Customer Reviews

Ninja Gaiden

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For those of you that are "new gamers" and don't remember this series, this first game was one of the defining entries in the NES system and one of the reasons why the NES is considered one of the greatest systems ever. You play the role of Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja, and battle your way through levels and eventually must take the two demon stones away from Jaquio, the main bad guy.

The graphics were ok, but what made the game different were the animated cut scenes inbetween the "acts" (a.k.a. stages). I don't know if this was the first game to use them, but because of this game, many games thereafter did. The gameplay and controls are for the most part awesome.

Let me tell you, though, THIS GAME IS HARD. Time and time again, I have stated that the old NES games (at least the ones from 1985-1990) were made to [beat you]. This game is one of the reasons why. There's no spoonfeeding here; it takes a lot of patience and effort to defeat this game.

Overall, this is a CLASSIC. Simply fantastic. While the passwords in the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (...) provided a relief for the game, it's still nothing in comparison to playing the original NES version... no passwords. Fun and difficult, the way a game was meant to be.

Now with the understatement of the decade, let's look at this title in more depth. The original Ninja Gaiden is still one of the best titles available on the NES. Games of this era were generally quite hard, since sheer difficulty was generally the main way a developer created replay value. That said, this game is as hard--perhaps harder at times--as Ghosts n' Goblins, making it arguably one of the toughest games out there. Unlike Gn'G, though, this difficulty is due to the tightly patterned design of the levels and enemy attacks that must be faced rather than randomness or poor programming.

For such a small program (256K,) this title does a highly recommendable job with the graphics. Stylish, very well orchestrated and designed cutscenes make the most of tight restrictions; the title screen is quite impressive for the NES as it leads right into the cutscene as a good movie might. Most levels are packed with layered scrolling backgrounds giving a great sense of depth, though this isn't evident from playing the first level (a rather odd version of late 1980s America, complete with biker guys wielding clubs and gun-toting punk rockers). It is easy to see how some might consider this a Castlevania ripoff--coming slightly more than two years after the original 1986 Famicom Disk System version of that game, this one has a sidescrolling perspective, special weapons work in a similar way and, most importantly, are often found inside lanterns! It is a very shallow comparison, however. Ninja Gaiden has you leaping all about the place with stunning speed--you grasp walls and bounce off street signs to get to high places, and the general emphasis is on getting There, wherever that might be, instead of beating whatever is in your way to bits.

Sound is actually quite good. Across the board there are a couple outstanding tunes, and you won't be getting any headaches soon from this game's music.

This game (even more than most 16 bit titles) has a sense of scale and depth that few others even begin to compete with. Ninja Gaiden moves you across the world on a quest of such scale that it's hard to put a finger on it--demons, the CIA, and traditional Japanese virtue all have their place here.

The original Ninja Gaiden series... what is there really to say. The game was great, challenging and for what it was worth the in between scene cinematics were pretty cool for the times when this game came out.

Although what it lacked in originality, it prevailed in everywhere else from gameplay, challenge and extras. I will admit that it took forever to beat sometimes but it was worth it in the end.

Again, very cool game. For those of us that are collecting classic systems and games, this is a must get.

When Ninja Gaiden hit the NES in 1989, gamers everywhere experienced a severe case of Deja Vu. It was as though they had seen this somewhere before. Well, it turns out they had. It wasn't but a few years earlier another soon to be legendary action/platformer franchise--Castlevania--was making gamer's "top ten" lists across the globe. Of course, Ninjas have nothing to do with Dracula, so how can people even begin to compare the two? Well, it's not such a surprising claim, especially when the games are put side by side.

Turn on the power, press start, and you're Simon Belmont/Ryu Hayabusa (Castlevania/NG respectively) armed with only his trusty whip/sword. In every area, a variety of subweapons is available, each powered by items found in the breakable objects strewn about the stage. Both games allow a single sub-weapon to be equipped at any time, with the weapon changing whenever a new one is found. The screen layouts are reflections of one another, with an "enemy" health gauge right below the player's at the top of the screen. On top of it all, the controls are identical (with the exception of the wall climb in NG), not to mention both games are incredibly difficult.

Still, the differences between the two are significant enough for NG to have it's own unique shine. Without a doubt, NG is a MUCH faster game. Unlike Castlevania's Simon Belmont who limps through each section of Dracula's castle like he twisted his ankle at the gate, NG would never work at such a sluggish pace. NG's Ryu is swift, agile, and fluid in all his movements and animation--a refreshing change from the Castlevania series.

Another difference worth noting is the cutscenes. NG is one of the first games to have what is such a common feature today. Again, unlike Castlevania (which didn't have much of a story early on), each level is followed by a short cutscene unveiling a few details about Ryu's quest. The story itself decent enough, but I personally never paid too much heed to it. Still, it's an interesting feature seeing as most games of the era had their stories printed in the instruction manuals or on the back cover of the box. NG broke the mold by allowing gamers everywhere with lost manuals/boxes to understand why the hell they're doing whatever they're doing.

Unfortunately, this doesn't help much. Ryu spends 99% of the game fighting random enemies that have no relevance to the story. You'll fight boxers, knife tossers dressed like the Fonz, dudes in camouflage sporting machine guns, guys with racing helmets and clubs, jet-pack ninjas (my personal favorite), and those freakin' hawks which are arguably more frustrating than Castlevania's infamous Medusa heads. This doesn't take away from the enjoyment, but it's moderately confusing, and you'll catch yourself saying, "What the heck was that?" pretty often. Compare the enemy randomness to that of the first NES Ninja Turtles game. Yes, it's that strange.

The boss fights range from easy to moderately difficult to impossible. As with most NES games, it's simply a matter of figuring out the pattern and getting the timing down. You can actually use the "ninja swirl" sub-weapon to take each boss out in a single blow (sometimes two), but making it to the end of any stage with that item typically requires a near photographic knowledge of the level and the skills to make it there. Oh, did I mention that every boss erupts into a massive explosion when beaten? Awesome--just awesome.

But let's cut to the basics. Here are the pros and cons that every gamer should know about this game:

Pros:
-This game will make you want to buy a sword and don some ninja garb. It truly gives the feel of being a ninja, at least as much as any NES game can.
-It's hard as hell, but makes up for it with it's fun factor and incredible soundtrack.
-With sharp, solid, responsive controls, it's like the game's watching your muscle movements to predict what you'll do next.
-Most enemies take only one hit to kill, which is as awesome as the sound they make when they explode--yes, explode--upon the blade of your sword.
-The level varieties are interesting, the game play is excellent, and the graphics are pretty decent (though they sometimes seem a little bleached).
-It's a thinking-person's game and requires lightning quick reflexes.
-It's ridiculously addictive.

Cons:
-When enemies hit, not only do they do a lot of damage, but odds are you'll be flung off a cliff more than once (see: Castlevania).
-Sometimes you'll have difficulty making simple jumps and getting to certain ledges, especially since enemies love to camp out on those already difficult to reach platforms.
-Enemies respawn so rapidly and relentlessly you'll be cursing at the screen by the end of the second stage.
-Those hawks are EVERYWHERE!
-Wall climbs can be a bit tricky (fortunately this is remedied in NGII). Still, the added challenge can be fun, especially when mastered.

Despite its flaws, NG gets 5s all around. So what if it's a Castlevania's younger brother? It's still an incredible experience. As difficult and frustrating as it is, it's fun and addictive. Pick it up if you have the chance or buy it on the Virtual Console for Wii. It's definitely worth it.

This game is a must-have for avid NES collectors. This game features the ninja Ryu Hayabusa and his quest to avenge the death of his father Ken (no, not the Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter). The control for this game is really well put together and you will have a lot of fun jumping from wall to wall and climbing through each beautifully designed level in this game. The game is split up into stages and each stage has multiple sections and at the end of each stage there is a boss for you to fight. There is no save function in this game but you have unlimited continues so you can just keep trying until you beat the game. This was also one of the first games to ever use cutscenes instead of just plain text to move the story along. Being the first of its kind, the cutscenes are really well done and add a lot to the intrigue and mystery as the story plays out. Now, just like with most other well-done NES games, this game doesn't take it easy on you. This isn't the hardest game I've ever played but this game doesn't mess around. Enemies you kill at the edge of the screen respawn instantly and there are lots of flying enemies that can be really hard to hit. Plus, there's lots of death-traps that enemies are continuously trying to knock you into. The boss battles are easy at first, but start getting hard very quickly. That's really the only complaint I have about this game. It is insanely fun, but if you can actually finish this game, you deserve a medal.

But also the HARDEST! Ninja Gaiden (also known as Shadow Warriors in Europe) was a hit success with Tecmo. In this game, you play a ninja named Ryu who is seaching for his father Ken. As you go deeper into the game, you find out that Ryu's father was helping a archeologist named Walter Smith. Walter Smith uncovered a demon statue that can pretty much take over the world, so now it's a race against time to find the statue and destroy it!

I am going to break down the original story-line on a scale from 1 to 10, along with some playing tips, so here we go:

STORY: 10

You have to remember, most NES games back in the day were about saving the princess and killing everything in sight; Ninja Gaiden was very much like this, but the story evolved as you got deeper into the game. This was unheard of at this time; there were a few games out there that had evolution of the story; Metal Gear being one of them. Again, the story is amazing for it's time, and for me, it still holds up

GAMEPLAY: 10

It's fun going around getting rid of bad guys who stand in your way. You can wall-jump in this game (and trust me, you better MASTER wall-jumping and jumping in this game as it becomes necessary as the game progresses) which is a cool feature.

CONTROLS: 10

The controls are simple. They are not complicated at all.

DIFFICULTY: 10

Without a doubt, this is ONE OF THE HARDEST NES GAMES EVER RELEASED! The first level isn't tough at all; it's a cake-walk, but as soon as 2-2 starts, enemies KEEP ON COMING! Especially the running soldier when you are trying to make a jump over a gap. It's not that the common enemies are hard, but they are EVERYWHERE and they keep re-spawning! Also, this game likes to throw enemies on a platform when you are trying to jump.

MY ADVICE:

If you are going to play this game, here are some playing tips:

1. DON'T GET JUMP HAPPY! I know this is a platform game, but the game likes to throw you in a Nintendo kill-cycle; that's when you mess up so bad, the game kills you non-stop no matter what your health-status is.

2. MEMORIZE EVERYTHING: This game is ALL ABOUT MEMORIZATION! If you know how an enemy is going to attack you and you attack them first, your good to go. This game tests your memory, and you have less than a second to react, if you don't, you most likely will get hit, fall off that cliff, and start over. This game is all about trial and error.

3. IN THE LATER LEVELS, KILL EVERYTHING, AND KEEP MOVING: The early stages, I suggest that you take your time, but once you reach 3-1, keep moving! I know a lot of gamers take their time, but in the later stages, if you don't keep moving, you will die, and die, and die to the point where you want to scream at the top of your lungs and curl up in the fetal position.

4. THE BOSSES: Some of the bosses are quite easy and have easy patterns, but once you reach the final level of the game, you have to fight not one, not two, but THREE END BOSSES! Here's what you do: the first boss, YOU HAVE TO STRIKE at the red nose in the middle of the screen. Attacking the guy at the bottom DOES NOTHING! He hurts you, but you can't hurt him. Keep wall-jumping and attacking the nose with a long-range weapon (the ninja stars work the best).

The second end boss, this one you can actually hurt. DO NOT WALL-JUMP when fighting him because he has a long-range weapon, so stick to the ground and keep on attacking him. Failing to do this, you go back to 6-1 as punishment and have to fight your way back and face the bosses all over again.

The final boss is an alien looking creature that spit's purple goo at you. Swipe at it's heart first, and go for it's tail. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Also to note, this was the first NES game that featured cinematic cut-scenes. It definitely made the story interesting and it was pretty cool when I first played this game back in the day.

For us old school gamers, beating Ninja Gaiden is almost mandatory for us who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Is it hard? Yes, but it is not impossible to beat. It takes time, a lot of memorization, and also a few handy controllers just in case you break one.

Happy Gaming!

This is a definite classic, and for a NES game, the controls and gameplay were fairly smooth for the limited options that NES programmers had. This game is by no means easy and can be very challenging, but it's also the kind of game where you can learn to deal with the challenge with a reasonable amount of patience and practice, so the challenge itself is not frustrating or pointless as it is for games such as Athena or Hydlide. The storyline is fairly straightforward, you are a ninja that has to deal with some bad guys. The levels are nicely varied, you have the city, you have mountains, etc. Nowadays it's hard to find a working NES or game cartridge, but if you have a emulator and love old NES games, getting a Ninja Gaiden ROM should be worth your time.

There are some tough games out there and Ninja Gaiden is one of them. But don't let this gem pass you by. With patience and persistence, you can be like me and become a pro and pass it with flying colors! haha (sorry to toot my own horn)

Anyways, this game is great. For one, from the moment you start, every time you pass a stage, there are cut scenes (pretty much like a movie). It was always great to find out what was in store next with the story.

Anybody who wants to go back to the "old school" of challening gaming needs to play this game. But be warned. It can be rough. And when you get to the 2nd to last boss, when you die, it takes you way back to a few stages back! It's very annoying but so enjoyable once you beat that last boss (big brain or whatever it is!)

Ninja Gaiden is one of the best nes game i have all thought hard it is very entertaining challenging and very fun if you haven't played this game you should this game is a must have for you Nintendo collection this game is a classic check it out

This game is one of my favorites out of my entire NES collection. It is super fun and has the perfect level of difficulty-not ridiculously hard, but far from easy. I have made it to the final boss, but I have never beaten this game. That is how hard it is! The only thing that bothered me was how to use your "item" I guess I should call it. To throw something (for example, a ninja star) you must press Up and B. The reason why it bothers me is because when I first started playing, I knew how to do everything except that within the first 5 seconds. It took me a few minutes to figure out that that is how you use them. Although, once you learn that, it never bothers you again. It doesn't bother me anymore, but I just mentioned it to give you guys (the people buying this game) a heads up. So yeah, I would recommend this game to any gamer.