I actually took advantage of a sale to bag NG1 Black, and yup. Just as soulcrushingly difficult as the vanilla version.
The Tag Missions from Sigma 2 are there but are offline only. Which sucks. I'm stuck on Master Ninja 2 right now.
Do they make you bring a cpu partner along, or can you run them solo?
Yeah, you gotta use the trash ass cpu lol. It's why I've always struggled. These missions on PS3 were a cakewalk back in the day since it had online support. Idk why Sigma 2 in the Master Collection and 2 Black doesn't have the online. A cool thing though is that one of the Team Ninja community managers joined the Hardcore Ninjas discord and they've been taking notes on what the community wants in the next update which comes out this month. Hopefully they improve some of the balancing on the tougher tag missions. This game is gonna give me a heart attack if I don't get through this mission.
Ninja Gaiden 1 no matter which version is one of the greatest Hack and Slash games ever made. 2004 Team Ninja went hard in the paint on that game. Still a game I go back to.
Ah, that's a shame. The forced cpu partner always made me way less interested in NG2 trials compared to 1 or RE. Online coop was fun, but I always liked being solo and having total control.
It's weird too. OG2 didn't have the Tag Missions. It had solo ones that you had to pay like 7 dollars for. I wish they would've brought those back as well as the Tests of Valor that were in certain levels in OG2. Ninja Gaiden 2 is this cursed type game that for as much as I love 2 Black, it's just doomed to never have a perfect re release. Either because of the fact that TN lost the original source code or that they just want more of the casual audience to be drawn to it. I'm a half and half type of fan. I love every version of the game, and I like that it's based on Sigma 2 for the sole fact that I'm not getting anally barraged with 27 thousand Incendiary Shuriken while having to rely on the same three techniques to gain as many I-frames as possible (even though it's pretty fun and chaotic) but at the same time I wish the larger enemy count was still there and the old missions and costumes. I also miss the Windmill and Incendiary Shuriken. That should've been re added.
Totally agree, I still plan on getting it but it does feel like a missed opportunity. Having the trials from both versions, proper new game+, and each character playable in chapter challenge ala RE should've been in. I feel like they could have had the vanilla high enemy counts in a "Legendary Dark Knight" style alternate difficulty mode too.
For me I had to buy it on principle. As much as people hate it. It's what we got. And that's enough for me. I've been waiting for a new proper NG game since 2012. I was 11. I had the same reaction to Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy back in 2017. We hadn't had a new Crash game since 2008 so I immediately bought a PS4 and eventually the game on release day because, even if it isn't 1:1 perfect, it shows the company that there is interest in bringing back the franchise. And it sort of worked for Crash so hopefully the same happens to Ninja Gaiden and we don't only get Ragebound and 4. I want to see Character Action make a comeback and with games like Stellar Blade and Wukong doing so well and now NG coming back I think there is a good chance. There are even rumors that the Greek Saga God of War games might get remastered for new systems. All we need is DMC6 to round it out.
Totally. I've been so damn hungry for a new Ninja Gaiden I've resorted to cosplaying Hayabusa in Nioh and Rise of the Ronin lol. This, NG4, and Ragebound are all at the top of my list this year, and I'm really hoping we get a character action resurgence.
Man, I can't wait for the Rise of the Ronin PC port. I have a PS5 but I'm selling it since it seems as if most games just don't run well on the damn thing. I loved playing GOW and Stellar Blade but they just felt choppy even with the Performance modes. And FF16 was badass but I only made it like 25% through because I couldn't put up with the resolution and frame drops during combat.
Yeah, PS5 can definitely be hit or miss, and Rise runs pretty rough on it. I'm too broke for a new PC atm and my current PC is pretty old, so I have to take what I can get lol.
Yeah, I'm selling mine in hopes I can put the money towards a 5070. I need a new gpu to play Doom and Monster Hunter. My GPU is a 2060 6GB currently and it's struggling with Ninja Gaiden atm.
Honestly, If you aren't super interested in new games it's not really worth it. Most of the games I play are old anyway. But there is some heat around the corner that I really want to play.
Yeah, I've been putting it off, but I've been thinking about it more and more lately for the same reason. 2025 is gearing up to keep me pretty busy, game wise. I'm pretty hyped for Onimusha coming back too. If we could just get Tenchu now, I'd be reliving my Ninja/Samurai obsessed youth again lol.
I didn't know about Onimusha, That'll be badass. And man I wish they'd bring back Tenchu. Stealth games need a comeback too.
Yeah, I really dislike how Stealth gameplay has turned into something that gets shoehorned into every Action/Open-World game in a shallow manner but gets very little actually dedicated to it.
I know. As much as it worries me I am quite hyped for MGS3 Remake. Hopefully it shows everyone that Stealth Action can still be engaging without having to ride off of the Action part.
