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What to do in Ninja Gaiden II?

S

Snacks the sober sea lion

Member
This isn't a "I'm losing really badly teach me how to dodge" thread. I'm making decent but messy progress. However, Devil May Cry has been my main action game, so I don't really understand how to optimize Ninja Gaiden's combat. I know Ninja Gaiden II is kind of a giant clusterfuck compared to Black, but that doesn't mean there isn't more to it. How do you know which strings are useful? What's going to stop me from equipping the Dragon Sword and YYY Obliterate every time I have to fight a pack of Lycanthropes, or at least, what's more efficient than that? How do I even use the staff other than spamming its ridiculous UT?
 
Peroroncino

Peroroncino

Member
Spamming YYY? Maybe on the lowest difficulty. When certain 'explosive ninjas' join the party you'll need to use dodges and some combos.

btw. am I in minority thinking that NG2>NG1?
 
S

Snacks the sober sea lion

Member
I'm playing on Warrior on the patched 360 version. Just killed Volf.
How do I know which combos I should be using, especially if I don't want to get grabbed by ninja or punched by a furry?
 
A

ALLseeingEYE

Member
Ninja Gaiden is all about experimentation with combat tactics.

And while 2 had some issues, the combat itself is amazing. I like to think of the combat like this,
- Get down your basics, movement, blocking, dodging, weak attacks, strong attacks
- Work towards mastering counterattacks and finishers
> Any regular enemy missing a limb, can be instantly finished by getting close and pressing Y, but remember they get more dangerous when in that state
> Counterattacks instantly lop a limb off a foe
> All regular attacks and combos have a chance to dismember
- Master the flying swallow, this has a high chance to decapitate or dismember foes
- Imagine each combat scenario, down to each individual enemy attack or movement, as being a sort or rock-paper-scissors scenario. Keep on your toes, experiment. Enemies can also learn your tactics, so vary up your strategies.
- You will notice that certain combos and tactics work better against specific enemy types
- Always take down strong ranged enemies as soon as possible, especially rocket foes.
- Use your magic often. Magic as the wind-blades, also dismembers enemies, and could leave a lot of bleeding, limping foes, that can more easily be finished.
 
S

Sir Ilpalazzo

Member
Izuna Drop is really powerful against humans (although it does leave you open on the harder modes) but it doesn't work on a lot of enemies. Try to experiment and figure out which of your moves have the best de-limbing rates and which ones give you a fair amount of invulnerability; those tend to be your most valuable attacks.

It might help to try using a different weapon than the Dragon Sword. The Lunar and Falcon's Talons are probably the strongest / most new-player-friendly weapons in the game.

Bansai said:
btw. am I in minority thinking that NG2>NG1?
Click to expand...

No, I kind of think the same thing. NG2 is definitely really unpolished but it probably has the best combat in the genre.
 
B

Baraka in the White House

2-Terms of Kombat
Study the moves list for the dragon sword first and memorize as many as you can. Then expand to the other weapons as your comfort with the game improves.

You want to develop a deck of different attacks and combos so that the amount of button mashing is minimized. Know what you're doing, don't just slap shit.

Also, use your own shurikens/projectiles to disrupt enemy attacks and interrupt combos. It won't do shit for damage but it can often create openings for you to close in and kill.

Oh yeah, practice setting up UT chains. As soon as you finish one UT there will be a shitload of essence floating around. Be ready to jump and insta-draw as soon as you hit the ground to let fly with another UT.
 
K

keidashxd

Member
Ninja Gaiden 2 has many issues but combat wise I prefer over the first one, I love both but some of the changes make me choice the second. (I haven't played ps3 versions, only 360).
 
deadscreensky

deadscreensky

Member
Bansai said:
btw. am I in minority thinking that NG2>NG1?
Click to expand...

Yes, but a lot of us still agree with you.

It's unfortunate the game wasn't allowed the polish and features of a Black-level retail price revision, but the fundamental combat is simply far stronger and more interesting than what NG1 offered. I recognize that certain people really love the exploration aspects of 1's city, that was fun, but action is ultimately what the series does best and the sequel was wise to focus on that aspect.

I can't really offer any advice beyond experiment and try new things.
 
M

Menitta

Member
The one thing I really don't like about NG2 are the canned animations. There's too many of them and it hurts the flow. It's still really good and fun though. Going from Ninja Gaiden Black to NG2 is like going from DMC3 to DMC4.

My advice is to implement the throwing stars into combos. I'm no Ninja Gaiden expert but doing that is cool.
 
S

Snacks the sober sea lion

Member
Sir Ilpalazzo said:
Izuna Drop is really powerful against humans (although it does leave you open on the harder modes) but it doesn't work on a lot of enemies. Try to experiment and figure out which of your moves have the best de-limbing rates and which ones give you a fair amount of invulnerability; those tend to be your most valuable attacks.

It might help to try using a different weapon than the Dragon Sword. The Lunar and Falcon's Talons are probably the strongest / most new-player-friendly weapons in the game.



No, I kind of think the same thing. NG2 is definitely really unpolished but it probably has the best combat in the genre.
Click to expand...

The claws were working well until I got to knockoff Venice and they weren't helping much against the wolves. Hard to experiment against them since they seem pretty stagger-resistant.
 
S

Sir Ilpalazzo

Member
Snacks the sober sea lion said:
The claws were working well until I got to knockoff Venice and they weren't helping much against the wolves. Hard to experiment against them since they seem pretty stagger-resistant.
Click to expand...

The claws are actually one of the best weapons to use against the werewolves. You might have not realized it, but the claws' forward-Y attack has a very high delimb rate (making it fantastic to use against enemies who don't stagger easily).
 
M

Markoman

Member
dankir said:
Get as good as this guy.

No damage run on Master Ninja Difficulty, pretty sure he beat the whole game like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpWSf3sH8i8
Click to expand...

Hm, idk watched 20 minutes and having watched videos of people completing NGB mission mode this confirms for me that NG isn't about combo strings at all. On higher difficulties you will have to exploit the enemy ai and use the environment rather than engaging in open combo-battle. This guy is very skilled indeed but basically uses 3 mechanics: luring enemies into charged attacks, luring them where he can spam-throw them into walls to easily finish them off and off course blind blocking/dodging.

Bayonetta on the other hand forces you to learn dodge offset for higher difficulties, otherwise combos won't be happening.
 
D

dragonzdogma

Member
I don't even know where to begin,
it honestly does sound like your are totally lost.

My advice is open the menu and looks for combos written there
and practice all of them- choose an area with lot's of enemies once you clear it,
re-load it and rinse and repeat.

Seriously once you learn the izuna drop, that's opens up your mind a bit.
 
I

Izuna

Banned
Is this XBox NG2?

Each enemy will have a weapon that has a higher priority for cutting their limbs. But for this version and the low difficulty you're playing on (Hard mode equivalent is the only one available from the start no? Before Mentor...) -- use the Falcon's Talons and use the forward+Y sweep to cut limbs off. It works for most enemies.

X+A for Reverse Wind is super useful too.

The Scythe is worth upgrading for the neutral jump X, Y (I think that's the combination, it's been years). This is good on a number of bosses and outright breaks the game on the earlier difficulties.

For the skeleton sort of enemies, the uh... Ones with the tail, grey or red, use the Lunar Staff. Reverse Wind, X,X,Y and on the ground X, X, Y are the best against them.

That should get you through to the hardest difficulty. NG2 is all about IF frames. Dodge always, use UTs etc. there's no real penalty in using a UT at the wrong time or Dodging too much.
 
D

Danji

Member
Personally I'm a fan of the Marina. I take my kids by there occasionally to enjoy looking at the sealife. Some people like the dog park but I'm not really a dog person.
 
A

Aske

Member
Bansai said:
btw. am I in minority thinking that NG2>NG1?
Click to expand...

Yep, but I'm with you. NG2 is one of the most incredible gaming experiences I've ever enjoyed. Beat it multiple times on various difficulties; never felt the exploding shuriken ninjas were unfair or frustrating (despite being total dicks), and I think it gave me the feeling other people describe getting from Soulsbourne games (which totes bore me in terms of gameplay).

My last console gen was defined by this game, the original Gears trilogy, and Mass Effect; and I primarily played games on PS3. I doubt we'll ever see its like again. Magnificent game, polish be damned.
 
C

clav

Member
Experiment with timing charged attacks.

Ryu can charge to his strongest combo immediately at the cost of yellow/blue/red power ups dropped nearby. They all go towards to him in a charged stance, so when done correctly, action will continue after a combo.

Hm. Thinking about this game makes me wish when it will show up on backwards compatibility.
 
C

Chaos2Frozen

Member
Unlike Devil May Cry which encourages you to mix things up, in NG do not be afraid to stick to a single Attack move if it works for you, so do things like spam flying swallow or Izumi drop.

And get Super good at dodging and block lol
 
G

Gai Murakumo

Member
It is all about abusing those I-frames. Also you need to almost always be constantly moving or dodging the majority of the time especially on harder difficulties. Those exploding shuriken mother fuckers are the bane of Ninja Gaiden II in my opinion. Learning specific combos that are effective against certain enemy types and timing your UT are key to staying alive.
 
C

Courage

Member
I respect the hell out of the people that managed to beat this game on Master Ninja, but the patience for me to do so was insurmountable. Mentor has always been my go-to in replays because it allows for some room for experimentation in terms of weaponry and their individual movesets. Still the best action game of all time.
 
D

dab0ne

Member
Game can be tough but evade is your friend. Remember you're a ninja not a knight. Also, subsequent play throughs are amazing with upgraded weapons :)
 
I

Izuna

Banned
Courage said:
I respect the hell out of the people that managed to beat this game on Master Ninja, but the patience for me to do so was insurmountable. Mentor has always been my go-to in replays because it allows for some room for experimentation in terms of weaponry and their individual movesets. Still the best action game of all time.
Click to expand...

I respect your courage.

<3
 
T

thepenguin55

Member
Cobalt Izuna said:
Why?
Click to expand...

I could be completely misremembering this but I want to say prepatch the framerate would drop dramtically during the epic late game stair fight which weirdly makes that fight feel more epic and makes it more manageable on higher difficulties. The problem with the prepatch version of the game is that you have to be aggressively saving often or you could get screwed by a chapter 10 glitch. This GFAQs thread does a good job of running through all of the glitches in the game both pre and post patch:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/943273-ninja-gaiden-ii/45395631

Having said that, I believe there are more glitches both pre and post patch than listed in that thread. Playing the patched version of the game is a totally fine way to play the game. I was mostly joking with my earlier comment.
 
S

Snacks the sober sea lion

Member
I don't know if this game is even for me. I really don't like the bosses; Genshin's minion spam followed by that incredibly boring armadillo fight have really turned me off from the game. Playing both this and Black and both give me the same feeling, that the combat deserves better than the bosses and overall design of the game. I never get the urge to persevere through a boss fight or tedious section, I just turn the game off.
 
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