Game Review - Ninja Gaiden 2 (NES)

If you enjoy ninjas as much as I do you are going to be stocked for this review. It's the follow up to the original Ninja Gaiden on the NES, its Ninja Gaiden 2: The Sword of Chaos.  Does this game live up to the high standards set by the first game?  Check out my review and find out for yourself!

Keeping with the tradition of the first game you are treated to some awesome in game cinematics when you first turn it on.  We get to see what has been happening to Ryu since we last encountered him at the end of the first game. A new villain named Ashtar the self-claimed Emperor of Darkness makes his entrance here.  We are introduced to the samurai looking villain and his ultimate weapon, a sword called the Sword of Chaos.  This is no normal sword, it happens to be the antithesis of the Dragon Sword that they Hayabusa family has passed on generation to generation. As with any good classic Nintendo game there is a damsel in distress, Irene Lew from the first game is back and has been captured by this mysterious Ashtar.  So it's up to Ryu to find her and bring her back safely as Ashtar tries to destroy our hero Ryu.

GRAPHICS 9.75/10 Once again the graphics in the game are excellent, some of the best on the NES.  I feel that the ones here are even better than the ones that were in the original Ninja Gaiden 1.  They seem cleaner and not so gritty plus there is a greater variety of environments. Plus you have to love all the creepy skulls and faces they put into the level to add to the dark atmosphere! 

In this game we are treated to more cinematic scenes, even more impressive than the first game. Instead of having just one scene as impressive as Ryu standing on the cliff looking at the Temple of Darkness, we get to see two awesome ones.

SOUND 9/10 Once again the soundtrack in this game is simply awesome. I'm not sure which soundtrack I enjoyed more but both were excellent.  So if you have a chance put this on your mp3 player to enjoy!  You definitely won’t be disappointed! I really like the "Lord of Night" boss theme, it's really awesome and works so great for the intense boss battles!  Sound effect wise it's pretty much identical to Ninja Gaiden 1, not any noticeable differences, at least that I noticed!  

GAMEPLAY 8/10 Ryu controlls exactly the same as he did in the first game, so if you played the first game you know exactly what to do.  But I'm so happy to report a couple things have been changed, and for the better. 

In Ninja Gaiden 2 when Ryu jumps up on a wall he can now climb up it, even if it's not a ladder, so now you don't have to try to do that crazy jump off and grab on again technique.  It so nice to be able just to climb up easily!

The other thing I really enjoyed was the new clone technique/item you can get.  If you grab and item that looks like an orange Ryu a duplicate/clone of Ryu will appear and follow you doing exactly what you are doing.  It sounds a little confusing but if you do it right you can inflict twice the damage and even set it up so the clone is slightly above you attacking enemies there while you attack the others.  If you continue collecting this item you can have up to 3 clones that will follow you around attacking until you die.  This definitely makes some parts a lot easier!

Unfortunately they didn't change how if Ryu gets hit by an enemy he flies backwards, but luckily with the other few improvements and additions it still makes for a little less frustrating experience. I also found the first few levels to be a bit easier before they toss you into the really tricky parts.

REPLAY 8/10 This addition to the Ninja Gaiden series is just as addicting as the first. Though with the first few levels being a bit easier it kind of give you incentive to keep coming back to play. I keep playing so I can memorize the levels and hopefully pass them all. Once again the Famicom version of the game is easier so if you have access to it and want a little less challenge check it out, though the dialogue will all be in Japanese so check out the English cut scenes online. I haven't beaten this game yet so I will definitely be playing it a lot so I can be sure to beat it!

......BOTTOM LINE 8.75/10

This game is an excellent addition to the Ninja Gaiden series.  With a few little additions and approvements I find it slightly better than the first game, though I highly recommend playing both games!  Once again this is a hard game so if you don't like very challenging games this may not be the game for you.  But if you like being able to challenge yourself and your hand eye coordination there is a lot here for you to enjoy. Even if you don't have an original NES console make sure to check out these games on the Wii Virtual Console as the whole series is on there to download and see if you can take down Ashtar and his Sword of Chaos.  Check out my gameplay video of the first few levels of the game so you can see what it’s like for yourself!