I hate to bang the old-school gamer drum, but in an age where many modern games have no true penalty for dying, the Ninja Gaiden series on the NES were just skillfully crafted, fast-paced, hack-'n'-slash platformers developed on a high level. You can call it cheap, or even unforgiving, but really, nothing about it is unfair, impossible, etc.
I hate to bang the old-school gamer drum, but in an age where many modern games have no true penalty for dying, the Ninja Gaiden series on the NES were just skillfully crafted, fast-paced, hack-'n'-slash platformers developed on a high level. You can call it cheap, or even unforgiving, but really, nothing about it is unfair, impossible, etc.
Unfair? Yes Cheap? Yes Impossible? No. So I'll agree with you there. They're really not that bad once you know what to expect in each stage. I mean I can probably still go through some stages of the NES version NG II on auto-pilot just from playing it so many times
I like a good challenge, but personally I don't like when we avoid calling a spade a spade. I'm very big on telling it like it is. Some games are cheap, no matter how much we may love them. For example, since we're talking about NG games, Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden II on the Xbox 360 is one of the cheapest games ever created and rightfully criticized by some people. I still had a lot of fun with it though, and the upside to the game being so cheap is when you discover, fun, cheap tricks of your own to exploit against your enemies
RyaNtheSlayA wrote: Seriously. Screw you Shao Kahn I'm gonna play Animal Crossing.
After reading this thread, I realized I never really played them (played the first one for only a few minutes - doesn't really count). I decided to give it a try. I played the first one on an emulator to check it out real quick, and ended up putting the SNES Trilogy on a SNES flash cart and playing the first game. I did this so I could use the passwords. Yesterday being the first time I really played it, I was able to get up to the boss at the end of level 5 with out much effort.
I then decided to play the NES version on my PowerPak to see how it compared. And oh my, it's so much better. The VERY slight bump in graphics and sound isn't really worth it. I noticed the SNES version actually plays slower, is that a fact? Also, the button mapping is complete shit! They actually made NES button B SNES button B, and likewise for A. Every one knows that NES button B is SNES button Y, and NES A is SNES B. It's makes the controls very uncomfortable and awkward the other way.
Anyways, on the NES version, I got up to 6-2 easily with no cheats. I really don't see what's so hard about 6-2. Sure, I didn't get past it, but honestly, that's only because I had to stop playing to eat. I'm sure it wont take much effort to get past 6-2. Maybe a little more effort than previous levels, but not much. I already got pretty far into 6-2, close to the end of it I think.
Anyway, I can definitely see how it can be frustrating to people. I wont lie, it had me grinding my teeth a few times. Dying a million times at the same spot will do that! But I had a lot of fun playing it. Honestly, it's not even that hard. Once you learn a certain part, you can eventually play it perfectly every time. Though I can understand that some people wont have fun with that repetition / memorization aspect of it. I think it's a really fun game.
It feels like Castlevania on crack. All those unforgiven moments in CV games, only on crack. And it has some damn good music too! I can't believe I never played this before.
So is it unforgiving? Definitely yes. Cheap? I really don't think so. At a lot of parts, it seems like they really put thought into enemy placement. A bird or a bat appearing right in your jump path might seem cheap, but it's not, it's just hard. 6-2 seems borderline cheap with the crowding of enemies, particularly the spot with the two different birds that fly at you from both directions. That just sucks. But all in all, I don't think the game is cheap.
Last edited by Ziggy on Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The game is unforgiving for the first levels but the last ones before the final boss are just cheap. On the other hand you can be cheap to.. Many people exploit keeping that spin move to kill bosses, you can memorize but you still need the speed and reflex to pull it off. The game is beatable. I can actually rush through the first 5 stages it's after Malth that things go crazy. I just keep trying until I manage to get past the hard parts.
Oh shit, I didn't realize that in the NES version if you die against a boss you get sent back to the beginning of the level. That really sucks! Well, it doesn't suck so bad for the first 5 levels. But it definitely sucks for the last level!
I had beaten all 3 NES ninja gaidens by age 10-11 lol
