Is Ninja Gaiden cheap or just unforgiving?

[BurningDoom]

I still can't get past the last couple of stages of the 2nd Ninja Gaiden. Those games are so hard, yet so well made. NES masterpieces, even the music is memorable.

[Erik_Twice]

General_Norris, did you mean the NES or Xbox version? I'm not so clear now with all the responses. I was speaking of the NES version in my response.

NES. I should have specified as many games share the same names and there are several versions of each around. I know nothing of the original arcade version or the Xbox reboots.

Mostly, it's unforgiving, but it does have quite a lot of cheap points where you just have to have memorized the enemy spawn points and patterns and know what's coming next.

I see. Well, memorization IS unfair, by definition. However, do you think it adds to the game?

We should not forget why R-Type was so innovative!

You can kind of spot the differences by watching The Retro Game Master play through Ninja Gaiden. The spots where he gets really stuck are the same spots where most people get stuck:

http://kotaku.com/5814938/episode-1-ninja-gaiden

Dammit, I can't watch it because I don't live in North America =/

Any solutions? That program has a legendary reputation and I would like to watch it.

I've never been a fan of Ninja Gaiden on the NES, it's not hard, it's just that there's only a single line to follow in order to complete each level and if you mess up once you die. There's no skill involved, there's no tactics, it's just level memorisation and that's not fun.

All you said also applies to Castlevania. There's also only one line to beat each level, tough the reduced number of enemies on screen makes recovery easier tough most Medusa hallways and bats hovering near platforms are instakills if you screw up.

Do you find CV skill-less and purely based on memorization too? Honest question, it all sounds very harsh on the internets

[jfe2]

You can kind of spot the differences by watching The Retro Game Master play through Ninja Gaiden. The spots where he gets really stuck are the same spots where most people get stuck:

http://kotaku.com/5814938/episode-1-ninja-gaiden

Dammit, I can't watch it because I don't live in North America =/

Any solutions? That program has a legendary reputation and I would like to watch it.

I believe there are fan subs that are available somewhere. I don't have any on my hard drive, but maybe someone here can hook you up.

[J T]

http://kotaku.com/5814938/episode-1-ninja-gaiden

Dammit, I can't watch it because I don't live in North America =/

Any solutions? That program has a legendary reputation and I would like to watch it.

Arion posted this link awhile ago:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7BOJCOCZ

[deathsled]

I think just about every fansubbed Game Center CX is on youtube lol...

[Gamerforlife]

Yeah, NG is just memorization. I've beaten it about three times, but I can easily understand people's frustration with it. I remember that no matter how good I got at it, it seemed impossible to beat it with no deaths. I think NG II was better balanced, but it was pretty damn hard too. I played through NG II many times though, and it was one of my favorite NES games. NG III is the one I never beat, I got pretty far though. I think I just never got around to beating it because it was the one NG game that I didn't own

[Pingfa]

Personally I don't understand why Ninja Gaiden is considered so difficult. I only found the last level particularly challenging. It took me a number of playthroughs to finish it simply because of the last boss, but I didn't find the rest of the game particularly difficult.
Personally I think the last level and final boss are the only really difficult part of the game from what I recall, but once you've figured him out he's not much trouble.

I haven't played 2 or 3 more than briefly so I don't know about those.

[Croooow!]

I've never been able to beat level 6-2. Up 'til there, I thought it was unforgiving. Once I reached that level, my opinion changed to cheap.

QFT. Up until 6-2 I was having a lot of fun. Sure I'd die often but the pace and music of the game kept me going. I've tried dozens of times but can't seem to make much headway on 6-2. My VC frozen state is still on the beginning of 6-2.

[alienjesus]

I've never been able to beat level 6-2. Up 'til there, I thought it was unforgiving. Once I reached that level, my opinion changed to cheap.

QFT. Up until 6-2 I was having a lot of fun. Sure I'd die often but the pace and music of the game kept me going. I've tried dozens of times but can't seem to make much headway on 6-2. My VC frozen state is still on the beginning of 6-2.

My VC frozen state has been there for about 2 years.

[Luke]

It's neither. It just has a steep learning curve for people in grade school.

I jest. It's difficult, but I beat the game the year it came out and I was a kid (without cheats). Losing to a boss stinks as you have to start the entire stage over, but it doesn't take long to master. Patience is a virtue.