NINJA GAIDEN II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES) - No Death Clear

NINJA GAIDEN (NES) No Death Clear: https://youtu.be/zzx-4_es8QE?si=TeO82K4RS0cdPnHl
NINJA GAIDEN (Arcade) No Death Clear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqaS5WA3IsA

Following up my Ninja Gaiden (NES) video from a couple weeks ago, I went back and finished up a no death run of its sequel. It's a pretty straight forward follow-up to the original game, with some minor improvements (Ryu can now climb walls!), new abilities, and more emphasis on the in-game cinematics, which were rare at the time, and was one of the most praised aspects of the original.

I don't think this game is as good as the original in practically any way, but it's still a very good action platformer. The original is just an all time classic, which is always hard to follow. It has some fun new tools to play with though, most notably the shadow clone power up that they added. Was Ninja Spirit the first game to do that? I assume that's where they got the idea from, since it works the same way, and it's always a really fun and really powerful ability to play with. You can essentially triple your attack power with it, which lets you absolutely melt the bosses with the proper setup. It does nullify the challenge that the bosses could normally provide, though, especially during the final stretch of the game. You had to practice the bosses in the first game and understand their patterns and strategies, but in this one, you just have to learn the setup and blast them down. I still like it, but the balance could have been a lot better.

They also doubled down on the cutscenes. They're easy to skip instantly, so I'm not really complaining, but when I was recording this, and the end-stage cutscene finished up, I'd get ready to play the next stage... only for the NEXT cutscene to start playing as the intro to next stage. There's even long, drawn out cutscenes prior to, and sometimes even during the boss fights! The one before the second to last boss went on for so long that I zoned out and kinda forgot how to position myself at the start of it, lol. This run had some sloppy moments like that, but a no death run is a no death run. But again, you can skip all of this as soon as it comes up, so it only hurts the flow if you let it.

I had fun with this game, and I'm looking forward to learning Ninja Gaiden III to round out the 'original' trilogy. I am going to put it off for a little bit and play some Shinobi first, though. Let's get excited for Art of Vengeance!
ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

0:00 Intro
2:12 ACT I
3:20 Who ARE These Thugs?
4:34 ACT II
6:50 Ashtar... The Emperor of Darkness
7:47 ACT III
11:00 Die, Little Ninja
13:33 ACT IV
16:57 Irene, I'll Save You.
17:39 ACT V
19:01 The Power of the Almighty Evil
19:40 5-2
21:15 Show Yourself, Ashtar!
23:24 5-3
23:49 Shadows of Chaos
25:34 ACT VI
26:35 "Who the heck . . . !"
27:44 6-2
28:31 "Jungle Rat" Rob
30:35 ACT VII
32:12 "Ryu. Get 'em. . . for me."
32:43 7-2
34:47 "You are alive?!"
37:43 7-3
38:02 "What the . . . ."
40:26 7-4
40:46 The True Power of the Dragon Sword!
41:29 7-5
41:51 Ending & Credits

-----
Beat 'em Ups (e.g. Final Fight): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvMhpG1GR9sk8OYiWQMZZTgl
2D Action (e.g. Metal Slug): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfI6IYca_kvNFjpnJ59Th6N0IU1PSpD3d
STG/Shmups (e.g. Dodonpachi): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFE6B3779BE759F71

Видео NINJA GAIDEN II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES) - No Death Clear канала iconoclast