So to prepare for Ninja Gaiden 3 and get myself in fighting shape I've decided to play through both Sigma games. I would have gone for the Xbox versions but... I already have save files on the Ps3 which means I can jump right into Hard Mode. And man, just played through the first level and Instantly reminded of why I love this franchise. A split second mis-calculation and your done.

It's 2012 and there's still not a sicker action game. A timeless classic.

I'm sorry for you then because Black is the best Ninja Gaiden ever and nothing will top that. NG2 was ok and NG3 looks really bad from the gameplay trailers I've seen.

@Grissefar: Indeed. You can call Itagaki a pervert a ego maniac or whatever you want to but fact is... the man KNEW what he was fucking doing when He made this game.

@Deusx: Your pic is great btw.

@Demoskinos said:

I already have save files on the Ps3 which means I can jump right into Hard Mode.

The non-Sigma versions (360 versions... Black and 2) are way harder.

@CptBedlam: Yeah, I know this but again... I don't have hard mode unlocked on them because I don't have saves anymore and besides that I'm going to be getting NG3 on the PS3 so I wanted to get used to playing it on the Dualshock again.

@CptBedlam said:

@Demoskinos said:

I already have save files on the Ps3 which means I can jump right into Hard Mode.

The non-Sigma versions (360 versions... Black and 2) are way harder.

Don't be a liar, that's not true for 1.

@Grissefar: It's easier than Black.

It's just a shame that they seem to have changed the fundamental game play elements in NG3 to the point that it deviates pretty noticeably from the formula that made Ninja Gaiden great. I don't really want a morality system in my NG, I just want to slice dudes with crazy weapons.

@CptBedlam said:

@Grissefar: It's easier than Black.

I don't think a slightly less crappy camera, an extra save statue and one less platform section counts as "way easier". For 2, sure because the difference there is night and day.

@Grissefar said:

@CptBedlam said:

@Grissefar: It's easier than Black.

I don't think a slightly less crappy camera, an extra save statue and one less platform section counts as "way easier". For 2, sure because the difference there is night and day.

Nah, they also tweaked the difficulty of some enemies.

Here's a quote from the IGN review (I know but it's the first thing I found on google)

"Sigma is essentially a remix of the original game and Black, offering up some of Black's additions like the Mission mode, while going back to the original's difficulty level (though it's still certainly not easy)."

@CptBedlam said:

@Grissefar said:

@CptBedlam said:

@Grissefar: It's easier than Black.

I don't think a slightly less crappy camera, an extra save statue and one less platform section counts as "way easier". For 2, sure because the difference there is night and day.

Nah, they also tweaked the difficulty of some enemies.

Here's a quote from the IGN review (I know but it's the first thing I found on google)

"Sigma is essentially a remix of the original game and Black, offering up some of Black's additions like the Mission mode, while going back to the original's difficulty level (though it's still certainly not easy)."

Giving a reviewer a lot of credit there, a guy who played it probably once. Here's a quote from a guy who played both for thousands of hours with top 10 karma scores when I asked him some time ago:

There are some very minor mechanics changes in Sigma, mainly to do with animations like Ryu's evade and being able to juggle enemies longer and with different combos. There were also some changes made to when weapons became available on the higher difficulties, which is most notable in chapter 1. They also included and reworked a lot of the missions in mission mode.

Anyway, sick game and I'm probably the only one to be excited about the lack of items, weapons and UT spam in the new one. I have faith in Hayashi, even though I probably shouldn't.