My time with Ninja Gaiden started with the original relase of the original game. I sucked. I sucked very hard. I was young, what can I say. I barely limped through the first few bosses, and got stuck on the fourth level. This was actually my inability to find something, not just my suckage. So yeah, I hadn't grasped how games actually worked at that point, though I did enjoy the rare moments where I did well. I gave up on it, and allowed a friend to have it. Who, also, got stuck. Though at a more appropriate moment, when it was actually hard.
A couple of years passed, and I had got better at games. I noticed that a remade version of Ninja Gaiden had been made, and I though nothing of it. Until I found out there was an easy mode in the game. An easy mode. I thought that would just mean all the visceral combat without all the death and fail that I had suffered. So sure enough, after I found it, I bought it. And History was made.
You see, the first thing I stupidly did in Ninja Gaiden Black was head straight for the easy mode. Died three times on the first level and forgot about the fact that I had got better at games. I breesed through the game, and some of my own bad habits in gaming were born. (Bad habits in games...I'll proabably blog about that when I can be arsed.) The only time I got stuck was again, due to poor design. It involved NInja Gaiden controls, platforming, and moving ledges.
Yeah.
But then, I beat the game and then breesed through normal mode, and then the real fun and addiction began. Hard mode and Mission Mode. Hard was suprisingly not that hard, and I passed that with many health potions intact, though the sense of satisfaction after completion was great. And Hard was where the best parts on Ninja Gaiden came to life. The Boss fights. Awakened Alma will stand out, for me, as one of the biggest c***s in gaming. Ouch. She kicked my arse hard. I don't even know why I was fighting her, can Rachel not go twenty seconds without being kidnapped? But anyway, the inclusion of minions into these awesome boss fights made them more intense. It was so much more fun than just learning a pattern and sticking to it. The slight unpredictability of more than one AI opponent in a boss fight meant that one move could turn the tide of battle.
And then Mission Mode. Practically just MOAR of what was good. And no, I haven't even done it yet. Its THAT hard. But it was Ninja Gaiden at its best. Difficulty was extreme, but never cheap. Enemies kicked your arse, but from on-screen, and because of inability of the player to react to the carnage going on. It was addictive and frustrating sometimes. But it was fair and fun, if you could handle it.
I then spent years waiting for Ninja Gaiden II, and the wait was over earlier this year. Ninja Gaiden II brought better base combat mechanics to the series, and made fights so much more intense with the health system. Regenerating health where hiding didn't mean pure healing, that was what this game needed, and got. But it was, overall, a dissapointment. Ninja Gaiden became cheap. The difficulty came from unblockable exploding shurikens and gatling rocket guns. That came from off screen. That was just where it all started to fall apart. It was fun, it was awesome, but Itagaki had forgot why the original was difficult. Sure it still had punishing AI, but the most difficult parts of the game came from this.
And the boss fights were a load of shite. Go up to them, press why a lot, and dodge every now and then. Sometimes you'd get pwnt, others you'd just win. Or you could use the bow on damn near everything. It was a shame really, as the groundwork was there for the best sequal ever made. I still play it a lot, and enjoy it, and will complete it over the weekend if I have enough time. I loved the game enough to download the mission pack, which was still damn fine. I suppose with more hours put into it (which I will do when I finally apply some structure to my gaming) I shall get used to the differences, and kick arse like before, but...time shall tell. I suppose I was riding on the hype, and it was still an amazing game, and it just goes to show what expectations and boastful game designers can do.
Carrying on that theme...I shall end with some completely unrelated praise for Peter Moleynuex. Well done for keeping your gob shut.
Til Soon,
~Tylea
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