Ninja Gaiden for Xbox... omg

TrevJ

Member
May 2, 2001
1,959
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Ottawa
So, I recently started working at a video store and I get a decent employee discount. I haven't used my Xbox in quite a while because there just weren't any games that really appealed to me, but when I noticed Ninja Gaiden was being moved to the previously played section for sale, I figured I'd buy it and give it a whirl, since, as we all know, ninjas are awesome. Never have I played a game that so captures the true awesomeness of being a ninja, and the graphics are amazing.
There is a huge assortment of moves for the several weapons, almost like you're playing Dead or Alive or Soul Calibur, but the game is in the action/beat 'em up style, so it's a feature that really adds a lot not only to the game but to the genre. The control is also incredibly tight, making all the crazy acrobatics quite easy to pull off, facilitating a hugely enjoyable combat system. The only problem is the camera, which often seems to work against you, but thankfully you can always center it behind you with the right trigger like a Zelda game, so it's not too bad. Another debatable plus is that the game is pretty hard, something I'm really quite glad for. When you finally cut a boss down, there's a sense of accomplishment there that's lacking from most games that are easy enough to just stroll through with no major challenges.
Anyway, enough babbling; bottom line: I'm addicted, and my fingers hurt from beating the shit out of rival ninjas for hours last night.

If anyone else has played this, join in so I don't look too much like a raving fanboy.
 
Yeah, IT IS an awesome game, I tought single player was really an amazing story. I've played trough it 4-5 times. It is almost impossible to finish the game on Very Hard.

Have you unlocked the three originals Ninja Gaiden from the nes ?
 
Heh, not yet. I just got it yesterday, and I'm on chapter 7 of normal. This really seems like a game that will be fun to replay several times, not only to collect everything, but just because the combat is so much fun.
 
For the third boss, hit him, pull back,hit him,pull back.
It's the best way of killing him. It take some time tough.

TRevJ tell what you tought of the seventh level boss, Alma, I personaly think it's the hardest fight of the game,
 
Alma took me a few tries, but then I realized you can avoid almost all of her attacks by rolling, jumping, then rolling again as soon as you hit the ground. I'm currently in chapter 10, and the tanks/helicopters in chapter 9 gave me way more trouble than she did. I'm currently stuck on the double worm fight in chapter 10, and I'm also finding that much harder than Alma. That grapple attack they have where they just whip you around for like 10 seconds while annihilating your life bar is infuriating. The difficulty is ramping up like mad... if I were a violent person, my controllers would surely be smashed by now.
 
Strange :/
Really had my hardest time of the game on Alma.
Yeah difficulty is seriously ramping up. I tought the final boss would be impossible...
 
Okay... the difficulty is just getting out of hand, to the point where it goes beyond challenging and just becomes poorly designed. These fucking ghost fish are one of the worst enemies I've ever seen in a game, especially the way they're implemented in chapter 15. I barely survive a small room full of fiends, and then I'm supposed to climb a narrow staircase overflowing with them and repeat the process? What the fuck? This is still an awesome game, but it was more fun when the enemies were human, although the bosses are still quite cool.

Urge to kill... rising...
 
I found it boring, but that's just me. I got 75% through it, got lost, and just got rid of it. It's basically a faster version of Resident Evil, boring gameplay, stupid puzzles, crap camera, lame story, but it looks nice!
 
I agree that the puzzles are nothing special and that camera is lacking, but the gameplay is top notch (well, for most of the levels). I would say the story, while being pretty ludicrous, is actually above average for the genre, and yes, the graphics are excellent, with the FMVs being some of the best I've ever seen. I've loved beat-em'-ups since the days of Double Dragon and River City Ransom (best game ever!) and Ninja Gaiden totally fits the bill for that style of game.
 
Props for the RCR love, but the game was just stupid, aside from the high difficulty/cheap enemies. It was just a dull game. I'd rather play through Prince of Persia: TSoT for a 3rd time, that game was very enjoyable, despite having a plethora of lame puzzles. NG is more adventure, than beat em up. If you want a proper (and enjoyable) beat em up for Xbox, get the best one, which is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I hate the show and I recently rebought the game, because it was so enjoyable. There's also Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, which is the same engine and devs, and also very enjoyable, more adventure aspect in that game, I need to rebuy that one as well. Hell, all Tecmo games are overrated rubbish, because they look nice, but they play like ass. DOA3 is button bashing boredom, you can beat that game 100% in 2 hours, the only plus is the 4 player multiplayer and mult-tiered environments, and don't get me started on DOA:XBV. Hell, the old school NG games weren't very good either, Tecmo sucks.

FYI, they're called CG cutscenes, FMV is what old Sega CD/PS1 games had where they'd have real people in cutscenes, hence full motion video.
 
Speaking of The Sands of Time, I really need to get that game. I think it's the only acclaimed game of the past several months that I haven't played, and it looks like something I'd really enjoy. It's somewhat expensive though, and I've read that it's pretty short and has little replay value, so I'm a little hesitant. If only it would come down in price just a bit.

I'll have to look into the Buffy game, but the skeptic in me has trouble believing that a game based on that show could be the best beat-em-up for Xbox.