Differences between Ninja Gaiden & Ninja Gaiden Black on XB???

[JazzFunk]

I went into Blockbusters earlier. They were doing '4 for ?10' on some preowned stuff, and as they had Enclave on XBox (which I've been after cheap for yonks), I ended up with that and Operation Winback 2, Spectral VS. Generation (both PS2, and with 60hz huzzah!) and my last choice, because everything else was ****e, was the original Ninja Gaiden on XB.

Now, I've had NG Black on XB for ages, but found it dauntingly tough so gave up on it (though I like it mega.) I know that Black has Shadow Warriors as an unlockable, and that the standard Ninja Gaiden has the old NES games. I'm hoping that Ninja Gaiden will be less tough than Black, and ease me in a bit.

Also, I noticed slight 'tearing' problems on my UK Black, and I'm wondering if these occur in the basic PAL NG?

Anyone know the differences between the two, or should I just stick to Black?

[ekucz123]

NG Black has extra missions i believe once you complete it, however if you die on the first level 3 times you get the option to turn it to "easy" mode. you're best sticking with Black, going back and getting NG would be worse for you- it's a weaker package than NG Black

[MJ]

In my opinion NG is no easier than NGB, unless you play NGB's Ninja Dog difficulty I suppose. I only ever played them both on Normal.

There are no human decapitations in the first NG on the Xbox, they were cut from all PAL releases, but reinstated in NGB.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Gaiden_(2004_video_game)#Regional_censorship

(I didn't realise Sigma was censored too.)

[Daragon]

Sigma is alot easier than either game. I recommend if you can't handle NGB's Dog mode you give up, buy yourself a PS3 and play it for that, if you're that desperate to experience the game.

[MattyD]

Black has the easy Ninja Dog mode where you have to wear a pink ribbon, but the original one doesn't have that luxury

The extra missions in Black are just the Hurrican Pack, which you could download for free from Xbox Live with the original NG.

As for the retro games, the original game has Ninja Gaiden, NG 2 and NG3 as unlockables (you unlock the first by finding all the scarabs, and must complete each game to unlock the next one). Shadow Warriors was just the localised name for NG due to that whole thing where the BBFC would'nt allow you to mention *NINJAS*

EDIT -but I see NGB actually has the original arcade game instead of the three NES games.

[Scarface]

I prefer NG Black over anything else.

Even over Sigma which is downright horrible port: screen-tearing, constant loading, nothing that should have been fixed have been not, useless Rachel and her boring missions, bugs in the Karma system, etc.

Pad is better, though, and the game looks fine. When it's not loading in the middle of a mission or tearing the screen apart, that is.

[saturn-gamer]

I love Sigma but I do feel a bit ripped off. The PAL box said 18+ which meant decaps in my book (just like Black), but the disc says 16+ and it has no human decaps, bah. I've also got the feeling only the first level looks better with some cool HDR etc, Tairon and the Zeppelin look about the same as they did on the Xbox? I'm in Level 6 now (I think... Its past the first Rachel level).

I do like the Rachel levels, they are not really original but it makes her somewhat more useful instead of only popping up in cutscenes.

Tearing is kind of distracting, yes.. but I feel the Ps3 pad is awesome for this game (save for the horrible tilt function). The cutscenes are also wank; some are being redone with the Ingame engine (they are good), but others are just the same old FMV's from the Xbox.. and they look ****e.

Its all a bit of a mixed bag port, really. But above all, its a very enjoyable game.

[JazzFunk]

^Thanks for the advice on this, all of you. I've been playing Gaiden and realised it's so similar to Black, I might as well not bother with it. I might, but only if the NES games are worth 83.3p's worth of fun. It was great fun up 'til the boss battles, then it makes me die inside.

[MattyD]

Ninja Gaiden on the NES is possibly the hardest and most infuriating game EVER. It's not 'challenging' in a good sense but rather because enemies spawn continuously from both edges of the screen as you try to make pixel-perfect jumps whilst dodging all manner of (mostly hidden) traps and other sources of instant death. And those damn birds! >_<

[RagingAvatar]

NGB has higher res textures than the original Ninja Gaiden.