Classic Gaming- Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos: (1990)

We all remember how epic the original Ninja Gaiden game was for the NES during the late 80’s   Ninja Gaiden was considered to be one of the best platform games to have been released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The original Ninja Gaiden game was not only very impressive but it looked like the creators spent an extensive amount of time developing elements of the game that made it stand out from general platform titles for the NES.  Everything from the cinematic cutscenes to the storytelling along with the gameplay was executed with perfection in the original Ninja Gaiden game.  When the original Ninja Gaiden game was first released in 1988 many people were anticipating the possibility for a potential sequel for the Nintendo Entertainment System sometime in the early 90’s  Luckily, many people got their wishes answered a lot sooner than expected as Temco had released Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos the following year in 1990.  One of the cool things about this game is that the plot was connected to the prequel.

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos follows the defeat of Jaquio in the prequel and focuses on Ashtar as the main antagonist for this title.  The opening for this game was pretty cool but many people debate on whether or not it was as good as the first Ninja Gaiden title.  Some people would probably choose the original over Ninja Gaiden II since it marked the birth of the series.  In terms of a better intro many would probably choose the original opening over the one for Ninja Gaiden II because sequence in the very beginning seemed more action packed. The intro for the Dark Sword of Chaos was pretty cool because you learned about Ashtar’s plan for world domination and while this was happening you were being introduced to the main characters of the game.  The plot for this game involved Ashtar’s desire to rule the world with the “Dark Sword of Chaos” along with opening the “Gate of Darkness.”   As you start Act 1 you will notice the improved graphics and gameplay while progressing throughout the first level.  In this Ninja Gaiden game Ryu can utilize special abilities such as creating shadow clones of himself which can help him defeat enemies especially boss characters much faster.

There are also a few plot twists in Ninja Gaiden II which made things very interesting including Irene being kidnapped  along with discovering the Jaquio had been revived following Act 7-2.  Prior to reaching the scene involving the unsettling discovery of Jaquio’s rebirth the developers did an amazing job adding more emotion into the game as you got closer to the end.  The scenes between Ryu & Robert S. T.  following the end of Act 6-3 along with 7-1 were fantastic.  Similar to the original Ninja Gaiden the developers were able to create feelings of anticipation & suspense with certain cutscenes especially with the inclusion of melodic soundtracks.  The only thing about Ninja Gaiden II was that the 8-bit cinematic beauty of Temco could only be fully witnessed by people depending on how much progress they make in the game.  Its not secret that Ninja Gaiden II is almost as hard as the original if not more difficult considering the fact that its slightly longer.  While the original Ninja Gaiden for the NES only included six acts the second included seven.

Even though, this game was really difficult many people had fun playing through each level depending on how much progress they made.  Some of the coolest stages in the game included Acts 2-2 along with 4-2 which had great visual designs.  The hardest stages in Ninja Gaiden II for the NES normally depends on who you ask but around Act 5 things get very tough.  Some people would be lucky to even make it to Act 6 or even complete the game itself for that matter.  If you somehow made it to Act 7 the boss battles were almost impossible to complete along with the game itself being unforgiving.  Ninja Gaiden II:The Dark Sword of Chaos was an excellent sequel to the first title because it maintained the same elements that made the original 8-bit game a masterpiece.   In terms of complexity some may agree that Ninja Gaiden II for the NES was not quite as suspenseful as the prequel especially towards the beginning.  However, almost everyone will agree that Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos is one of the hardest games that they have ever played for the NES during the 90’s.

Classic Gaming- Ninja Gaiden: (1988)

When it comes down to awesome side scrolling platform games there are many titles that initially come to mind such as: Super Mario, Mega Man and the Double Dragon series.  Along with those titles one of the most popular side scrolling plaform games that many people remembered included the Ninja Gaiden series.  The legendary Ninja Gaiden series started after Temco published the very first game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988.   There were so many aspects about this game that was awesome from start to finish.  The intro for Ninja Gaiden was probably one of the best openings that you will ever see in a NES game. The opening not only gave you an idea on what the plot was about but it featured high quality 8-bit animation which was effective in serving as prelude into the game itself.   Another great thing about Ninja Gaiden was the storytelling aspect of this game.  The storytelling in Ninja Gaiden was fantastic because as one progressed throughout the game they learned more about the plot along with what their objective was.

One of the things about this game that was kinda cool included the main character being named “Ryu” Hayabusa while his father is ironically named “Ken” Hayabusa.  As many of us know the names Ryu & Ken were given to two of the main characters of the original and now very popular Street Fighter series which originated 1987.  The plot for Ninja Gaiden had revolved around Ken having to travel to America to visit an archaeologist named Walter Smith who fills him in on the details on the”Light” and “Shadow” statues before being assassinated.  As you get further into the game with Ryu you find yourself talking to the CIA in about a temple that was built in the Amazon over 2000 ago.  Ryu then finds out that the temple was taken over by a sorcerer named Jaquio who is the main villain of the game.  It was also revealed that Ryu was ambushed by one of the CIA agents earlier in the game for a greater purpose. Not only was Ryu charged with the task of defeating Jaquio to prevent the awakening of an ancient demon known as Jashin but he had to find out what happened to Ken after he disappeared earlier in the game.  Some of the revelations in this game is what made it very exciting because one had to complete certain levels in order to get the full story of what was going on opposed to having every little detail explained during the beginning.

The visual design associated with each cutscene in Ninja Gaiden were highly impressive. Not only did the cutscenes heavily contribute to the storytelling aspect of Ninja Gaiden but it also added some emotion to certain parts of the game.   At times it felt like you were watching an 8-bit cinema rather than playing a platform game which was a testament to how great this title truly was.  The transitions between cutscenes to actual gameplay seemed impeccable in terms of timing along with the fact that this game  was just as challenging as it was impressive.  When it came down to obstacles the original Ninja Gaiden game was full of them.  The battle with Malth at the end Act 5. was probably the toughest in the game next final boss in Act 6. Ninja Gaiden had also featured one of the best soundtracks that you would hear in any NES game along with the likes Mega Man II and many others.    The musical composition for stages such  5-3, 4-2 and 2-2 were brilliant since it was among many elements that made Ninja Gaiden an addictive game to play for the NES.

The fantastic BGM included in Ninja Gaiden made the game more exciting as one try’s to complete the game which seemed impossible at times.  The last two acts are extremely difficult since there were so many ways to lose a life including that insane pit jump in stage 6-2.  Some might argue that the entire was tough in general but once you completed Ninja Gaiden for the NES the ending was well worth the effort.  After its initial release Ninja Gaiden was praised by critics & fans alike for its overall production.  Even though, some might argue that Ninja Gaiden was a very difficult game to complete it is still known to be one of the best platform games of the late 80’s along with being an 8-bit classic for the NES.