@@JuliusCaesar103 i fondly remember being one of the few crazy enough to overcome the hair-pulling achievements of doing master ninja using only one weapon type, on og ng 2. What stress, but what a rush. Only people who were willing to lose hours of life managed that hell
@@FakeGyllenhaal i wasted enough hours of my life on that mode even without those restrictions lol. Master Ninja Mode on NG1 is just masterful though, I think the mode is definitely not as well balanced in the other games
The way you write your reviews is pure poetry; even though it's just youtuber stuff. I really do love your interesting conversations on gameplay and understanding what the developer's intentions were throughout the game. I really just am in love with your channel and I can understand and appreciate how painstaking every single line was to comprehend and speak at the same time. You came a long-ass way from home my man. Nicely done.
@@XhumpersX sorry apparently you don’t get this but you gotta have comedy with your conversation or else it’s literally dull. So I don’t have time for this oh it’s gotta be so fucking serious. I am 27. Be goofy. ✌🏽
@@wjbushjr Totally agree that comedy makes these videos fun and I wish he tries that out one day. I love civvie, ssseth or mandalore etc because they do this strange thing called "making jokes" to be funny, instead of just screaming like a feral man child and calling it comedy.
I like how u bring light to these developers i woulda never known about Itagaki working on the Samurai Jack game as Supreme Advisor game makes a lot of sense n I’m glad he’s still working on weapon variant focused action games
When he says he played it on normal you can believe him. KBash you're talking about variety in enemies but don't realize Ninja Gaiden is one of those very rare games that actually adds new enemy types in higher difficulties. Those cat women for example? They pop up in hard mode around the same time you get the Flails in the first game.
Exactly! Currently doing a very hard playthrough on ninja gaiden black, im on the last portal on the top of the skull tower. Been such a ride love ngb so much haha
You can generaly notice that he's just playing on lower settings (as he notes). Stuff like ghostfish shouldn't be a problem on subsequent runs since you'll figure out how to negate them.
I dont get why his entire review of sigma 2 was based on lack of difficulty when hes playing on normal and theres plenty of difficulty levels for every skill range. Also hes neglecting to consider that he has experience from playing it on 360 so it would be easier playing it again.
Same thing with the other british dude I will not mention, god, if you're gonna do retrospect videos on videogames, then complete the game to the fullest, jesus.
I think you should talk about how NGB and NGII (vanilla) change the game as you increase the difficulty besides simple stat and enemy placement changes. The A.I. changes from Hard to Very Hard in NGB are fascinating to me.
He reviewed Nioh 1 and didn't like it because it was "too cheap" and it felt like every enemies was waiting to ambush you. Nioh 1 was awesome because you have many way of making battles easier while others were balancing. Nioh 2 was very cheap to no end, I mean, what is this, now? Enemies are now professional wrestlers now, like wtf. Yeah, my experience is ruined!
@@outkastshadowking2719 Nioh 1 was rough for me when I first started it, a lot like Ninja Gaiden 1 on the Xbox. But by the end, I did start to appreciate it a little more as a game. I think I prefer 2 because it fixed the issues I had with Nioh 1 which was some bosses felt like you had to hit them at VERY specific times or you'd just die. I felt like there was more engagement with the bosses in Nioh 2. I will admit that I haven't beaten 2 yet though so my opinion may change by the end.
@@outkastshadowking2719 That's interesting, I have played both 1 and 2 and found them both very challenging but in no ways did I find them "cheap". In fact there's a lot less of the "bullshit ambushes" like a dude hiding on the ceiling that will drop down and instakill than in the souls games. I really like how in Nioh 2 unblockable grabs are very clearly represented by the gray and black aura around the enemies hands right before they do it so you know to get out of the way. And then special red eye flashing attacks can all be countered with your yokai burst or whatever it's called (R2 + O). Also love how the bosses have a super demon form just like you do, and normal enemies as well as bosses also have a very similar ki (stamina) system as the player's that is visible. I find the challenge, in Nioh 2 at least, to be very fair and rewarding.
@@kozodoev idk that’s very subjective dude, i personally love sekiro and prefer it over nioh 2 but i undoubtedly think that nioh 2 has more fun and more complex combat that allows for much for variety and longevity for repeated playthroughs. it doesn’t have the level design or story of sekiro but they both excel in different ways
I love Sigma 2, and this coming off from 2 playthroughs of the original NGII on xbox one. Its not cheap, its fun and as more content. Ayane's mission is one of the best in the series.
Same. I bought the collection on switch and I'm close to beating sigma 1 and dipped my toes into 2 and bringing back my PTSD from my kid days with 3. I wish I was old enough to know what these games were to play them originally ala my black vanilla 2.( I was born in '03)
Honestly if they can they can try and change a few things in an update. The level design I know won’t change but maybe they can modify enemy placements in an update. I really want to try out these games cause the only one I ever played was razors edge as a kid on the wiiu (Yes I was retarded) and I want to play them but I’m still in high school and my 360 is broken. It’s why I was excited when they announced the remaster and I’m not a purist but I didn’t see the hate on the sigma games. Like Kbash said if you want to play the series you can try the sigma games if you want to ease into it before going face first into the blood and gore stained brick wall that the purist consider the best versions of ninja gaiden I.e black, vanilla 2, and razors edge. And the devs even said if the game sells well they’ll work on 4. I plan on checking it out in switch that way I can torture myself on the go.
@@shinigami9851 true. But the inherient problem is trying to play the originals. Finding black is expensive, and emulating them is a bitch and a half. Vanilla 2 is cheap, but oh boy the slowdown. That's why purist wanted them in the collection. So that we could get easy access to these versions. And maybe a version of 2 with no slowdown. But a lack luster version of the sigma games won't reel in potential new fans. The switch and pc versions are just bad, and I think the ps4 and xbox versions are good? Not sure, haven't seen much coverage on those ports. But if they want consumers to buy the collection so that they can make 4, it has to be a good remaster. Cause of this is the quality of them remastering the games, why should we trust them to make a new game? Developers are people and they change over time. So they may forget on what made their games enjoyable. Especially if they haven't made a new one in a long time
@@teneesh3376 Which is why I said maybe they can try to fix the balancing with an update if they support it for long enough. For example instead of needing to unlock hard it’s automatically unlocked from the get go. They could also put the original enemies from vanilla 2 back in the places where they got replaced with ghost fish but on higher difficulties. It’ll take time but hopefully they’ll do that. The sigma games are good it’s just that the devs tinkered with the bits that didn’t really need tinkering except in certain places. I for one don’t mind the extra characters because A) it brings more variety and B)...Well I’m guessing you can guess B. Other than that with a couple updates and enough support the remaster can be the closest we could get to the way they were meant to be played. Although I’m at least glad the devs did razors edge cause god vanilla 3 was a mess. It might not happen but I’m trying to optimistic here.
@@shinigami9851 yeah. But man they should have delayed this to fix the issues. Day 1 patches are what people will remember. Any patch after that are often ignored or forgotten
@@teneesh3376 yeah you gotta point. But considering these are Technically supposed to be the remasters of the first two games before they remastered it again for modern consoles. bugs and glitches hopefully won’t be a problem considering how smooth the games run anyway and are the supposed “Enhanced” versions. And considering how good the Nioh games were maybe they gotta a better grasp on what itagaki wanted the games to be like in terms of difficulty. Most Players would probably at least be a bit happy that the game even runs well considering that nowadays even something like a remaster is prone to be shat on if it’s buggy. Looking at you return to Arkham and Arkham knight for pc pre updates.
honestly, I heard people complaining about the Sigma games many times but having not played the 360 version, I enjoyed them a lot. then again, Sigma 2 was my first Ninja Gaiden.
at least it’s probable that modders will be able to increase the amount of enemies in the pc port of sigma 2. though i never thought that enemy density was a legitimate avenue to create difficulty, to me the sigma tradeoff of “less enemies with more health and damage” was a more rewarding challenge on MN than simply spamming ctrl+v everywhere. On normal though, it does get too easy. also fuck the non ryu segments
My favorite part of these two/five Ninja Gaiden reviews has been the number of times Kbash earnestly said, "Why is it like this?" And then found a new perspective on whatever "it" was later. Satisfying, and a lot more surprising than what you'd expect from your average gamesoft video essay. It's a shame there will probably never be an ultimate version of these games, but at least they're available, and PC mods exist.
The best way to deal with the ghost fish in the first game is actually pretty easy when you get the timing down. Just do a forward jump and a light attack X or square in the air with the dragon sword. They can't bite you in the air but they will keep following you which means they run straight into your attack. If you time this properly by immediatly jumping again and doing the air attack when you land they become a none issue. You could do it with other weapons but the dragon sword forward jump attack keeps you on the move.
7:02 that’s a lie. The camera is frustrating for 20 seconds PER ROOM. When you enter a room the camera defaults to a frontal view of Ryu… and ignores the impending AMBUSH just out of frame.
My first experience with these games was on my Vita and I enjoyed it. Admittedly, I took a year off after the first game then came back to Sigma 2 and was a bit surprised how easily I made it through. Regardless, I cannot wait for the rereleases.
I like ninja gaiden 2 but I felt some encounters where wayyy too packed half the time I couldn’t even see ryu just felt like they just dumped wayy too many mobs to try to make the game “harder”
Honestly I think that's just with the era. Back then in order to make games harder they would just throw a shit ton of enemies at you and call that "Difficulty" there AI wasn't that smart it's just the fact that you couldn't see shit. Edit: one thing i liked about the sigma version was that i put ryu’s alt costume and when theres a bunch of enemies on screen I can still have an idea of where im at.
I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2. Sigma 1 was challenging as I kept on getting my ass kicked a lot and I had this problem for just back tracking all around the city of Tairon in order to progress. Sigma 2 was a lot more fun as the combat was more exciting and the levels are interesting. This time you actually go to different parts of the world like New York, Japan, Italy, Russia and South America. Plus I always found Momiji a little bit hotter than Rachel, Ayane or Sonia. She’s got that Japanese anime ponytail look to her and her costume is traditionally Japanese while being a bit revealing. Plus she’s very beautiful, generous and caring at times.
Indeed, if you never plan on playing Hard or above, feel free to Flying Swallow all day. But if you do plan to move up, that is the single most hazardous habit you can have. If you have recovery frames, you will be punished. No exceptions.
If he thinks ninja gaiden on normal is supposed to hard is just stupid lol if he play in his first play through on hardest difficult he will take back what he said. I can't wait for master collection so I can play on hardest difficult and play it again on master ninja or something the very hard difficulty for ninja gaiden it's gonna be fun
You do know you have to play on normal to unlock hard right? Forcing someone to go through what is essentially "easy mode" (since Sigma 2 did knock down the difficulty overall a peg) so they can finally have "fun" on "normal mode" isn't the best game design. Now before you say something like Bayonetta (and other Platinumgames' games) and Devil May Cry also do it. The thing is that 1. They don't bore you with their normal mode. 2. Their hard mode acts as a pseudo-NG+ where you can carry over your normal mode progress through the harder modes whereas with Ninja Gaiden, you always have to start a fresh save when bumping up the difficulty.
@@Wandermidget I agree. The criticism should be that the game wont let you play on hard from the start instead hes saying medium difficulty is not hard enough.
I used to absolutely adore Ninja Gaiden 2 growing up. I played that game so much on Acolyte just learning the mechanics and having an insane time with how ridiculous everything in it was. I recently picked it back up now as an adult and played through Warrior and Mentor. Both offering really tough experiences, some times I most definitely wanted to pull my hair out, but I still kept trucking on and eventually conquered them. Then I see the Master Collection was coming out for the Switch and I figured, A: I never got to beat the first NG as a kid as it really kicked my ass, B: I never got to try out the Sigma ports and see what was different, and C: I never played NG3 in general and I hear Razor's Edge is the best way to play (even tho it's still probably gonna be an ass game from what I also hear), so I bought the collection and got to playing. Currently playing Sigma 2 on Mentor. And uhhhh.... Wow. Literally haven't died once playing as Ryu and I'm on Chapter 13 now (I have died once as Momiji but I was still getting the hang of her kit). It's like the game's difficulty has been dumbed down to a T. The first Sigma was pretty fun. Sure sections were dumbed down but it was still a genuinely tough game that didn't hold its punches and was really punishing, especially the mechanic where if you died you'd be booted back to your last save (that fucked me up badly when I got booted back once to Rachel's mission where you fight Gamov, who gave me a run for my money since I really just can't get behind Rachel's slow and heavy kit). But I overall still felt great after beating it and still had a lot of fun in the process. Then I hit Sigma 2 and...... Idk man, I just.... damn. Idk what to expect for Razor's Edge, but hopefully I can push through it and finally wrap up this series.
Sigma 2 reducing the enemy count wasn't a bad idea. Though the enemies were designed for a large enemy count, so they aren't as aggressive as before. So in sigma 2 they should have increased enemy aggression so that it's just as hard, but more fair. Not to mention running better
FINALLY someone who doesnt shit on the sigma version i am HYPE to finally fully play these games after renting ng sigma 1 for a weekend and having the most satiaifyingly difficult game ever
Sigma 1 had some decent Improvememts without taking much away from the original.. The graphical upgrade was also nice...but sigma 2 made too many negative changes (though it did have some nice additions too)
@@rusteddenial453 you can emulate ninja gaiden black with the Xemu emulator, which is about 90% playable except for the fire cavern area, but as of right now there is no method of playing vanilla ninja gaiden 2 on pc, as the only xbox360 emulator cannot even render the game properly at the moment, and progress on updating it is incredibly slow.
@@rusteddenial453 not without emulators which aren't perfect and need good hardware. I had them an the OG xbox and a 360 but now I have a PC and PS4.. I honestly want a series x just to play them again at 4k. You could buy a used One X to play them at 4k too
For Sigma 1 at least, a lot of your criticisms are more about sticking to the normal difficulty when Ninja Gaiden is the kind of game where the harder difficulties legitimately change up enemy composition, add new opponents and even bosses, and punishes spamming powerful moves like Flying Swallow.
8:17 to 8:19 ryu: slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp. Also, I get that momiji, ayane and rachel aren't the BEST characters, but at least they have "benefits".
this footage from sigma 1 is on ninja dog, It's clear by damage output and bosses lacking pattern (like Alma's pillar throw number). Not exactly a place to talk about difficulty.
Loved NG2 but part 1 was soo overhyped, playing it felt like a chore especially with the awful camera, slow control responses, platforming with both the previous factors I said added and some of the bosses are just annoying af and like everything else u fight requires a gimmick to kill them.
Me: someone who loves NG: Sigma 1 and 2 knowing full well this video will just say "these games fucking suck and you can eat glass for supporting them" The video: exactly that. Me: *Pikachu Surprised face*
It's unfortunate they lost the source code to the Vanilla versions of NG1 and NG2. While NG2 had better enemy count, it also suffered from terrible bosses and bugs out the ass
I don't get the love for vanilla II in comparison to Sigma 2. The removal of some combat sections in exchange for ghost fish is a bummer, but the removal of that bs horde of enemies that spam explosive shuriken in that one level in exchange for some downtime is a plus. I also don't get how you can praise a boss by making you abuse an invincible charged move while criticising the Rachel boss for having you do something similar and the alternate version for letting dragon sword go brrrr. Great video nonetheless. Now for a hot take: Team Ninja is better without Itagaki, except for vanilla Ninja Gaiden 3.
Listen I’m a NG vet. I’ve never beat MN but I’ve finally got to it on sigma and let me tell you...it’s hard but the Rachel missions are the worst...specifically the one where you have to fight the boss with the guns...I thought that mission was hard on VH mode but it’s near impossible on MN. I miss NG Black 😭
@@Fallconn2 it’s literally the Rachel sections! I’m stuck on fighting gamov she’s too slow, moves awkwardly and he has fire ninjas with him so 😂 when I got to that part I was like fuck I forgot I had to fight him 🤦🏾♂️ I can muscle through with ryu because he gets better throughout the game with upgrades. Idk maybe one day I’ll try to just get past him.
@@Awkward_Runner he's actually PRETTY exploitable. The reviewer here didn't use the exploit at all. COUNTERING. Gamov should NEVER be out of range, there's a reason he ALWAYS backs away from you. If you get close enough he does a 2 strike move. The 1st strike you counter, the 2nd move is a "you fucked up" move because it breaks guard. If you counter the first strike, you knock him DOWN and have the free ability to use the basic combo on him and deal major damage. Again, he isn't hard and Rachel has the best counter in the game because it's a 360 spin and a slam meaning you can do great crowd control. Stop playing Rachel like Ryu, she isn't a Ninja she's a heavy hitter than can down most enemies in one combo.
For the love of god, avoid Sigma 2, if you can. It is an abomination. If you’re on Xbox One or Series, please get a used copy of vanilla 2. You will not regret it!
sigma 1 on the ps3 was my first time playing ninja gaiden, became one of my favorite action games ever. it was decently hard for me, i did not abuse flying swallow lol felt so cheap
Still would rather have the sigma versions in the master collection than nothing at all, sad the source code for the originals was lost but the games were buggy as hell too.
So to save you some time on any follow up Video, Sigma Plus is a perfectly playable version of NG1 on Vita, Sigma 2 Plus is one hell of a meme version of a port that you have to play it to believe anything about it.
I agree with all points you make but it also pains me that the Sigma re-releases continue to gather such negative reption. Yes, they are significantly bogged down from the originals, but I still think they do enough for what they are to still capture the spirit and adrenaline pumped gameplay at the core of this series. They're certainly still games worthy for newcomers get into, I feel. Koei Tecmo seems to be testing the market with the upcoming collection so see if it still pops and while I wish they would have worked harder to bring us the very best the series has to offer, to have this upcoming release surrounded by backlash from hardcore fans, it paints them out to be complete failures. I feel this could turn down potential new fans. Not everyone can easily/affordably go and buy outdated consoles, along with initial Gaiden iterations that dropped on them. Us NG fans crave a NG4 so bad, yet I feel like we're hurting our best shot of a resurgence of the franchise by condemning a collection that still serves as a fine entry point for what it is. I'd rather people at least get to experience these classics in any shape or form than not at all. /:
I can't belive the guy missed the main diffirence between NG Black and Sigma: every single puzzle was cut from the game. Every single one. Puzzles in NG were good and gave the game nice adventure touch. I have no idea why they castrated the game, but Sigma will be always dumbed down version of original.
Because they basically followed Itagaki's vision. He removed all the fat in Ninja Gaiden 2 and made it linear. Also that was the time when character action games had this crappy backtracking and puzzles because they believed combat couldn't hold the game together. Thankfully we moved past it nowadays Platinum made everything just arena combat. We know why we are here-combat.
Fantastic. I’m a veteran, but the game gives you Flying Swallow, so why not use it if/when you can? Who am I to say you can’t have fun light-speed air-slashing fools left and right?
Its a weird choice for 2 to have a level up system based on where you are in the game, kinda takes away from that ninja mastering a specific weapon feel it could have had
I can't force myself to play the sigma version of black, there is a lot of input lag with moving on xbox series x but theres none with the original black.
Well honestly don't care much about the censorship but everything else is improved and it's a definiteve version of the game. Played it to death and got platinum on ps3 (love me some master ninja runs). The miniscule downsides like reduced amount of lycans on arena and such can be easily counter balanced by Ayane's fixed model. I can't look at her on Xbox version without laughing (looks like some "Netflix adaptation").
His Bioshock opening is one of the best things ever, definitely a classic! That manic, insane energy comes through like only the K-Bashster can deliver.
Ok what the hell, watching the footage of Alma 2, flying swallow and stuff knocking her out of flying around like a troll... In my playthrough, either something bugged or her AI went insano because literally nothing, no amount of hits would ever knock her down. She would perfect dodge everything... Except for one thing, at one specific time... Ninpo Fireball but I had to time it only during her singular ki blast attack and it had to be timed just as it was about to hit me. For whatever reason she would dodge early and get hit by the fireball and finally give me my opening. There were several bosses that did this crap... I remember playing Ninja Gaiden or Black on the OG xbox and never having issues like this. Bosses were hard but you could find your openings. In the new Sigma, that was never the case. All openings had to be forced by abusing i-frames. There was no tug of war, no skill to win, it was stock up on ninpo and spam spam spam.... I was very disappointed when I was finished with this game...
Who the hell was that? That can’t be in Itagaki, he had eyes. Itagaki doesn’t have eyes, he was born with sunglasses on.
Fucking seriously. Never seen that man without shades on
Ngl, "What if I'd been born an inch closer to the sun?" is a hell of a quote.
How though?
@@base21 if it makes you feel better, I didn't get it either lol
That part starts at 16:57 for those looking. It’s too real of a quote and I love it.
@@ruffmenace95gamingIt's a metaphor for how circumstances that seem most innocuous could have an effect on our lives
As a graphic designer, just wanted to say that I really appreciate your thumbnail images on RUclips! They’re very distinct and immediately readable
Theyre eye-catching as hell. I always get suckered into watching them. Thank God the videos themselves are actually good.
Same. Minimalistic, immediately recognizable, and swag silhouettes.
Real ones can tell the difficulty of the game you're playing on by the color of the enemy ninjas....yeah
@Joseph Parenti I even thought Ninja Gaiden Sigma got better woth each higher difficulty. A shame but oh well
@Joseph Parenti especially after finally beating Awakened Alma on Master Ninja.
@@JuliusCaesar103 someone wanna tell him the cats were in Black too just on higher difficulties lol
@@JuliusCaesar103 i fondly remember being one of the few crazy enough to overcome the hair-pulling achievements of doing master ninja using only one weapon type, on og ng 2. What stress, but what a rush. Only people who were willing to lose hours of life managed that hell
@@FakeGyllenhaal i wasted enough hours of my life on that mode even without those restrictions lol. Master Ninja Mode on NG1 is just masterful though, I think the mode is definitely not as well balanced in the other games
Everyone loves flying shallow spam till you get to hard difficulty and a solider parries and counters it for most of your health.
Yeah bruhh there's a soldier only appears in hard mode that can parry your flying shallow and exicute in instant..
First time playing and chose hard mode. Was enjoying until I kept getting parried.
The way you write your reviews is pure poetry; even though it's just youtuber stuff. I really do love your interesting conversations on gameplay and understanding what the developer's intentions were throughout the game. I really just am in love with your channel and I can understand and appreciate how painstaking every single line was to comprehend and speak at the same time. You came a long-ass way from home my man. Nicely done.
Too bad he ruins it with the horrifically obnoxious random man child screaming.
@@XhumpersX sorry apparently you don’t get this but you gotta have comedy with your conversation or else it’s literally dull. So I don’t have time for this oh it’s gotta be so fucking serious. I am 27. Be goofy. ✌🏽
@@wjbushjr Totally agree that comedy makes these videos fun and I wish he tries that out one day. I love civvie, ssseth or mandalore etc because they do this strange thing called "making jokes" to be funny, instead of just screaming like a feral man child and calling it comedy.
I like how u bring light to these developers i woulda never known about
Itagaki working on the Samurai Jack game as Supreme Advisor game makes a lot of sense n I’m glad he’s still working on weapon variant focused action games
When he says he played it on normal you can believe him. KBash you're talking about variety in enemies but don't realize Ninja Gaiden is one of those very rare games that actually adds new enemy types in higher difficulties. Those cat women for example? They pop up in hard mode around the same time you get the Flails in the first game.
Exactly! Currently doing a very hard playthrough on ninja gaiden black, im on the last portal on the top of the skull tower. Been such a ride love ngb so much haha
You can generaly notice that he's just playing on lower settings (as he notes). Stuff like ghostfish shouldn't be a problem on subsequent runs since you'll figure out how to negate them.
I dont get why his entire review of sigma 2 was based on lack of difficulty when hes playing on normal and theres plenty of difficulty levels for every skill range. Also hes neglecting to consider that he has experience from playing it on 360 so it would be easier playing it again.
Same thing with the other british dude I will not mention, god, if you're gonna do retrospect videos on videogames, then complete the game to the fullest, jesus.
@@botheredbiskit because “normal” is supposed to be as it was “intended”, hence why it’s normal. It’s a review for normal people, no?
I think you should talk about how NGB and NGII (vanilla) change the game as you increase the difficulty besides simple stat and enemy placement changes. The A.I. changes from Hard to Very Hard in NGB are fascinating to me.
Thats also a thing in sigma
@@brus6919 I know, but NGB is the definitive version of the first NG, and KBash has both, so just review them on NGB :).
@@brus6919 not that Sigma is bad, NGB is just *slightly* better overall
How about The Nioh Experience? See how Team Ninja got into the Souls-Like game and managed to make their best selling games ever.
He reviewed Nioh 1 and didn't like it because it was "too cheap" and it felt like every enemies was waiting to ambush you. Nioh 1 was awesome because you have many way of making battles easier while others were balancing. Nioh 2 was very cheap to no end, I mean, what is this, now? Enemies are now professional wrestlers now, like wtf. Yeah, my experience is ruined!
@@outkastshadowking2719 Nioh 1 was rough for me when I first started it, a lot like Ninja Gaiden 1 on the Xbox. But by the end, I did start to appreciate it a little more as a game. I think I prefer 2 because it fixed the issues I had with Nioh 1 which was some bosses felt like you had to hit them at VERY specific times or you'd just die. I felt like there was more engagement with the bosses in Nioh 2. I will admit that I haven't beaten 2 yet though so my opinion may change by the end.
@@outkastshadowking2719 That's interesting, I have played both 1 and 2 and found them both very challenging but in no ways did I find them "cheap". In fact there's a lot less of the "bullshit ambushes" like a dude hiding on the ceiling that will drop down and instakill than in the souls games. I really like how in Nioh 2 unblockable grabs are very clearly represented by the gray and black aura around the enemies hands right before they do it so you know to get out of the way. And then special red eye flashing attacks can all be countered with your yokai burst or whatever it's called (R2 + O). Also love how the bosses have a super demon form just like you do, and normal enemies as well as bosses also have a very similar ki (stamina) system as the player's that is visible. I find the challenge, in Nioh 2 at least, to be very fair and rewarding.
just because Nioh sells it doesn't mean its good. "Good" is subjective. Nioh is just a cheap copy/paste of you know what.
@@kozodoev idk that’s very subjective dude, i personally love sekiro and prefer it over nioh 2 but i undoubtedly think that nioh 2 has more fun and more complex combat that allows for much for variety and longevity for repeated playthroughs. it doesn’t have the level design or story of sekiro but they both excel in different ways
Damn KBash looking like a japanese boy band guitarist
More like Ninja Gaiden Ligma
*Sugma
This was the hardest game I've played as a kid. However, HOLY FU- WAS THIS GAME SO FUN TO PLAY ON MY PSVITA.
Ok zoomer
Ye it was pretty fun on the vita but sigma 2 was not
You're kidding me!! THIS game is on the PS Vita??! WHAT?!
Sigma 2 Plus on Vita is my favorite action game of all time. Sigma 2 but with the blood and extra costumes!
@@MadDragonify you are one of the greatest men I've ever known. How did you deal with the slow downs
I love Sigma 2, and this coming off from 2 playthroughs of the original NGII on xbox one. Its not cheap, its fun and as more content. Ayane's mission is one of the best in the series.
Same. I bought the collection on switch and I'm close to beating sigma 1 and dipped my toes into 2 and bringing back my PTSD from my kid days with 3. I wish I was old enough to know what these games were to play them originally ala my black vanilla 2.( I was born in '03)
Me when I see Rachel on ps4 "shake" "shake" "shake" " shake" "shake" .
ooooohhhh you...shake it up babeh!!!
Same with Ayane
@@marcusrimson6330 ahhhh...ayane...my hard to get..tsundere...sis con most fav doa female character.
Shame that the collection isn't also including black and vanilla 2. I know that they lost the files, still makes me wanting
Honestly if they can they can try and change a few things in an update. The level design I know won’t change but maybe they can modify enemy placements in an update. I really want to try out these games cause the only one I ever played was razors edge as a kid on the wiiu (Yes I was retarded) and I want to play them but I’m still in high school and my 360 is broken. It’s why I was excited when they announced the remaster and I’m not a purist but I didn’t see the hate on the sigma games. Like Kbash said if you want to play the series you can try the sigma games if you want to ease into it before going face first into the blood and gore stained brick wall that the purist consider the best versions of ninja gaiden I.e black, vanilla 2, and razors edge. And the devs even said if the game sells well they’ll work on 4. I plan on checking it out in switch that way I can torture myself on the go.
@@shinigami9851 true. But the inherient problem is trying to play the originals. Finding black is expensive, and emulating them is a bitch and a half. Vanilla 2 is cheap, but oh boy the slowdown. That's why purist wanted them in the collection. So that we could get easy access to these versions. And maybe a version of 2 with no slowdown.
But a lack luster version of the sigma games won't reel in potential new fans. The switch and pc versions are just bad, and I think the ps4 and xbox versions are good? Not sure, haven't seen much coverage on those ports.
But if they want consumers to buy the collection so that they can make 4, it has to be a good remaster. Cause of this is the quality of them remastering the games, why should we trust them to make a new game?
Developers are people and they change over time. So they may forget on what made their games enjoyable. Especially if they haven't made a new one in a long time
@@teneesh3376 Which is why I said maybe they can try to fix the balancing with an update if they support it for long enough. For example instead of needing to unlock hard it’s automatically unlocked from the get go. They could also put the original enemies from vanilla 2 back in the places where they got replaced with ghost fish but on higher difficulties. It’ll take time but hopefully they’ll do that. The sigma games are good it’s just that the devs tinkered with the bits that didn’t really need tinkering except in certain places. I for one don’t mind the extra characters because A) it brings more variety and B)...Well I’m guessing you can guess B. Other than that with a couple updates and enough support the remaster can be the closest we could get to the way they were meant to be played. Although I’m at least glad the devs did razors edge cause god vanilla 3 was a mess. It might not happen but I’m trying to optimistic here.
@@shinigami9851 yeah. But man they should have delayed this to fix the issues. Day 1 patches are what people will remember. Any patch after that are often ignored or forgotten
@@teneesh3376 yeah you gotta point. But considering these are Technically supposed to be the remasters of the first two games before they remastered it again for modern consoles. bugs and glitches hopefully won’t be a problem considering how smooth the games run anyway and are the supposed “Enhanced” versions. And considering how good the Nioh games were maybe they gotta a better grasp on what itagaki wanted the games to be like in terms of difficulty. Most Players would probably at least be a bit happy that the game even runs well considering that nowadays even something like a remaster is prone to be shat on if it’s buggy. Looking at you return to Arkham and Arkham knight for pc pre updates.
wow, just in time for my morning blunt. thank you mr.dr.bash
Whoa, you mean like Marihuana?
@@johnnybensonitis7853 no I mean hypermeth 💨
@@SaintZaiya Oh, is that the song? It's definitely great as well, I love a good 8-bit banger.
honestly, I heard people complaining about the Sigma games many times but having not played the 360 version, I enjoyed them a lot.
then again, Sigma 2 was my first Ninja Gaiden.
same...love it..still have it on my ps3 too.
Sigma 2 is inferior to the OG in a lot of ways but it's still enjoyable and really good on its own.
Ita is actually quite the savage, holy hell!
I would spam the Izuna Drop and Flying Swallow like there was no tomorrow. They have done studies 60% of the time it works...every time 😆👍🎮
Ninja Gaiden 1 on NES: OH NO! F**KING Birds!
Ninja Gaiden Sigma: OH NO! F**KING Ghost Fishes!
at least it’s probable that modders will be able to increase the amount of enemies in the pc port of sigma 2. though i never thought that enemy density was a legitimate avenue to create difficulty, to me the sigma tradeoff of “less enemies with more health and damage” was a more rewarding challenge on MN than simply spamming ctrl+v everywhere. On normal though, it does get too easy. also fuck the non ryu segments
The Ryu Hayabusa male grindset
Yes
My favorite part of these two/five Ninja Gaiden reviews has been the number of times Kbash earnestly said, "Why is it like this?" And then found a new perspective on whatever "it" was later. Satisfying, and a lot more surprising than what you'd expect from your average gamesoft video essay.
It's a shame there will probably never be an ultimate version of these games, but at least they're available, and PC mods exist.
The best way to deal with the ghost fish in the first game is actually pretty easy when you get the timing down. Just do a forward jump and a light attack X or square in the air with the dragon sword. They can't bite you in the air but they will keep following you which means they run straight into your attack. If you time this properly by immediatly jumping again and doing the air attack when you land they become a none issue. You could do it with other weapons but the dragon sword forward jump attack keeps you on the move.
Or simply use fire wheels and call it a day.
@@outkastshadowking2719 Works too but I rather keep as much Ninpo as possible for Spirit Doku especially on higher difficulties.
7:02 that’s a lie. The camera is frustrating for 20 seconds PER ROOM. When you enter a room the camera defaults to a frontal view of Ryu… and ignores the impending AMBUSH just out of frame.
My first experience with these games was on my Vita and I enjoyed it. Admittedly, I took a year off after the first game then came back to Sigma 2 and was a bit surprised how easily I made it through. Regardless, I cannot wait for the rereleases.
Ninja Gaiden Black still the goat
I like ninja gaiden 2 but I felt some encounters where wayyy too packed half the time I couldn’t even see ryu just felt like they just dumped wayy too many mobs to try to make the game “harder”
Honestly I think that's just with the era. Back then in order to make games harder they would just throw a shit ton of enemies at you and call that "Difficulty" there AI wasn't that smart it's just the fact that you couldn't see shit.
Edit: one thing i liked about the sigma version was that i put ryu’s alt costume and when theres a bunch of enemies on screen I can still have an idea of where im at.
lol two pathetic grunts with skill issues.
The fact on grand Master those DAMNED GHOST FISH gave me more trouble than some of the bosses in sigma 1 and 2
Nice video to play Ninja Gaiden Master Collection next week, will you be doing a DMC Special Edition video too?
Thanks for givin Sigma 1 a chance. Some fans write it off but imo its a perfectly playable version of ng1.
Sigma 2 on Mentor mode is when the game starts to show its claws
And Master Ninja straight up falls apart
KBash is one of the only RUclipsrs I’ll watch videos on games I’ve never played and that will never change
Just curious. What does the average Ninja Gaiden enjoyer think of Sekiro?
Yes
Yo, the Chrono Cross Bend of Time music at 17:08! Nice choice.
I'm well aware of the reasons for it but man do I wish the Master Collection offered the options for the Black and Vanilla 2 versions.
From what I heard the devs actually wanted to use those versions but lost the code so they gave us the second best thing.
I dunno, man. Itagaki did make Devil's Third, which wasn't as good as the original Gaiden games OR the Sigma games.
I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 and 2. Sigma 1 was challenging as I kept on getting my ass kicked a lot and I had this problem for just back tracking all around the city of Tairon in order to progress. Sigma 2 was a lot more fun as the combat was more exciting and the levels are interesting. This time you actually go to different parts of the world like New York, Japan, Italy, Russia and South America.
Plus I always found Momiji a little bit hotter than Rachel, Ayane or Sonia. She’s got that Japanese anime ponytail look to her and her costume is traditionally Japanese while being a bit revealing. Plus she’s very beautiful, generous and caring at times.
Indeed, if you never plan on playing Hard or above, feel free to Flying Swallow all day.
But if you do plan to move up, that is the single most hazardous habit you can have. If you have recovery frames, you will be punished. No exceptions.
Nice video!
The fact that they slowed down the game speed broke it a bit. Still agree with Black + vanilla II
Itagaki please come back.
Higher difficulty in ninja Gaiden black and sigma make enemies that punish flying swallow spam.
More like "Ninja Gaiden Ligma Experience" 🤭
The only thing I'm upset about is that 2 dosent have blood in the collection
- Says he played on normal
- Says hes bored with how easy the game is and it should be harder...
If he thinks ninja gaiden on normal is supposed to hard is just stupid lol if he play in his first play through on hardest difficult he will take back what he said.
I can't wait for master collection so I can play on hardest difficult and play it again on master ninja or something the very hard difficulty for ninja gaiden it's gonna be fun
You do know you have to play on normal to unlock hard right?
Forcing someone to go through what is essentially "easy mode" (since Sigma 2 did knock down the difficulty overall a peg) so they can finally have "fun" on "normal mode" isn't the best game design.
Now before you say something like Bayonetta (and other Platinumgames' games) and Devil May Cry also do it. The thing is that
1. They don't bore you with their normal mode.
2. Their hard mode acts as a pseudo-NG+ where you can carry over your normal mode progress through the harder modes whereas with Ninja Gaiden, you always have to start a fresh save when bumping up the difficulty.
@@Wandermidget I agree. The criticism should be that the game wont let you play on hard from the start instead hes saying medium difficulty is not hard enough.
@@Wandermidget in Devil May Cry 5 you can unlock Dante Must Die difficulty without having to unlock Son of Sparda difficulty
I used to absolutely adore Ninja Gaiden 2 growing up. I played that game so much on Acolyte just learning the mechanics and having an insane time with how ridiculous everything in it was. I recently picked it back up now as an adult and played through Warrior and Mentor. Both offering really tough experiences, some times I most definitely wanted to pull my hair out, but I still kept trucking on and eventually conquered them.
Then I see the Master Collection was coming out for the Switch and I figured, A: I never got to beat the first NG as a kid as it really kicked my ass, B: I never got to try out the Sigma ports and see what was different, and C: I never played NG3 in general and I hear Razor's Edge is the best way to play (even tho it's still probably gonna be an ass game from what I also hear), so I bought the collection and got to playing. Currently playing Sigma 2 on Mentor. And uhhhh.... Wow. Literally haven't died once playing as Ryu and I'm on Chapter 13 now (I have died once as Momiji but I was still getting the hang of her kit). It's like the game's difficulty has been dumbed down to a T.
The first Sigma was pretty fun. Sure sections were dumbed down but it was still a genuinely tough game that didn't hold its punches and was really punishing, especially the mechanic where if you died you'd be booted back to your last save (that fucked me up badly when I got booted back once to Rachel's mission where you fight Gamov, who gave me a run for my money since I really just can't get behind Rachel's slow and heavy kit). But I overall still felt great after beating it and still had a lot of fun in the process. Then I hit Sigma 2 and...... Idk man, I just.... damn. Idk what to expect for Razor's Edge, but hopefully I can push through it and finally wrap up this series.
"talks about bosses"
"doesn't talk about clone Ryu" Yeah, you're def only played the game on normal ¬_¬
He also thinks the cat fiends debuted in sigma, so he also never played Black above normal.
Just discovered your channel through this vid because I'm excited for the collection remaster. Subbed instantly. Love your content!!
Sigma 2 is my favorite.
15:38 this coming from the guy behind DOA extreme volleyball
Sigma 2 reducing the enemy count wasn't a bad idea. Though the enemies were designed for a large enemy count, so they aren't as aggressive as before. So in sigma 2 they should have increased enemy aggression so that it's just as hard, but more fair. Not to mention running better
Enemies are more aggressive in sigma 2 80% of the aggression in vanilla 2 was just is ninja spam
It isnt Ninja Gaiden without unfair bullshit.
FINALLY someone who doesnt shit on the sigma version i am HYPE to finally fully play these games after renting ng sigma 1 for a weekend and having the most satiaifyingly difficult game ever
Sigma 1 had some decent Improvememts without taking much away from the original.. The graphical upgrade was also nice...but sigma 2 made too many negative changes (though it did have some nice additions too)
@@cagencagen473 do u think theres a way to play the vanilla games on pc
@@rusteddenial453 you can emulate ninja gaiden black with the Xemu emulator, which is about 90% playable except for the fire cavern area, but as of right now there is no method of playing vanilla ninja gaiden 2 on pc, as the only xbox360 emulator cannot even render the game properly at the moment, and progress on updating it is incredibly slow.
@@rusteddenial453 not without emulators which aren't perfect and need good hardware. I had them an the OG xbox and a 360 but now I have a PC and PS4.. I honestly want a series x just to play them again at 4k. You could buy a used One X to play them at 4k too
@@cagencagen473 funny I was considering buying a series s just emulate games. Shame my ps5 can't =/
Monday just got awesome all of a sudden
When he talked about ghost fish being a pain I was confused cuz all i did was flame wheel and just walked thru them....
You can fight the statue of liberty?
For Sigma 1 at least, a lot of your criticisms are more about sticking to the normal difficulty when Ninja Gaiden is the kind of game where the harder difficulties legitimately change up enemy composition, add new opponents and even bosses, and punishes spamming powerful moves like Flying Swallow.
sigma's ok, but NGB's the definitive NG experience
8:17 to 8:19 ryu: slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp.
Also, I get that momiji, ayane and rachel aren't the BEST characters, but at least they have "benefits".
this footage from sigma 1 is on ninja dog, It's clear by damage output and bosses lacking pattern (like Alma's pillar throw number). Not exactly a place to talk about difficulty.
Loved NG2 but part 1 was soo overhyped, playing it felt like a chore especially with the awful camera, slow control responses, platforming with both the previous factors I said added and some of the bosses are just annoying af and like everything else u fight requires a gimmick to kill them.
Me: someone who loves NG: Sigma 1 and 2 knowing full well this video will just say "these games fucking suck and you can eat glass for supporting them"
The video: exactly that.
Me: *Pikachu Surprised face*
*GHOST FEEEEEEEEEEEEESH*
It's unfortunate they lost the source code to the Vanilla versions of NG1 and NG2. While NG2 had better enemy count, it also suffered from terrible bosses and bugs out the ass
I doubt they lost the source code, they just dont want to pay Tomonobu Itagaki
I don't get the love for vanilla II in comparison to Sigma 2. The removal of some combat sections in exchange for ghost fish is a bummer, but the removal of that bs horde of enemies that spam explosive shuriken in that one level in exchange for some downtime is a plus. I also don't get how you can praise a boss by making you abuse an invincible charged move while criticising the Rachel boss for having you do something similar and the alternate version for letting dragon sword go brrrr. Great video nonetheless.
Now for a hot take: Team Ninja is better without Itagaki, except for vanilla Ninja Gaiden 3.
Listen I’m a NG vet. I’ve never beat MN but I’ve finally got to it on sigma and let me tell you...it’s hard but the Rachel missions are the worst...specifically the one where you have to fight the boss with the guns...I thought that mission was hard on VH mode but it’s near impossible on MN. I miss NG Black 😭
Gamov...that’s his name 🤦🏾♂️ hate that guy
i’ve beaten sigma on master ninja once. never again bro, the rachel sections made me wanna put my head through the wall
@@Fallconn2 it’s literally the Rachel sections! I’m stuck on fighting gamov she’s too slow, moves awkwardly and he has fire ninjas with him so 😂 when I got to that part I was like fuck I forgot I had to fight him 🤦🏾♂️ I can muscle through with ryu because he gets better throughout the game with upgrades. Idk maybe one day I’ll try to just get past him.
@@Awkward_Runner he's actually PRETTY exploitable. The reviewer here didn't use the exploit at all. COUNTERING. Gamov should NEVER be out of range, there's a reason he ALWAYS backs away from you. If you get close enough he does a 2 strike move. The 1st strike you counter, the 2nd move is a "you fucked up" move because it breaks guard.
If you counter the first strike, you knock him DOWN and have the free ability to use the basic combo on him and deal major damage.
Again, he isn't hard and Rachel has the best counter in the game because it's a 360 spin and a slam meaning you can do great crowd control.
Stop playing Rachel like Ryu, she isn't a Ninja she's a heavy hitter than can down most enemies in one combo.
For the love of god, avoid Sigma 2, if you can. It is an abomination. If you’re on Xbox One or Series, please get a used copy of vanilla 2. You will not regret it!
I've come to answer the call, screech father
We need a ninja game genre.
Momiji and Ayane have good movesets…
The only challenging game for the sigma male
“Flying swallow spam!” Lmao
sigma 1 on the ps3 was my first time playing ninja gaiden, became one of my favorite action games ever. it was decently hard for me, i did not abuse flying swallow lol felt so cheap
Still would rather have the sigma versions in the master collection than nothing at all, sad the source code for the originals was lost but the games were buggy as hell too.
So to save you some time on any follow up Video, Sigma Plus is a perfectly playable version of NG1 on Vita, Sigma 2 Plus is one hell of a meme version of a port that you have to play it to believe anything about it.
how bad is it?
"What the hell... are those guys doing okay at home?" Had me dead
I agree with all points you make but it also pains me that the Sigma re-releases continue to gather such negative reption. Yes, they are significantly bogged down from the originals, but I still think they do enough for what they are to still capture the spirit and adrenaline pumped gameplay at the core of this series. They're certainly still games worthy for newcomers get into, I feel. Koei Tecmo seems to be testing the market with the upcoming collection so see if it still pops and while I wish they would have worked harder to bring us the very best the series has to offer, to have this upcoming release surrounded by backlash from hardcore fans, it paints them out to be complete failures. I feel this could turn down potential new fans. Not everyone can easily/affordably go and buy outdated consoles, along with initial Gaiden iterations that dropped on them. Us NG fans crave a NG4 so bad, yet I feel like we're hurting our best shot of a resurgence of the franchise by condemning a collection that still serves as a fine entry point for what it is. I'd rather people at least get to experience these classics in any shape or form than not at all. /:
Ayane is the best character in the series and you cannot deny it
*Momiji
I love ninja gaiden, every single one of them,including yaiba
How was yaiba? Heard some wack shit about it lol
@@Chase-vq6eq it was mixed
I can't belive the guy missed the main diffirence between NG Black and Sigma: every single puzzle was cut from the game. Every single one.
Puzzles in NG were good and gave the game nice adventure touch.
I have no idea why they castrated the game, but Sigma will be always dumbed down version of original.
Because they basically followed Itagaki's vision. He removed all the fat in Ninja Gaiden 2 and made it linear. Also that was the time when character action games had this crappy backtracking and puzzles because they believed combat couldn't hold the game together. Thankfully we moved past it nowadays Platinum made everything just arena combat. We know why we are here-combat.
@@milosmisic89 Ninja Gaiden 2 was kind of crappy game. The level design was bad, and the bosses sucked. I didnt finish the game.
New kbash, let's goooo 😎 also your hair looks great, champion
"I'm going to fucking scream." How I felt about NG:MNC.
Fantastic. I’m a veteran, but the game gives you Flying Swallow, so why not use it if/when you can? Who am I to say you can’t have fun light-speed air-slashing fools left and right?
A video that encapsulates all 6 hours of my frustration getting to Chapter 9 last night 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Just pre ordered the game on switch! Cant wait to take them on the go😁
Really love your videos. Very entertaining. Taking a chance and getting the collection on switch so I can play portable. Hopefully it will play ok.
Its a weird choice for 2 to have a level up system based on where you are in the game, kinda takes away from that ninja mastering a specific weapon feel it could have had
WHOS READY FOR THE REMASTERS?! I can’t wait
I can't force myself to play the sigma version of black, there is a lot of input lag with moving on xbox series x but theres none with the original black.
Well honestly don't care much about the censorship but everything else is improved and it's a definiteve version of the game. Played it to death and got platinum on ps3 (love me some master ninja runs). The miniscule downsides like reduced amount of lycans on arena and such can be easily counter balanced by Ayane's fixed model. I can't look at her on Xbox version without laughing (looks like some "Netflix adaptation").
Hate part when to stop fight enemies and I thought there was supposed to be a cutscene so I kept fighting them
ngl i cant wait for this game to drop in june
Those openings always make me laugh
His Bioshock opening is one of the best things ever, definitely a classic! That manic, insane energy comes through like only the K-Bashster can deliver.
Always gotta watch til the end to hear Simp God 👌
Ok what the hell, watching the footage of Alma 2, flying swallow and stuff knocking her out of flying around like a troll... In my playthrough, either something bugged or her AI went insano because literally nothing, no amount of hits would ever knock her down. She would perfect dodge everything... Except for one thing, at one specific time... Ninpo Fireball but I had to time it only during her singular ki blast attack and it had to be timed just as it was about to hit me. For whatever reason she would dodge early and get hit by the fireball and finally give me my opening. There were several bosses that did this crap... I remember playing Ninja Gaiden or Black on the OG xbox and never having issues like this. Bosses were hard but you could find your openings. In the new Sigma, that was never the case. All openings had to be forced by abusing i-frames. There was no tug of war, no skill to win, it was stock up on ninpo and spam spam spam.... I was very disappointed when I was finished with this game...
Camera is the ultimate enemy
I’m surprised at the lack of sigma male jokes
There was such a solid base for a good ng3. But tecmo hated itagaki so much they tried to change it leading to the death of the franchise.
Sigma? More like Ligma, amirite gamers?
Damn can't believe you only reviewed the ninja dog version of every game