Review: Ninja Gaiden II

Ninja Gaiden 2 is, at its heart, a classic brawler in the tradition of Final Fight and Streets of Rage. Players control a single character, master ninja Ryu Hayabusa, and guide him through a multitude of levels while facing down mobs of enemies ranging from cuddly, death-dealing dogs with swords in their mouths to ravenous demons spawned from the pits of hell. Regardless of enemy type, they all die the same way: in bloody pieces.

Ryu has an arsenal of combos and other means of grisly carnage at his disposal but mastery of some form of technique or strategy will be required to make any kind of progress in the game. It’s convenient then that Ninja Gaiden 2 boasts incredibly responsive, easy-to-use controls. A few quick button taps can send Ryu sprinting along a wall and vaulting across a chasm before dispatching an enemy with a vicious decapitation. Within the correct context, a single button tap can cause Ryu to bisect a demon from head to crotch. The control scheme is based on an economy of button-pressing. No button-mashing is required nor will it get the player very far; Ninja Gaiden 2 rewards precision and a zen-like attitude towards combat.

As smooth as the player controls are, it’s a shame the same can’t be said of the camera controls. Knocking the camera controls of a third-person, 3-D game might be old-hat by now, but it’s really an amazing contrast between how easily players control Ryu, and how slow, plodding, and difficult it is to get the camera to a comfortable viewing point. The camera also has the ability to move on its own and put itself at really awkward positions in the middle of combat. Not a fabulous feature in a game this difficult.

Combos and attacks are so plentiful, the problem isn’t just remembering how to pull them off, but deciding which attack would be the best for any given situation. Nothing is outside of the player’s reach with practice. This challenge is the best aspect of Ninja Gaiden 2 and also its greatest detriment, at least as far as playability is concerned. This game is not designed with every player in mind.

Enemies are intelligent and aggressive; while they won’t attack the player en masse, they will not hesitate to attack first, nor will the second attacker give the player any kind of breathing room upon dispatching a first. The game itself won’t give players any kind of breathing room, dropping them into combat as soon as the first cut scene ends; Ninja Gaiden 2 is all about on-the-job-training. As I mentioned before, button-mashing will get players nowhere, and this is also one of the first brawlers where blocking will do nothing but help you; a well-timed block and counter-attack is essential to defeating the larger mobs. Luck will only take a player so far – the names of the game are practice and timing.

Games have shifted from a challenge to an experience. Today, players will beat most games they purchase and also enjoy a cinematic, story-telling experience. In the younger days of consoles, games were all about the challenge: there was no guarantee any one player could or would complete a game they had spent hard-earned money on. In fact, it often seemed that developers had a sadistic streak in them where players were concerned. Infuriation, not immersion, seemed to be more the norm.

This is neither me waxing nostalgic, nor condemning the industry today, just observing what has changed and introducing Ninja Gaiden 2 as a title eager to bring back a sense of challenge to a generation of gamers who may have gotten a bit lazy since the introduction of the quicksave.

While not as difficult as its predecessor for the original Xbox, Ninja Gaiden 2 is arguably one of the most challenging games available for the Xbox 360. It’s certainly the hardest game I own. Changes have been made to the formula of the first game with a more casual gamer in mind (save points scattered throughout the level, automatic healing after a fight), which is all well and good, but do not hide or make up for the fact that even the easiest difficulty setting (Acolyte) will leave seasoned players hitting the continue button more than the attack button.

As off-putting as the challenge may be to some players, it’s also the most rewarding aspect of Ninja Gaiden 2; which wouldn’t be the same game without. The hardest difficulty, Master Ninja, is the ultimate challenge to players of the game. The easier (I use that term loosely) three difficulty levels are just practice for that main event. The game is not cheap with its difficulty, small comfort for sure, but it does mean that any challenge can be done, given the proper application of skill.

A boon of the higher difficulty is the sense of accomplishment players can feel after clearing out certain sections of the game, beating a particularly difficult boss fight, or finally, exhaustedly, closing the book on the Master Ninja difficulty. It’ll be a feat the player has accomplished, not by memorizing an attack pattern or by getting lucky, but by careful application of combo attacks or timing a counter attack perfectly and making mincemeat of enemy ninja.

Bottom Line: Ninja Gaiden 2 is a fantastic game, a next-gen application of a tired-and-true brawler formula executed with deft hand, brilliant design, and serious talent. The game breaks little new ground, sticks to a road mostly paved by games before, but stands as a sterling example of the genre.

Recommendation: Try it: It’s imperative to get a sense of the gameplay and challenge before spending 60 dollars on a game that leaves you stuck at level two on the easiest difficulty setting.

Matthew Olcese is a miscreant who talked his way into an IT job with a BA and (soon-to-be) MA in literature. That’s all you need to know.