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The Ninja Gaiden series is well known for its difficulty, frequently being mentioned in conversations with Dark Souls, Battletoads, and, worst of all, Crash Bandicoot.Ninja Gaiden 2 Blackis no exception, delivering the challenge the 2008 original is known for to a whole new generation of fans.
If you want to make it through Ryu’s adventure, you’ll need to steel yourself for the journey ahead and become comfortable dying (a lot). However, if you’re able to persevere, you’ll be rewarded with one of the best action games of the seventh generation. Here are some tips to get you started.
Fully Upgrade One Weapon
When you start using a weapon in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, youdon’t have access to the entire moveset. In order to unlock your full suite of combos, youneed to upgrade the weapon twice, after which you’ll be unable to unleash it’s full destructive potential.
After sampling a few items in Ryu’s arsenal, it’s important tofocus on upgrading your favorite, at least for the time being. The blacksmith charges10,000 Essence for the first improvement, and a whopping20,000 for the second! We recommend starting with the Dragon Sword, since itoffers a nice balance of speed and range.
Upgrading your weapons can alsochange their appearance!
Abuse Flying Swallow
If you find the opening fights of NG2 Black to be a bit too challenging, you can fall back on the strategy many beginners have used before you:abusing Flying Swallow. The Flying Swallow technique can beperformed with the Dragon Sword, and is executed byjumping towards an enemy and pressing Triangle/Y.
If done correctly, Ryu will fly at them and slash his sword, potentiallydecapitating them or cutting a limb off. Not only can you use this move to quickly dispatch enemies,it’s easily spammable, and can beused to reposition yourselfif you’re faced with a particularly large encounter.
Pay Attention To Dismemberment
As you’re carving through foes, you may noticeyour attacks lop some of their body parts off. Arms, legs, and even heads can be removed with relative ease!
When this happens,try to finish them off with an Obliteration techniqueas fast as possible (approach them andpress Triangle/Y). Doing so will play an execution animation andimmediately kill them, reducing the total number of enemies and letting you move on to other threats.
Dodge While Enemies Attack
Dodging a flurry of blows in NG2 Black can be quite difficult, and sometimesit’s smarter to just hold your ground and block. However, you can actually still move Ryu around, even if you’re on the backfoot.
Performing a dash requires you tohold the block button and flick the Left Stickin the direction you’d like to move, and you can actuallyabuse this mechanic if you’re being attacked. When an enemy is trying to hit you multiple times, you canblock the first few strikes, then dodge(pressing the Left Stick) out of their combo, letting you go back on the offensive.
You’ll know you executed this properly if your dodge isaccompanied by particle effects.
Charge Ultimate Techniques When Essence Is Present
Ultimate Techniques are one of the best ways to completely decimate a group of enemies, but theytake a few seconds to charge. Thankfully, there’s actuallya way to use them in a much safer fashion.
After killing an enemy, their corpse willusually spawn Essence. If you begin holding Triangle/Y, thatEssence will be sucked into Ryu, and the UT willcharge at a much faster rate. This allows you to use your most destructive combat tool without exposing yourself to as much harm as a traditional UT activation.
Use Ninpo For Invincibility
If you’re being hit continuously and can’t seem to find your footing in a particular encounter, it’s alwayswise to use Ninpo. Ryu’s magic spells can beactivated by pressing Triangle and Circle/Y and B simultaneously, letting himdeal damage to a wide area. This alsogrants invincibility for the spells' duration, so it’s a great get-out-of-jail-free card.
If you don’t have any Ki available to perform Ninpo, press Down on the D-pad anduse Devil’s Way Mushroomsto recover some.
Practice Countering
Another way to move from defense back to offense is to counter incoming blows. As you’re blocking a strike, you canpress an attack button at the exact moment it hitsyou to parry and swipe back with your weapon,interrupting the enemyand leaving them vulnerable. Depending on which weapon you’re using, youmay be able to start a combo of your own!
Explore The Environment For Useful Items
NG2 Black is largely a linear game, but there are a few sections where you’re given the opportunity to explore other paths. During these moments, you canhold the Right Bumper to highlight where you need to goto advance the story. It’s often beneficial toignore this momentarilyand venture into the additional paths available to you. Theyoften hide Ki pickups and Life of the Gods spheres, which can beused to increase your maximum health.
