I'm on chapter 9 of NGII and I feel like I cannot go any further until I get a few complaints out of my system.  Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of the original on xbox.  I played through it several times multiple difficulties and loved the challenge.  I loved how difficult the mini boss and boss were on the very first level.  I felt like the game started out hard and got more challenging because it required me to play smarter with more precision and make fewer mistakes.  There was a great feeling of accomplishment when I finished levels because I knew I was getting better at blocking and using combos. 
 
1. Too many range based enemies with ridiculously fast reload times firing at me from off-screen in places I cannot reach on foot.  I dont mind having range based enemies to keep the pressure up, but its just ridiculous when there are 6 rocket launcher enemies firing 12 rocket salvos that take 2 seconds or less to reload.  Playing the game with any amount finesse becomes almost completely impossible in these scenarios.  These sections are not impossible, just cheap.  They require one to soak up ridiculous amounts of damage and just brute force your way through an area.  
 
2.  Spider ninjas that keep throwing incendiary shurikens at me.  When these guys appeared in the original they were tough for sure but still manageable.  This time they constantly throw several at a time making it impossible to dodge them.   Again, you have to use the quickest, cheapest combos to get through them efficiently. 
 
3.  Camera is too close and low.  There are a lot more enemies attacking at the same time in this game and this is something I like about the game; however, since viewing angle is narrower this positive turns into a negative.  I end up playing blind in a many scenarios, randomly dialing in combos and hoping they make contact with an enemy.  
 
Im getting through most of the game with high scores and not buying health.  these problems dont make the game too hard only too annoying.   Ultimately these complaints add up to one problem.  They tried to up the intensity in every regard in this game and in the process the made the game shallow and cheaper than the original.  As a result the player has to play cheaper and shallower to succeed.   To make a photo shop analogy,  they scaled the picture way beyond the limitations of its resolution.    
 
Im gonna go finish the game right now because personal pride demands that I do, but not because I am enjoying it anymore. 

cool

lololololol it claims another soul

I dont want to be that guy but....

Sigma fixes pretty much all balancing issues. I beat it on Path of the Warrior with no issues.

I thought the game was fun.......

NG2 was simply not as good as NGB. You're complaints are valid. I suggest you pick up Sigma 2 if you have a PS3. Most of these issues have been vastly improved or fixed.

This game is really fun

dude, ninja gaiden 2 = suppose to be hard, which difficulty are you playing?
Acolyte = pretty much anyone should be able to finish it
I remember the creator of this game said that acolyte difficutly can be done by his wife lol

Those rocket launcher guys are such a pain. They can really be frustrating. I was really enjoying it, but reached a part in the game that I just can't seem to pass. Also, it doesn't help that I first reached that point after renting the game, then bought it about a year later, so I'm trying to jump into that difficult part while trying to relearn how to play it. Hasn't gone over too smoothly. I'd like to finish it, though. I think parts of it have been unbelievably awesome. The Volf boss fight in the Colisseum, for instance, has to be one of the coolest moments I've ever endured in a game.

Two words: Ghost Fish.