Tough but Satisfying
My first impression of Ninja Gaiden II was that it was just the same as Ninja Gaiden. This is true to a certain extent, but if once you get past the first chapter you will be surprised that this is a game in its own right. I won’t layout the story for you as it is not that relevant to the actual gameplay itself. You begin with only the basic weapons from the first game and go on to add others as you progress through the chapters. There are 14 chapters in all which gives you around 12-15 hours game time depending on how fast you get through each chapter. The main issue with the gameplay that I found was the camera and the annoying attacks off screen. The camera is obtrusive when you are trying to battle enemies, I found it irritating to keep correcting it when also trying to keep my health from being battered down. The off screen attacks from arrow wielding ninjas were also a downfall of the gameplay. You could be happily running along to get 4 or 5 flaming arrows all at once! That’s just cheap.
Other than the annoyances the gameplay is solid, the weapons feel good through the controller, the combos are vast and manageable, and the difficulty is set just right (I played on the acolyte difficulty). The boss fight are generally good, apart from one were you get two armoured armadillos at the same time and the screen fills with red, which makes defeating them awkward at best.
I would recommend Ninja Gaiden II to anyone who enjoyed the first game, and to any one who enjoys 3 person action adventures.
