Ninja Gaiden 2 Black - Review

There are a few game series that I adore and hate in equal measure, and Ninja Gaiden is one of those series. The hate comes from the frustration at just how brutal the series can be, but the adoration literally comes from just how much fun I have fighting rival ninja clans and more as a kick-ass ninja. Ninja Gaiden 2 is the one game from the three that I have played the least, so this remake was a great reason to jump back in. Does this release deserve the Black moniker, or is this just a black mark on the series?

The story that is on offer here is the same that came with Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, which itself was an enhanced release of the original game. The Ryu story is the same but is now broken up by three additional chapters, with missions starring Momiji, Rachel and Ayame as the leads. Their stories somewhat connect to the main tale, but they are not that important to it as evident by their absence if the original release. So, if you skipped them then it would not break anything, but they do offer a nice change of pace. There are a few slight changes to some levels, removing elements and such, but nothing there impacts the story. If you were a fan of Ryu’s attempts to stop the fiends, you will like what is here, but if not, then nothing here will change that.

Of course, one of the big reasons why I and so many others adore the series is because of the gameplay. While the series started out as a side scroller, the series really came into its own once it moved into the third dimension and that same feeling is still in effect here. I did boot up into the original Ninja Gaiden 2, just to compare how that release compared to the remake and honestly they gave similar vibes. That is not to say they are the same, there is a lot of difference between the two games, but some of the feeling lines up. Where the remake differs is mostly in just how much more precision the game needs, the original release was slightly more forgiving. That is not to say that this updated version is punishing, it does give you room to survive, but if you are not ready it will own you.

There are of course a few changes here from what players will remember from the original, but the game ends up as a blend between the original release and the Sigma version. The Sigma version added in Ayane, Momiji and Rachel’s levels, but also added in a number of extra bosses, the first being a giant buddha statue in the first level. In this version those extra bosses are mostly gone, the Dark Dragon remains though, but as I mentioned at the top, the extra levels are still here. The game has also lost its co-op mode, making this a purely single player experience, which I am personally fine with, but others may not approve.

If there was one update done to this version of the game that I would have loved to see, it would be an updated camera. It was something that made the original release hard to play and I heard that Sigma didn’t change it, so seeing it here for a third time is just sad. The camera can be adjusted slightly, I increased the moving speed and that helped a bit, but it almost always never focuses in the direction you need it to. This isn’t an issue when you are just running around, but when you are in combat, having it focus on a space where there are no enemies is a pain. Even putting in a lock-on for combat would have negated some of these camera issues, so either would have been good, seeing neither is a shame.

Of course, the biggest changes to the game is the updated visuals, with the game looking very nice, at least it should. There are times when the game just looks amazing, the large open spaces, a good horde of enemies and a whole lot of blood. While the levels based around world locations, like New York and Venice look ok, they are clearly still stuck with their original designs at its core as there is not a lot of detail to see. The games more original locations, like the Ninja village all look fantastic and part of that is due to how unique they are. The characters all look good, each of the main characters and villains has a clear outline, which with some darker settings does help them stand out.

It is sadly not all good news for the game, as I encountered a repeating visual issue that at one point required me to completely power down my TV. For some reason, after doing wall runs in caves, and it always seems to be then, Ryu’s model basically freaks out. When it happened, I was shocked at what I was seeing, it took me a bit to notice that I had no audio from the game, but it wasn’t just the game, nothing on my TV produced audio until I pulled the power from the TV. If it happened once I could have ignored it, but it happened multiple times and each time caused issues.

The games audio is solid, enemies sound frightening at a distance and menacing up close. The humans, or human-shaped characters have a good match of voice to character design going on, though some of the voices are a bit quiet at times. The games music is good, it amplifies the action on screen when needed and pulls back to be much calmer when you are not in a fight.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black is a solid remake of a great game. At its core it is the same experience, but with updated visuals and a few more tweaks to the experience, it feels like it’s all-new. The games combat still feels sublime, though it requires a little more patience than the original version of the game. Taking out some of the pointless additions that the Sigma version added is nice, but I would have preferred it if the additional story chapters were removed from the main story mode, but that is just a personal preference. If you are a fan of fast paced action games, then you owe it to yourself to play this updated version, as Ninja Gaiden 2 was considered the pinnacle of the series and issues aside, this release ranks right up there with it.

The Score

8.5

Review code provided by Koei Tecmo

The Pros

Some of updates to the game are welcome, like being able to upgrade weapons on the go are very welcome

The combat is just sublime, being able to slash enemies just feels right…

The Cons

… but there is less forgiveness to some of the attacks, so you had better be ready

A random and too frequent issue with Ryu after wall running is odd