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Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Review
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Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 has rounded the corner and it is truly a sight to behold. I am not one for keeping you in suspense so you should know right out of the gate that this release is not ground breaking. However, it stays true to the Ninja Gaiden formula that goes back as far as Nintendo (NES) and only slightly eases up on the difficulty. I've had quite a long break from Ryu Hayabusa and his masterful swordsmanship so this review will be for those of us that decided to jump on the Ninja Gaiden resurrection bandwagon a bit later than others. Although I will point out some of the differences between this and recent versions for added perspective.
Overview
Ryu Hayabusa is our hero in this story. He is the master of many weapons, ninja arts, and hand-to-hand combat. True to form to traditional Japanese anime characters, women characters possess gravity defying breasts (shake the control for an extra treat).
Also, let me welcome those of you that may or already have decided to take the plunge and buy into the series at this point. If you're a glutton for punishment, this game will provide the difficulty to back it up. It is notably easier than prior releases, but don't be fooled. It will still frustrate many and cause them to be stuck in a small loop of sword/stone hand/demonic claw to the face and Game Over screen to get how to beat a boss.
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Therein lies an inherent satisfaction for those like me. It contained just enough difficulty at times to keep me on my toes while allowing enough leeway to get the job done with a small amount of errors. There were some bosses that were bested in a not so fashionable and time consuming way. Others made you want to throw the control and walk away, but you simply couldn't. You do slightly better each time through to justify giving it another go. I'm a little rusty so I personally died roughly seven times figuring out one of the chapter bosses. Each death honed my control of Ryu's reflexes and gave me clues about what tactics and weapons would work the best.
Gameplay
This is and should be the best part of the game. The gameplay is action packed and will keep you on your toes even on the "easy" setting. Easy is meant purely in jest because my many deaths came from playing that mode. Fear not, there are many save points that replenish your health and save your progress. A death at a boss usually means you load right back in to the beginning of the boss fight. This does prove to be an annoyance at the end of Chapter 2 though since the second you load back in the boss attacks you.
It must have been a labor of love for the developers to create the many weapons, combos, spells, and aerial moves that are at Ryu's disposal. Don't despair and think that you'll have to memorize all of this. You scavenge many a dead corpse for helpful scrolls that show you the button presses necessary to accomplish a combo or move. There are plenty of upgradeable weapons via a blacksmith/store statue that assist you in your progression. Each requires a different battle tactic. That's good, but many games have tons of weapons and combos right? What makes this different you ask? The difference is that merely hacking, slashing, and button mashing will get you absolutely nowhere. You must master dodging, blocking, and countering if you have the slightest hope of surviving. Some enemies require more and/or less of one of these three components to best them. For instance, blocking isn't easily broken by the standard sword wielding enemy, but try that same block on a fiend and find yourself pinned to the ground being slashed by their demonic claws. The moves go even further and can result in more money for your shop/blacksmith visits. There is a chargeable attack that creates a combo that means almost certain death for the enemy or enemies that are hit by it.
There are three playable female characters with the included control shaking feature that jiggles their breasts and helps you take them more seriously... They are given short missions that could've been expanded or even included so that you could choose and grow different characters throughout the entire story. The mentioned story is severely lacking and really can be ignored. It almost seems as if the plot was an afterthought, but no matter. It doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
The camera will cause a small bit of frustration at times as you won't see an enemy coming and it will cause you to lose a bit of your precious life bar. The camera can be controlled by the right analog stick and that helps ease the problems inherent in how the camera follows Ryu. These tend to include getting stuck around corners and sitting in a less than ideal position over the battlefield.
Graphics
The graphics are a bit below par for current generation games. It is hardly enough to be turned off by the game though. The graphical issues are few and represent minor quibbles. I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 on a Philips 120Hz 1080P HDTV and its motion smoothing helped me enjoy the game that much more. The most notable for graphics is that this Mature rated game has been exsanguinated. An enemy that has lost an limb or a head spews what looks like fuzzy purple lines of life energy instead of red bloody goodness. Lighting is used appropriately to convey the time of day or the dire nature of a situation.
Audio
This deserves only a small mention. Not because it is necessarily bad, but there isn't much to mention. The music is often drowned out by the sound effects from enemies. I almost never find this as a bad thing because I want to hear the last sounds being emanating from my enemies as they take their last breath. The music is used well and is in similar fashion to the lighting so that you are given a well-rounded view of the situation and time.
Conclusions
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is a solid game overall. It definitely occupies the upper echelons of action games for its depth of skill required, difficulty, and the harmonious integration of defensive and offensive maneuvers. There are too many games these days that don't present any real amount of difficulty that ultimately frustrates the hell out of the player. It is not impossible, it is just that much more satisfying when you conquer your foes and move on. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 should be a buy for anyone interested in the genre that has owned prior incarnations or may even be new to the scene. It will keep you busy for several hours of enjoyment. If the jiggling boobies are the main draw for you, then this isn't the Ninja you're looking for. Buy Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the impressive gameplay period.
The video below is a small clip I put together to show some of the elements of gameplay and combat. It's my first try playing with Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 14. Enjoy. Sound was almost completely muted as there was too much outside interference.
Overall Rating: 8/10
For more info: email Nicholas at technic.amoroso@gmail.com
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Official Website
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