level setting. Except something like 2 missions later you're casually slicing automatic gun fire and rockets on reaction. I'm loving this nonsensical silliness.

Might as well watch the OVA, OP

>>11921575
Ninjas don't use guns! They use katanas and shurikens and ninjutsu and occasionally poisoned onigiri!

>>11920813
I was thinking about it, but since it's not THAT long, I might play it. It can't be worse than the original arcade one, right?

>>11921603
Didn't know it had an OVA, now I have to check it out. Is it any good?

I also plan on doing the same with the Shinobi series, because I played the SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance demo and enjoyed it very much. We really are in the Year of the Ninja

>>11921853
>NG: Dragon Sword
I think it's irredeemable garbage, but if you want to check it out, that's up to you. I don't think it will emulate well, since you're required to hold the DS sideway to play it.

>Ninja Gaiden OVA
It's not bad, but I think it spends too much time with side characters.

I played through the SMS version and it's pretty damn great, it would probably be one of my favourite SMS games so far if it wasn't for the ninjutsu glitch that makes the game too easy: your ninjutsu power level does not reset when you die, not even when using a continue; AND when you reach 999 you have infinite ninjutsu. It's ridiculous and there doesn't seem to be a romhack to fix it either.

Otherwise this is as good as it gets on SMS, stellar graphics, music and gameplay. Cutscenes actually have blood unlike in the NES games. There are a couple of shitty set ups but overall the game is easier than the NES games (though harder than the GG and GB games), as long as you remember that you have a screen killing attack you can use once per life at the cost of a few HP you'll be out of the shitty situations like those flames that spawn around the player and stick on him like glue. It's a bit like a discount Ninja Gaiden but still a real and great Ninja Gaiden.
Also I was expecting the final boss to have a third form

oh and I forgot to mention this makes me want to check out other SMS games by the same devs. I've already played Master of Darkness but Air Rescue and Buggy Run look pretty damn good.

>>11922354
Being so specifically based on Ninja Gaiden 2 also has the knock-on effect of Irene just being a weepy damsel character for Ryu to brood about. A sad showing from her in that OVA.

>>11923381
what was he telling me to seek?

Just finished Ninja Gaiden GG and Ninja Gaiden Shadow. GG was ok, nothing special, but Shadow was actually pretty fun. The presentation is top notch and the soundtrack is great, too. The hook was fun to use as well. Both were super short so I just speedran through both tonight. Gonna finish Ninja Gaiden SMS next and then move on to the 3D ones.

I know this is /vr/, but how is Yaiba? Never seen anyone talk about this game.

>>11920813
>I recommend skipping NG: Dragon Sword on the DS.
Not a real Itagaki jihadist; he made it so that his daughter could play enjoy it.

I like how the PC Engine version fixes the skewed platforms so it's easier to tell where you can walk and where you'd fall through the ground on NES

PC Engine version also fixes this glitched enemy spawn.
But using a continue on the final boss still puts you back at 6-1 that's for everyone claiming that's a glitch

>>11926382
Graphics in that version are cool. Too bad the music is ass

Ninja Gaiden (NES) is so good. Probably the best action-platformer ever, honestly. 2 is amazing, but the weather gimmick and lack of mashing brings it down. Graphics are better, though. NG2 is definitely in the post 1990 god tier NES aesthetics era.

I still have to beat 3, though.

>>11926485
3 is genuinely my favourite of the trilogy and probably one of my favourite action games on NES alongside the likes of Mega Man 4, Darkwing Duck, Shatterhand, Shadow of the Ninja and Mitsume Ga Tooru , but everyone always looks at me wrong when I say it's my favourite.
What I like about it is that compared to the other 2 it is very low on the bullshit, plus it has some QOL like being able to see the items before slashing them, and you actually have to fight the bosses (and everything really) instead of just tanking and or bum rush until you get lucky. The game has excellent pacing as well and I never liked the isometric perspective of the first 2 games that much.

It has a bad reputation because of the limited number of continues, but considering how low on bullshit cheap deaths and how much more fair the game is in comparison with the other 2 it largely evens out.

>>11926309
there was a fucking pc engine version!???????
Please tell me it's like the Gradius port with minimal gameplay changes?

Also, NG is peak platformer gameplay, right along with Castlevania and GnG.

>>11926581
Japanese version had continues and much better balance. English devs can't control their autism and just had to mess with enemy spawns. NG3 is a good game. Also the MUSIC is fire.

>>11926629
>there was a fucking pc engine version!???????

There is and it's quite good except for the parallaxed scrolling being jittery as hell; and yes it's mostly untouched

>>11926581
3 is a good game, but I'd argue it has more flaws than the first two. Ryu's jumps are too floaty, he takes double damage, the final stage is so long that there's a reasonable chance the timer can kill you, and (while not terribly important,) the plot is full of holes and contrivances. But it does do a lot right too, like the sword extension, seeing what's in an item orb, great music, implementing vertical sections. In fact, they probably made Ryu floaty to accommodate the new verticality.

>>11920225 (OP)
>Just finished 3
Did you though?

>japanese version
>savestates

>>11926687
>they probably made Ryu floaty to accommodate the new verticality
Exactly. It's not a flaw. It's just a different design.

RE is by far the best 3D Ninja Gaiden and that's entirely because that faggot Itagaki was nowhere near it
He's not a genius, he's a retarded scam artist that latched onto an actually talented dev team

>>11926687
> he takes double damage

That's what makes it better. Like I said the game has a LOT less bullshit like "enemy spawns in your face and you only have time to react if you know it's coming" situations, honestly I only count 1 or 2 of those in the final stage. So the challenge is fair. If you look at anyone playing 1 and 2 that isn't a TAS you'll see how it often doesn't matter when they take hits and damage boosting past certain areas is often a strategy, or just standing in place tanking hits and spamming the sword against a boss can often make you victorious. No such thing in 3, you're forced to care and get good and every hit you take matters. I genuinely believe that's the main reason why it's disliked by the norm, it's the same logic for Castlevania 4 or Mega Man 2 being "favourites": they're the easier games so players who suck can easily go farther in them (not necesarilly beating up, just making more progress).

The plot isn't great I'll give you that but the plot in 1 and 2 also had their dumb moments. Also I don't really play those games for the story and I don't think they were meant to be taken that seriously, even when it was good it was always just a series of cool clichés.

> the final stage is so long that there's a reasonable chance the timer can kill you

That's the only flaw for me. The timer should refill at some point mid way through the stage like it does in the long stages of 1 and 2.

>>11926309
this is the most clear-cut soul vs. soulless comparison I've ever seen

>>11926629
>>11926653
>mostly untouched
They removed the spinslash one-shotting bosses so it's shit.

>>11928491
CV4 and Mega Man 2

I feel that they are recomended is because of accessibility, rather than enjoyability. People who desire a greater challenge will go to MM3 or MM4, rather than stopping at MM2 and deciding that it's the final challenge MM has to offer.

>>11928502
>They removed the spinslash one-shotting bosses so it's shit
Yep, insta dogshit port. The whole point of spinslash was to reward the player for bringing it to the boss without dying or accidently picking other power ups. It was a really innovative method of risk/reward.

>>11928070
>played the japanese version of a japanese game

And I played on original hardware. Heck, it's a Famicom AV, even used a japanese console, so fuck off, I didn't use savestates.

Finished Ninja Gaiden SMS last night, and the ninjutsu glitch that >>11923381 mentioned really made an already easy game a total cakewalk, which is a shame. I don't think it's better than the NES trilogy, but it is a good game.

>>11928491
I get your point. The double damage thing really makes it harder to get into than the first two though, and it annoyed me as a kid. A lot later on, I played a romhack that adds features from the Japanese version, like the password system and regular damage, but with the NA item and enemy placement, and it was the easiest NG I'd ever played.

>>11928518
I agree. I don't think CV4 or MM2 are the best of their series, but they are the games you might want to point a new player to if you want them to like the series.

Are the Master Collection versions of the NG games good?

>>11926309
Apparently they "fixed" the Jaquio fight so the fireballs come back and home in on you all the time, and the demon boss' attack is changed to bouncy balls.

>>11931314
Yeah I reached the fight and I was like "this feels totally different", and a lot harder.