Ninja Gaiden Black: Completed!
I might as well cover the game as a whole at this point.
First off, Plot! Its short and simple. There's a big evil demon Emperor who wants to use an evil sword to become SUPER STRONG, KILL HIM DEAD BEFORE HE DOES. Yeah, its cheap, but NGB doesn't try to pretend its more interesting than it is, by having short cutscenes that get to the point, and basically just there to say "This is why you're killing shit dead, yet still being the good guy." Game clearly recognized that's all action game plot NEEDS to be, so I respect it for that. No ethical moral bullshit, no deep internal character development, no...well, you get the point. ITs just "You're a Ninja, there are bad guys, KILL THEM."
Soundtrack...forgettable. I mean, it worked in game, but nothing really stood out, and a lot of it was just ambiance effects. At least for "battles", they fast paced rock music, thus you know, something to get you in the mood of "FIGHT NOW!"'
Gameplay...ok, this is what matters cause its what makes up the game really! Mook combat is great. Enemies are challenging in their own right, but not too hard, and you get a handle on how to deal with them. Swarms also felt genuinely harder than simply "Oh look, another enemy." 2 guys is somewhat scarier than 1, and 3 of just about anything that isn't a one-shot enemy (like Fish) is something you can NEVER take for granted. Its hard to isolate enemies from groups, so its basically just "Deal with it or die." The weapon variety is also rather nice. Dragon Sword, Vigoorian Flail, Lunar, and Dailibahro all had genuine consistent use. Kitetsu felt a bit redundant with the DRagon Sword though I guess it has some gimmick uses the Dragon Sword doesn't cover, Nunchakus were basically there to for "Early Vigoorian Flail. They suck, but at least you can understand how the weapons work!", and Unlabored Flawlessness felt...pure novelty; when its good, its too risky to use. The Axe just sucks, its Dalibaihro but worse in every way that matters, pity.
Having Ranged weapons was good too; its like this game actually acknowledged that cheap unlimited projectiles in a highly melee oriented action game is *NOT* that broken if you put limitations on it, like giving enemies some immunity, damage not being high, etc. There were projectiles that were good for most everything...but you had limited quantities, and the Bow was a bit awkward to use in fast paced action, mostly good for just sniping (...and the Skull Boss for getting free hits.) DMC was the one that hypothesized that Guns and Swords can work, Ninja Gaiden seemed to have caught on, and used the same thing, just with a Ninja-touch (thus, "Guns" became "Shurikens"), dunno why so many games are against genuine Projectile Weaponry like that (or in the case of Darksiders, the weapon is SO BAD you never use it.)
Furthermore, having a simple combo system regarding a Heavy and Weak attack worked pretty well. Unlike God of War where its just "Attack attack, BIG ATTACK NOW ALL ENEMIES GO FLYING HAHA SUCK IT!", you do...actual combos, alternating between the two, and there's purposes behind each. A lone Heavy Attack is pretty much useless unless you get the time to charge it...which most won't give you...but the game rewards you for pulling it off at least. Generally, you get a feel for how weapons work and what combos are good and...you get the point.
Ninpo was a nice little "Get out of Jail free!" factor too. Its what God of War magic should be. Early on, ok, you're conservative, but later on, enemies start actually dropping Red Escences, and you have 5 orbs, and you can actually use it consistently. Makes up for the game's lack of DT or any such equivalent, but hey, it got the job done, while not feeling TOO good cause you had to actually think "ok, do I want to use this now?" Also helped immensely on some bosses (BOTH Alma fights come to mind)
Ok, I lied; Inazuma is just ridiculous and stupid...but damn did it it make that Skull Boss near the end so much easier. Really, once you get that, the ONLY Ninpo you'll find yourself using otherwise is Inferno, cause its better on bosses, and half the bosses generally don't care about Ninpo anyway (though, ones it works on, it REALLY helps for getting openings.)
Brings me to my next point...bosses. For a game that does Mook Combat so well...bosses they really dropped the ball on. Demons are very much "Keep away, throwing Windmill Shuriken for free damage, wait for moment to Flying Swallow Slash them. If they are stunned, BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THEM!" Human bosses are "attack and hope there's an opening, block a lot, pray they don't cheap you out with their stupid strong, hard to predict Throw move." The first boss in the game set the tone for pretty much EVERY Human style boss from then on. It doesn't help that bosses do a shit load of damage, and dodging has to be done with precise timing (this isn't a bad thing in general, as it makes you learn the system, but on bosses, they have such awkward hit boxes and timing, learning it becomes such a chore, and you can't even tell if they're gonna make a follow up or not half the time, so dodge and counter doesn't really work either.) The game basically REQUIRES you to use Healing Items unless you are some sort of crazed freak at the game who has memorized the game and timing of each bosses perfectly. Yes, DMC and Bayonetta give you items, but these bosses are perfectly beatable without them. You may have to go through hell and back with constant practicing to pull it off, sure (anyone whose fought Hard Mode Phantom w/out Items can attest to THAT), but as you do fight them, you get a sense of improvement. I don't feel that happens in the bosses here, as your success against them feels so inconsistent; you can get close to beating them one try, then do no damage the next. What's worse is cause you KNOW you need items, you're afraid to use them on certain areas, unless you know there's a shop nearbye. The game is nice enough to often have a Great SPirit Elixir right after each boss, at least, so that's something. Still, its annoying to require items like this.
This is one of the game's 2 fundamental flaws on gameplay (that is, boss fights in general).
The other? The platforming. Now, I appreciate all the little Ninja Wall Tricks you can do; its a nice touch, and hey, in battles, they actually come in handy (running up the wall works for evasion AND your Helm Splitter or whatever is stronger off the Wall than it is with a standard jump), giving you whole kinds of evasion maneuvers, and what not. But in platforming? So many ways to screw it up. Ok, first of all, the "wall bounce" was simple and nothing too creative there; just classic jumping back and forth between walls. But anytime you had to do Wall Running, be it vertically or horizontally? Things started getting murky. Game seemed very picky on which version you'd use, and a slight touch in the wrong direction when you jump means you do the wrong kind of run. The jumping is also awkward; it works well in combat cause its the kind of jump that feels like its intended for an evasion, but for platforming? It has no room for error.
Normally, its not TOO big a deal cause a lot of platforming is "Screw up? Start over try again, no big deal" style...until Magma Caves where screw up = you fall in lava = you take big damage. Dying might mean you start things over again.
It doesn't end there; the spinning poll jumps are annoying too. See, in most games, you jump in the direction you hold on the controller...that's fine. Here? You have to actually time it based on Ryu's positioning; press it wrong, he jumps backwards. Also, its so picky on whether you jump and catch the thing, or if the game decides to screw you over and you die. This caught me a few times in the last area, and it plays partially on the Jump mechanics.
The game really wasn't built for platforming and it shows. The platforming sections aren't hugely numerous...but they are there, and they aren't very fun. It just further establishes that action games like this are better off with minimal platforming, and more "Stick Sharp Object in Enemy Face" playing.
Overall? A decent game, if flawed. 7/10 Material or so.
