Ninja Gaiden 2

[Mephistopheles]

Am currently stuck on the werewolf rush of chapter 5 (though I did, for a period of time, get to the bit where you have to fight those skeletal-snake things while running on water, which was hard). Didn't really try the lunar staff much on them as I thought having faster weapons was a better approach. Will try the on-landing essence absorption though and see how that works out (if the other 15 or so aren't already running up to me to use their cheap-o grab attack).

My advice against enemies on water is to mash the X button rather than try any fancy combos with the Y button. The reason is Y is for strong attack and the force of this attack will cause Ryu to sink underwater when he's finished the attack. Whereas if you hit X (weak attack) Ryu will stay on the water and slash away. Makes the fights a lot easier.

Btw, on-landing essense absorbtion is absolutely crucial for this game. Take out one or two werewolves normally and then do the on-landing Ultimate Technique and they won't be able to touch you.

[Stormtec]

My advice against enemies on water is to mash the X button rather than try any fancy combos with the Y button. The reason is Y is for strong attack and the force of this attack will cause Ryu to sink underwater when he's finished the attack. Whereas if you hit X (weak attack) Ryu will stay on the water and slash away. Makes the fights a lot easier.

Btw, on-landing essense absorbtion is absolutely crucial for this game. Take out one or two werewolves normally and then do the on-landing Ultimate Technique and they won't be able to touch you.

My problem with fighting on water has been solved by just using the gatling harpoon gun. It seems that that takes down the snake things in a few hits XD

The problem I'm having with the on-landing absorption is that as soon as I let go of block to jump, the essence automatically comes to me in mid-air. So by the time I land, there is no essence left. Is there something I'm doing wrong, or do I simply have to time the landing to coincide with the essence?

[Mephistopheles]

The problem I'm having with the on-landing absorption is that as soon as I let go of block to jump, the essence automatically comes to me in mid-air. So by the time I land, there is no essence left. Is there something I'm doing wrong, or do I simply have to time the landing to coincide with the essence?

The way I do it is I hold onto block, dash (ie. move in any direction while holding block), then jump in any direction and upon landing tap Y. It requires some practise but once you get the timing down becomes very easy to do,.

[Sane]

My problem with fighting on water has been solved by just using the gatling harpoon gun. It seems that that takes down the snake things in a few hits XD

The problem I'm having with the on-landing absorption is that as soon as I let go of block to jump, the essence automatically comes to me in mid-air. So by the time I land, there is no essence left. Is there something I'm doing wrong, or do I simply have to time the landing to coincide with the essence?

You don't have to let go of block though, after you dash you can simply jump even while holding block.

[neoboy259]

GGGGGGGGrrrrrrrrrr stuck on the last boss rush now. Normally have a lot of patience but this is frustrating me no end!!!!!!!!

[Johnny]

Getting chased by ninja dogs now. Didn't anyone think of a pedigree chum special weapon?

Those Ninja Dogs are a right pain in the arse. Start of level 3 where they just keep coming and attacking out of nowhere is pretty frustrating!

[Stormtec]

The way I do it is I hold onto block, dash (ie. move in any direction while holding block), then jump in any direction and upon landing tap Y. It requires some practise but once you get the timing down becomes very easy to do,.

You don't have to let go of block though, after you dash you can simply jump even while holding block.

Ah~ I see. Didn't know that. Cheers =D

[Morph]

Beating the final boss - Neoboy259

*First fight - charge arrows but don't aim let rip on max. After each arrow perform 2 dashes to left or right to avoid his blood - rinse & repeat.

2nd fight - at the start of fight run into and swallow dive into his face he will start to charge his beam dash to his right hand slash it with x,x,x as his beam comes towards you dash underneath it so you are now at his left hand slice away using x,x,x,x,x (or anything you like). Once beam has finished jump into his face and perform x,x,x,x,x aerial combo in his face. Be quick and time your jumps as he has a devastating grab. If he flies away he tends to send fire rocks at you easy to dodge with dash when he starts walking around use the same jumping x aerial combo else swallow dive continuous.

I had no health left and had to do both stages of this fight.*

[Rick]

Did the 3rd level boss on my 3rd attempt. The bow made short work of him, and the ninja magic sorted the fish things out

[neoboy259]

Beating the final boss - Neoboy259

*First fight - charge arrows but don't aim let rip on max. After each arrow perform 2 dashes to left or right to avoid his blood - rinse & repeat.

2nd fight - at the start of fight run into and swallow dive into his face he will start to charge his beam dash to his right hand slash it with x,x,x as his beam comes towards you dash underneath it so you are now at his left hand slice away using x,x,x,x,x (or anything you like). Once beam has finished jump into his face and perform x,x,x,x,x aerial combo in his face. Be quick and time your jumps as he has a devastating grab. If he flies away he tends to send fire rocks at you easy to dodge with dash when he starts walking around use the same jumping x aerial combo else swallow dive continuous.

I had no health left and had to do both stages of this fight.*

Thanks, just finished this on warrior. Loved everything about it except the cheap bosses. Now gonna give it a quick go on mentor!

[neoboy259]

Now I've just died about 5 times on the first level. Yep, mentor's hard.................

[Mephistopheles]

Right, I've completed the game and thought it was excellent. Fun and visceral combat, great weapon sets, good enemy and stage variety, good difficulty on Warrior. In particular I thought the last 5 stages were the best in the game, both gameplay and graphics wise.

However, I can't help but feel a little disappointed also. The game has taken many steps forward since NGB for sure, but it seems to have taken many steps backwards also. For instance:

-mediocre music for the most part. Only a few tracks stand out as good, such as the one on Chapter 7.
-boss fights aren't nearly as good as the core game. Mind you, the boss fights get a lot better from Chapter 10 onwards but still don't stack up to the ones in NGB (Doku and Awakened Alma are some of the best boss fights ever). They also pale in comparison to DMC4 boss fights. Most of the bosses are also quite easy.
-unacceptable framerate drops. It simply happens too many times and is very unfortunate since NGB ran at 60fps throughout the whole game with ease. It shows the game was rushed out, quite frankly.
-too many gameplay section which require you to use the Bow. I do like the bow and the fact that you can now do UTs with it, but they've overdone it with the amount of times you are required to use it.
-chapter 9 is one of the worst chapters in action game history
-and worst of all, no mission mode!! Story mode is cool, but mission mode is where most of the replay value comes from and this game simply doesn't have it. For shame. Hopefully we will see it as DLC very soon.

Even so, I really enjoyed the game. Like I said before, stages 10-14 are really awesome. In fact, there was only really one crap stage for me, stage 9. The rest of the stages I had fun on, even stage 8 which people complain about being cheap, but it's not really.

I look forward to trying out Mentor after I complete MGS4. On Mentor the game might shine even more and I can't wait to find out!

[neoboy259]

Right, I've completed the game and thought it was excellent. Fun and visceral combat, great weapon sets, good enemy and stage variety, good difficulty on Warrior. In particular I thought the last 5 stages were the best in the game, both gameplay and graphics wise.

However, I can't help but feel a little disappointed also. The game has taken many steps forward since NGB for sure, but it seems to have taken many steps backwards also. For instance:

-mediocre music for the most part. Only a few tracks stand out as good, such as the one on Chapter 7.
-boss fights aren't nearly as good as the core game. Mind you, the boss fights get a lot better from Chapter 10 onwards but still don't stack up to the ones in NGB (Doku and Awakened Alma are some of the best boss fights ever). They also pale in comparison to DMC4 boss fights. Most of the bosses are also quite easy.
-unacceptable framerate drops. It simply happens too many times and is very unfortunate since NGB ran at 60fps throughout the whole game with ease. It shows the game was rushed out, quite frankly.
-too many gameplay section which require you to use the Bow. I do like the bow and the fact that you can now do UTs with it, but they've overdone it with the amount of times you are required to use it.
-chapter 9 is one of the worst chapters in action game history
-and worst of all, no mission mode!! Story mode is cool, but mission mode is where most of the replay value comes from and this game simply doesn't have it. For shame. Hopefully we will see it as DLC very soon.

Even so, I really enjoyed the game. Like I said before, stages 10-14 are really awesome. In fact, there was only really one crap stage for me, stage 9. The rest of the stages I had fun on, even stage 8 which people complain about being cheap, but it's not really.

I look forward to trying out Mentor after I complete MGS4. On Mentor the game might shine even more and I can't wait to find out!

Completely agree. I feel with a few more months of testing to iron out the bugs and even out the gameplay, we'd have a classic on our hands. As it is, this is a flawed gem of a game.

[Team Andromeda]

OMFG the flying fortress level is one of the best levels I’ve played in any game EVER! ...Its f-ing awesome, and the graphics and action just go up to insane levels .

This pisses on all other action games

[neoboy259]

Tsk cant believe MSG4 has more posts than NG2. This is GOTY for me, despite its faults. Cant wait to replay it properly on Mentor!