I can't imagine what its like to come here for the first time. To me, JayTB IS Ninja Gaiden. I've been watching you for many years, and your knowledge, especially on the first game, is completely unrivaled.
Real stuff, I started watching him around 3 months ago when I started replaying Black from scratch and the moment they announced 2 Black I thought "I need Jay to play that and tell me what's up so I don't waste money on ng2 again" since I had just bought OG2 like 2 days before that.
Aside from the false advertising, the most frustrating part to me is that they DID change it from Sigma, but just so minimally that you can't blame anyone for not noticing. There are fights with improved enemy counts that reach the heights of OG II in terms of crowd control and intensity, but it is maybe 1 or 2 fights. (I'm pretty sure) They did change the delimbs to be more common but it might just only be for IS ninjas It's clear that the number 1 priority was getting the new graphics to work with Sigma 2 and they didn't have the time or the resources to actually go through the game and make a new experience that is more representative of OG II, but with the very minimal changes that are there, it is clear someone on the team wanted to. Let's hope the new update brings more. Great review.
It was a very low effort port if we are being real. Slightly tweaking the de-limbing and sprinkling a few enemies and encounters is 100% of all the "additions" that weren't cosmetic. It's still a great game, because at the end of the day it's Ninja Gaiden, but those of us who know... know.
A lot of people are noticing actually. But... they use it to pretend it's pretty much a 50/50 blend of OG2 and Sigma 2, which is not. There's literally 2 elements from OG2 brought back. The gore and the weapon upgrade system. Game's like 85% Sigma 2, 5% NG2 and 10% changed stuff from Sigma 2 (but some good like slightly increased enemies here & there and some bad such as worse swimming, lack of costumes).
Yeah one definitely is in the aqua capital were you fighting in the water fountain 3 gajas(both 2 and sigma 2)now it is filled with gajas werewolves and vangelfs.There might be also some other changes but it's been a long since i've played Sigma 2 and i don't remember enemy encounters.
Is your first video after my subscription, thank you for your Ninja Gaiden Sigma guide, I tried the game 2 years ago but I could not even beat chapter 3 with the mentality I had, but with your tips now I was able to learn and understand what to do (main problem was thinking it was like a DmC game) See you soon with Ninja Gaiden 4
Been watching your videos for a few years and I’m definitely going to buy NGII BLACK, as I already added it to my Xbox wish list - I’m currently going through NGB on Hard mode and your videos are helping me out so much - truly the best, man. Keep up the great work JayTB!
LMAO I’m one of the three people who cared about Karma in NG2. I was #2 on the leaderboards behind JAH on ninjaarchives. I think someone else, Pinnacle, beat JAH for the #1 spot. (I’m TommyHayabusa btw). Followed your tips and videos for the hurricane packs in NGB. Recently found your channel looking for NG2B videos. Thanks for all of the help! Ninja Gaiden is synonymous with JTB.
NG2s karma system is so under rated. It's like HP1 cranked up to 11. The forum is still around in case you are wondering btw, it's now called ngrealm and all the posts and info from before are still there.
At least mods work and fiendbusa is working on spawn mods and other stuff. And TN are releases a patch which is nice because the game is very good looking and no doubt will be new comers go to game
With such well articulated points I absolutely agree with everything you've said and the conclusion is key: AS LONG AS YOU'RE HAVING FUN THE REST MATTERS LITTLE! 9/10 Video JTB (missing one point because i ate it for dinner no apologies)
This was a very fair look at NG2B and I love the game. I feel what you said at the end is what truly matters that we are getting a bunch of new people checking out and loving Ninja Gaiden. I really hope this will lead to the first game getting more love and maybe even updates to NG2B to really expand on it only time will tell. Im just a person who loves NG whether its Black, Sigma 1, Sigma 2, Razor's edge whatever I just want to keep playing and loving Ninja gaiden so thanks for the video Jay your videos helped me improve my skill and knowledge on these games a lot.
I only in the last 4 months finally came back to beat the games that were essentially my digital high school bully; to have my vengeance on the series. In those months I have lived with this channel open at all times. I've been trying to catch a livestream of JayTB since the Izuna Drop of NGB2 so maybe I could kick a few dollars in to show my appreciation for the work done here over the years. Your voice, demeanor, and willingness to explain the game the way you do has opened up the whole series to me and rekindled a bond with the series I thought I'd thought was going to stay a distant, frustrated, memory. XD The love, work, and presentation you put into the videos here is just the right kind of thing to help demystify, cut through the bullshit the games seem to through at you, and make things readable and incredibly fun when starting to find my own expression through the games. At the very least I wanted to thank you and show a deep admiration for all that you've done here for so many people, come what may! You rock, JayTB123, and best wishes to you and your future my ninja sensei!!
Also those Vangelf fireballs in Sigma 2 were just a one shot kill, and unfortunately I didn't find that to be much fun. It's burned into my memory of the chapter 3 pre-boss tunnel fight.
To be quite fair yeah the black vangelfs are indeed quite tanky and the flails (at least on Sigma 2) were always on the weaker side when it comes to delimbing enemies, but other than the black vangelfs themselves I wouldn't really say Black feels exactly the same on that department. I booted up Sigma 2 on chapter challenge yesterday to get a feel for it and literally every single enemy takes FOREVER to delimb on MN, I can't really say the same for Black. As much as I still love OG NG2 and played it to death (bought a Series S recently mostly for it lol) I kinda like the direction they took things with this release, had they implemented a couple more new encounters I think I would pretty conflicted about which version I like it best.
Great vid man, totally agree too, it's really just Sigma 2 again, I still like it, but it sucks to see KT claiming that it's the ultimate version with no valor tests and no survival >_< and while mods are trying to fix the core battles and levels, the rest is content we're never going to see in 2Black.
My only thing to say with this game is that it seems to be reaching a good audience. It gives me a small hope that there ends up being a sort of "Ninja Gaiden Black: Master collection" for all platforms where the games are ACTUALLY the best versions they can be. Maybe just wishful thinking but one can hope.
I feel the same way, this game has its problems but it's gotten NG out there in the spotlight like never before so hopefully some that try it give the past games a look.
MN in Sigma 2 is so tedious. One mistake means death or almost death. Like bruh I get they want it to he difficult but why not just have lots of decently strong enemies instead of 5 guys who can insta kill me.
Great review Jaytb and breakdown of your personal positive thoughts on this game and i absolutely agree with u on every perspective and they definitely could've added survival mode and more costumes and indicery shrunkens and god the camera and input delay but hopefully in this patch coming up they do address them we'll see but overall its a solid game but not the greatest of the series like ninja gaiden 2 and ninja gaiden black. The graphics are solid and gameplay but just needs a bit more additions and fixing. You are forever ninja gaiden & true prodigy you are my inspiration of this game and gaming and adult lifestyle ❤ much love always god bless you stay safe and healthy
The Lives of Thousand Gods being auto-use also makes it more difficult to do a no-upgrades challenge should you prefer, though from my fleeting memory of NG2 it would have been madness to do so.
I like that you call out the anti-sigma rhetoric near the end. I get it and agree, but I’ve really only played NG 2004 and Sigma 1 and 2. Taking the Master Collection into account, I’ve played Sigma 1 at least 50-60 times. I never realized Black was so different until years later. I would’ve played them but by the time NG2 was out I was dome with 360 because of the Red Ring plague. I also agree that above all else it’s good to see it being played.
A nice change of pace to see one of these videos where the game isn't hated down into the abyss for once. I totally get the issues with Sigma 2 and that it is a letdown for fans of the OG, but I agree that this is still really cool experience. And we have gotten quite far with modding already, and I can say for myself I don't intend to stop just yet
@@Mystixor personally, I haven't seen any video reviews that really hated on this game. It's either glazing from new people that are getting into the series, or more complex critique like JTB himself has in this video.
I really hope they watch this and just update the game and enemy counts to be like OG, not having all the enemies sucks honestly. Really hope they update it that way.
I was waiting for your definitive review of NG2B, agree with everything you said. It's false advertising and disappointing to market this game as "Black", it's just NG2S remastered. Original NG2 is far superior to NG2B. The best way to play NGB and NG2 is on Xbox Series X with backwards compatibility. I hope NG4 will be better.
Things aside.. I learned a lot from your Ninja Gaiden 1 videos.. I mean I've perfected the game by watching your videos back then. And Ninja Gaiden sigma 2 was then became easy for me, beaten Very hard difficulty without sweating. And also beaten Master Ninja too, despite it being a such a troll
The biggest problem here (and this is mentioned a lot already) is that it is based off of Sigma 2. I think that if the original source code for NG2 wasn't lost (I still hope Itagaki has it somewhere stashed away) and it was used as a base for this game, it would be worthy of the title Black. As it stands it is a really good game and I enjoy it a lot, but it could have been excellent.
How did that one armed enemy that you finally OT at 2:05 ignore so many hits until then? I could have seen that vigoorian flail pass him so many times from 1:50 until you got him.
That's a bug that's in the original NG2. Sometimes an OT'd enemy can lose their collision and the game is basically thinking "there isn't an enemy here" which is why Ryus auto targeting never hits them. It doesn't happen often but it can really mess you up depending on the situation as you have an invincible enemy to deal with.
Ng2 black was ok....i hated the female chapters, the campaign is just ok. The blood returning is cool and the reduced projectile spam is much appreciated over NG2. I still would have much appreciated an original remake but i still had fun with it. 7 out of 10
I think they added a few enemies here and there or atleast have more spawning at the same time. For example in chapter 3 dropping off the rooftop on the way to the sewer area, the first part has more IS and tac ninjas aswell as more golden vangelfs at the sewer entrance. I dont think they really adapted hp numbers tho, so that section is even harder in black. I struggled really bad with that section, so tried it in sigma 2 and did it within a couple tries. My biggest issues with black are the camera, which somehow feels even worse than sigma 2 and the general responsiveness of the gameplay (input lag and general responsiveness).
At a glance I feel okay recommending it new players. I'd never recommend Sigma 2 to anyone, so at least there's an acceptable way to experience the trilogy if you don't have access to an Xbox.
I do think enhancing Sigma is the right call for the series. I think there is a middle ground between OG and sigma that's perfect. while I am a fan of OG, it was too oppressive. everyone I tried showing the game to quit playing almost instantly. they just need to never do whatever base NG3 did that nearly killed the series. that game was so boring
Finally, someone who sees sense on this issue. Ninja Gaiden II Black is obviously a gateway to initiate new players before the release of NG4 - that's it's purpose. If they'd just release a new version of og NGII it would be too intimidating for new players and set up a negative perception for new players who might be interested in NG4. Hardcore players can't see past their own frame of reference. I understand their position fully but it's just not realistic.
I bought it expecting a genuine return to 360 NG2 and it...was not. I am disappointed, but I am making the most of it. It's still fun, it's still NG, but I keep going, "man I missed this (I haven't had a NG2 playthrough in like 10 years, but I easily clocked like 1k hours during my time), BUT why the fuck did they change x or y?" "Why are the big enemies even more super armored and just command grab you when you try a combo" "Rachel STILL SOMEHOW SUCKS AND IS WORSE??" It's very frustrating that the core loop for CC is just delimb as soon as possible, because if you try to have fun, no you won't (I'm aware delimbing in OG is definitely still the most optimal way to play for fast kills, but it's an active detriment if you DON'T in this version). I just feel so mislead, yeah. Definitely just Sigma 2 Definitive edition. It's fun having the mechanical feel of classic NGB/2, and when I am able to just do combos and play like a fighting game, chef's kiss! But yeah...glad it happened, but it would have been nice to have a genuine NG2B. Also, I never touched Sigma 2 cause it just gave me the ick overall and I started shifting to other games/genres, but the Water Dragon?? Why bother changing it at all, this and SIgma 2's version is just absolutely braindead. Awful. Yeah, let's make the open water combat boss a forced 2D platform where you just shoot at it with a shitty cannon? 360's wasn't phenomenal either, but man lol. Still love it 7/10.
I farmed essence for like 20-25 min on Master Ninja and got a level 3 Dragon Sword in chapter 1. Was it still just easier than in NG2 to get to the level 3 Dragon Sword? I messed-up during farming and lost like 15k. So it still seems not to crazy.
8:09 I don't remember what Giant Crystal Skull did tho...or it did exactly what you're describing? I remember people saying that it made enemies more aggressive, is it true?
I'm currently playing the 3 versions of NG2 simultaneously, there's a smooth fluidity that NG2 Black lacks compared to the other two. It's more clunky to me. The number of enemies in NG2 vanilla and things like the Rod Of Trials/Tests Of Valor/Kureha's Room/Windmill/Incendiary's/Survival really made vanilla so much more fun. Overall, there's quite a bit missing from vanilla sadly.
It’s missing content and I think that’s what’s turning me off about the game a lot also some combat issues ryu lack of sense of direction enemies sometimes my UTs won’t even come out at all. It’s still a fun game and there’s some improvements there but I hope with future updates they actually add what is missing to make it the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 2.
Xxy with dragon sword, rotate y with the staff (et but kills most things) for sure delimb pretty much every enemy in the game. Forward y with the claws does not tho
False advertising - yes. That actually pissed me off a bit. And I really don't like graphics in this remake. It's so bland, dissaturated of colours (like og Sigma 2 honestly), and even misty in many areas.
I very much do not believe bringing new people is inherently good, we have seen the dangers of -and consequences- of opening up a series to "new players".
Well new players are coming whether you like it or not, so get used to it. I for one am excited to share this franchise I've loved so much for two decades with a whole host of newer people.
@@hazeddon >so get used to it This will not happen. I will make sure to disregard NG fans like I have done with many other groups that allowed themselves to be distorted. >am excited to share this franchise I am not; I've seen enough "new players" result in the bastardization of RGG, Residetn Evil, DMC and Guilty Gear.
Anti Sigma people are correct. That version was trash and deserved the criticism it got. This game is unfortunately similar to it because they used it a basis but it is at least playable whereas Sigma is garbage if you’re used to original NG2. But they are listening to feedback and making some changes, what that entails I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Yeah :/ I played through some of it, already disappointed from another comment pointing out how basically sigma 2 remastered with og 2 sprinkled in. I played through it and it's not bad, but it's not OG (like the title implies). I remember seeing this announced and thought they found the og source code and remastered it, come to find out, it's still gone. I actually got xenia so I could play NGII instead because I was so disappointed (my first time playing OG 2, I grew up on sigma) NG4 looks scary to me, I didn't see more than 2 enemies on screen at ALL during the trailer, which is a BIG red flag imo; unless it's trying to be more like NG/NGB/NGS. Basically what I get from this remaster is, better than Sigma, worse than OG.
I heckin' love rerelease that misses 90% of the content from the original game. People just buy a One X and download NG Black and 2, it'll cost barely more than buying this new abortion from Team "Ninja".
On ps5 it cost me 49.99. It really bothers me not having windmill shuriken, incendiary shuriken, no ult ranged attacks, no survival mode, tests of valor, 49 costumes and no water combat. It's extremely misleading. It is a passable edition, not definitive at all.
@@davion4777 why tho? NGII's whole game design is concentrated around the idea of constant nonstop combat. There are certain points in the Remake (especially in chapters with Volf) that feel way too empty and for a H&S game that is not good. In fact, it's a classical problem of the genre, which has been truly solved only in a couple of cases (NGII is being one of those). And the water combat wasn't that bad, at least I don't remember having any severe problems with it. I always liked the idea that it is a real water that you can swim in and fight on at the same time. I never seen that before and after in other games, really. And yeah, the Dragon fight on water is sick
KT is pathetic, not only their beef with Itagaki won't stop but they tainted the Black tag for Ninja Gaiden AND they butchered it by making that new NG4 done by Platinum Games who were relevant eons ago with MGR and that team does not even exist there. Also how cunning they are to call this definitive NG2 when IRL it's just a Sigma 2+ with gore and essence added back. The UE5 engine is running old Sigma 2 code as per Electric Underground review and the enemy count is almost 99.% same as Sigma 2, just shameless at this point tbh. Too bad we can never get OG NG2 ever except for Xbox Series X which can run it at 4K 60FPS. That said the gore is great, the entire animations and dialogues are exact same, UE5 modding is good keeping that POS input lag and awful performance aside. Hopefully community fixes it and restores glory back to Ninja Gaiden 2 and Itagaki's team vision. Yes it's a much superior game over any Soulslop and cutscene simulators hand holding trash games.
Well it's got the gore back and that's the big selling point for me. I beat Sigma 2 once and never touched it again, but I'm actually playing the hell out of NG2B to the point where I actually beat master ninja and am going for the platinum.
Yeah same. I haven’t purchased this version yet but I will. In the MC I played Sigma 2 once and never felt the urge to go back to it. However, I played Sigma 1 like 12 times in the year it came out.
Black 2 is so trash. I couldn’t take the sponge of enemies. I bought OG2 instead and it is indeed so much faster. Cleaner. So many enemies on screen especially for a 2008 game. And on series x frames is constant 60. Yes staircase of death is actually fixed and so much fun to play that level. The only thing I’ll give black 2 is that it does look very nice. But even OG2 holds up extremely well.
I can't imagine what its like to come here for the first time. To me, JayTB IS Ninja Gaiden. I've been watching you for many years, and your knowledge, especially on the first game, is completely unrivaled.
THIS
Seriously!!!
grew up with ninja gaiden and have never had this channel recommended to me. Subbed now and probably gonna binge all this guy's stuff now
@@ellieswagaye I've been playing since 04 and couldn't beat MN mode until I found his channel
Real stuff, I started watching him around 3 months ago when I started replaying Black from scratch and the moment they announced 2 Black I thought "I need Jay to play that and tell me what's up so I don't waste money on ng2 again" since I had just bought OG2 like 2 days before that.
Aside from the false advertising, the most frustrating part to me is that they DID change it from Sigma, but just so minimally that you can't blame anyone for not noticing.
There are fights with improved enemy counts that reach the heights of OG II in terms of crowd control and intensity, but it is maybe 1 or 2 fights.
(I'm pretty sure) They did change the delimbs to be more common but it might just only be for IS ninjas
It's clear that the number 1 priority was getting the new graphics to work with Sigma 2 and they didn't have the time or the resources to actually go through the game and make a new experience that is more representative of OG II, but with the very minimal changes that are there, it is clear someone on the team wanted to. Let's hope the new update brings more. Great review.
let's hope that 1.1 update does *something*
It was a very low effort port if we are being real. Slightly tweaking the de-limbing and sprinkling a few enemies and encounters is 100% of all the "additions" that weren't cosmetic. It's still a great game, because at the end of the day it's Ninja Gaiden, but those of us who know... know.
A lot of people are noticing actually. But... they use it to pretend it's pretty much a 50/50 blend of OG2 and Sigma 2, which is not. There's literally 2 elements from OG2 brought back. The gore and the weapon upgrade system. Game's like 85% Sigma 2, 5% NG2 and 10% changed stuff from Sigma 2 (but some good like slightly increased enemies here & there and some bad such as worse swimming, lack of costumes).
Yeah one definitely is in the aqua capital were you fighting in the water fountain 3 gajas(both 2 and sigma 2)now it is filled with gajas werewolves and vangelfs.There might be also some other changes but it's been a long since i've played Sigma 2 and i don't remember enemy encounters.
Man, watching this makes me want to replay the original NGII
Same. I might have to fire up a little survival this weekend.
Is your first video after my subscription, thank you for your Ninja Gaiden Sigma guide, I tried the game 2 years ago but I could not even beat chapter 3 with the mentality I had, but with your tips now I was able to learn and understand what to do (main problem was thinking it was like a DmC game)
See you soon with Ninja Gaiden 4
Glad your aboard the NG train
@@b-retrogamer2324 I played and beat the NES trilogy, but the difficulty is "hard" (mostly unfair to the present standards) in a different way...
Been watching your videos for a few years and I’m definitely going to buy NGII BLACK, as I already added it to my Xbox wish list - I’m currently going through NGB on Hard mode and your videos are helping me out so much - truly the best, man. Keep up the great work JayTB!
LMAO I’m one of the three people who cared about Karma in NG2. I was #2 on the leaderboards behind JAH on ninjaarchives. I think someone else, Pinnacle, beat JAH for the #1 spot. (I’m TommyHayabusa btw).
Followed your tips and videos for the hurricane packs in NGB. Recently found your channel looking for NG2B videos. Thanks for all of the help!
Ninja Gaiden is synonymous with JTB.
NG2s karma system is so under rated. It's like HP1 cranked up to 11. The forum is still around in case you are wondering btw, it's now called ngrealm and all the posts and info from before are still there.
Really hope they bring in survival
At least mods work and fiendbusa is working on spawn mods and other stuff. And TN are releases a patch which is nice because the game is very good looking and no doubt will be new comers go to game
With such well articulated points I absolutely agree with everything you've said and the conclusion is key: AS LONG AS YOU'RE HAVING FUN THE REST MATTERS LITTLE!
9/10 Video JTB (missing one point because i ate it for dinner no apologies)
This was a very fair look at NG2B and I love the game. I feel what you said at the end is what truly matters that we are getting a bunch of new people checking out and loving Ninja Gaiden. I really hope this will lead to the first game getting more love and maybe even updates to NG2B to really expand on it only time will tell. Im just a person who loves NG whether its Black, Sigma 1, Sigma 2, Razor's edge whatever I just want to keep playing and loving Ninja gaiden so thanks for the video Jay your videos helped me improve my skill and knowledge on these games a lot.
I only in the last 4 months finally came back to beat the games that were essentially my digital high school bully; to have my vengeance on the series. In those months I have lived with this channel open at all times. I've been trying to catch a livestream of JayTB since the Izuna Drop of NGB2 so maybe I could kick a few dollars in to show my appreciation for the work done here over the years. Your voice, demeanor, and willingness to explain the game the way you do has opened up the whole series to me and rekindled a bond with the series I thought I'd thought was going to stay a distant, frustrated, memory. XD The love, work, and presentation you put into the videos here is just the right kind of thing to help demystify, cut through the bullshit the games seem to through at you, and make things readable and incredibly fun when starting to find my own expression through the games. At the very least I wanted to thank you and show a deep admiration for all that you've done here for so many people, come what may! You rock, JayTB123, and best wishes to you and your future my ninja sensei!!
Also those Vangelf fireballs in Sigma 2 were just a one shot kill, and unfortunately I didn't find that to be much fun. It's burned into my memory of the chapter 3 pre-boss tunnel fight.
To be quite fair yeah the black vangelfs are indeed quite tanky and the flails (at least on Sigma 2) were always on the weaker side when it comes to delimbing enemies, but other than the black vangelfs themselves I wouldn't really say Black feels exactly the same on that department. I booted up Sigma 2 on chapter challenge yesterday to get a feel for it and literally every single enemy takes FOREVER to delimb on MN, I can't really say the same for Black.
As much as I still love OG NG2 and played it to death (bought a Series S recently mostly for it lol) I kinda like the direction they took things with this release, had they implemented a couple more new encounters I think I would pretty conflicted about which version I like it best.
Great vid man, totally agree too, it's really just Sigma 2 again, I still like it, but it sucks to see KT claiming that it's the ultimate version with no valor tests and no survival >_< and while mods are trying to fix the core battles and levels, the rest is content we're never going to see in 2Black.
My only thing to say with this game is that it seems to be reaching a good audience. It gives me a small hope that there ends up being a sort of "Ninja Gaiden Black: Master collection" for all platforms where the games are ACTUALLY the best versions they can be. Maybe just wishful thinking but one can hope.
I feel the same way, this game has its problems but it's gotten NG out there in the spotlight like never before so hopefully some that try it give the past games a look.
I missed the Windmill Shuriken 😥
I am just praying the patch listens to the feedback!
i could live with everything if they just had added tests of valor back in ahhh!!!
i think they removed them as the ninja trials made them redundant. then they just bring them back in razor's edge so what do i know?
In maple syrup money (aka CAD) it’s 66,99$ which is pretty much a full priced release… that’s a bit pricey for sure
Fantastic video, cheers!
MN in Sigma 2 is so tedious. One mistake means death or almost death. Like bruh I get they want it to he difficult but why not just have lots of decently strong enemies instead of 5 guys who can insta kill me.
Great review Jaytb and breakdown of your personal positive thoughts on this game and i absolutely agree with u on every perspective and they definitely could've added survival mode and more costumes and indicery shrunkens and god the camera and input delay but hopefully in this patch coming up they do address them we'll see but overall its a solid game but not the greatest of the series like ninja gaiden 2 and ninja gaiden black. The graphics are solid and gameplay but just needs a bit more additions and fixing. You are forever ninja gaiden & true prodigy you are my inspiration of this game and gaming and adult lifestyle ❤ much love always god bless you stay safe and healthy
The Lives of Thousand Gods being auto-use also makes it more difficult to do a no-upgrades challenge should you prefer, though from my fleeting memory of NG2 it would have been madness to do so.
It's an option you toggle in the settings menu. You can turn it off.
@@finalfrontergamingOnly for the Talisman of Rebirth
they need the dlc from the original and higher enemy counts! I stay playing on 360 because of lower latency and those features lol
I like that you call out the anti-sigma rhetoric near the end. I get it and agree, but I’ve really only played NG 2004 and Sigma 1 and 2. Taking the Master Collection into account, I’ve played Sigma 1 at least 50-60 times. I never realized Black was so different until years later. I would’ve played them but by the time NG2 was out I was dome with 360 because of the Red Ring plague. I also agree that above all else it’s good to see it being played.
A nice change of pace to see one of these videos where the game isn't hated down into the abyss for once. I totally get the issues with Sigma 2 and that it is a letdown for fans of the OG, but I agree that this is still really cool experience. And we have gotten quite far with modding already, and I can say for myself I don't intend to stop just yet
@@Mystixor personally, I haven't seen any video reviews that really hated on this game. It's either glazing from new people that are getting into the series, or more complex critique like JTB himself has in this video.
Yea sigma 2 on mn was insane you can get 1 shot really easily. One time I took wall damage at 3/4 health and died.
For sure. On new York chapters you cant take a single hit from vangulfs fire balls, they one shot you outright
@falloutfanatic476 Yeah gotta love getting oneshot by those fireballs, when you cant see them coming, because of the camera.
Indeed, trash game.
Hope Team Ninja will adds OG mode in next update
Hey Jay! Keep up the good job.
I really hope they watch this and just update the game and enemy counts to be like OG, not having all the enemies sucks honestly. Really hope they update it that way.
I was waiting for your definitive review of NG2B, agree with everything you said. It's false advertising and disappointing to market this game as "Black", it's just NG2S remastered. Original NG2 is far superior to NG2B. The best way to play NGB and NG2 is on Xbox Series X with backwards compatibility. I hope NG4 will be better.
Things aside.. I learned a lot from your Ninja Gaiden 1 videos.. I mean I've perfected the game by watching your videos back then.
And Ninja Gaiden sigma 2 was then became easy for me, beaten Very hard difficulty without sweating. And also beaten Master Ninja too, despite it being a such a troll
The biggest problem here (and this is mentioned a lot already) is that it is based off of Sigma 2. I think that if the original source code for NG2 wasn't lost (I still hope Itagaki has it somewhere stashed away) and it was used as a base for this game, it would be worthy of the title Black. As it stands it is a really good game and I enjoy it a lot, but it could have been excellent.
How did that one armed enemy that you finally OT at 2:05 ignore so many hits until then? I could have seen that vigoorian flail pass him so many times from 1:50 until you got him.
That's a bug that's in the original NG2. Sometimes an OT'd enemy can lose their collision and the game is basically thinking "there isn't an enemy here" which is why Ryus auto targeting never hits them. It doesn't happen often but it can really mess you up depending on the situation as you have an invincible enemy to deal with.
Genuine question, which is harder, Ninja Gaiden 2 original on Master Ninja or Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor's Edge on Ultimate Ninja difficulty?
Ng2 black was ok....i hated the female chapters, the campaign is just ok. The blood returning is cool and the reduced projectile spam is much appreciated over NG2.
I still would have much appreciated an original remake but i still had fun with it. 7 out of 10
I think they added a few enemies here and there or atleast have more spawning at the same time. For example in chapter 3 dropping off the rooftop on the way to the sewer area, the first part has more IS and tac ninjas aswell as more golden vangelfs at the sewer entrance. I dont think they really adapted hp numbers tho, so that section is even harder in black. I struggled really bad with that section, so tried it in sigma 2 and did it within a couple tries. My biggest issues with black are the camera, which somehow feels even worse than sigma 2 and the general responsiveness of the gameplay (input lag and general responsiveness).
At a glance I feel okay recommending it new players. I'd never recommend Sigma 2 to anyone, so at least there's an acceptable way to experience the trilogy if you don't have access to an Xbox.
I do think enhancing Sigma is the right call for the series. I think there is a middle ground between OG and sigma that's perfect. while I am a fan of OG, it was too oppressive. everyone I tried showing the game to quit playing almost instantly.
they just need to never do whatever base NG3 did that nearly killed the series. that game was so boring
Finally, someone who sees sense on this issue. Ninja Gaiden II Black is obviously a gateway to initiate new players before the release of NG4 - that's it's purpose. If they'd just release a new version of og NGII it would be too intimidating for new players and set up a negative perception for new players who might be interested in NG4.
Hardcore players can't see past their own frame of reference. I understand their position fully but it's just not realistic.
I bought it expecting a genuine return to 360 NG2 and it...was not. I am disappointed, but I am making the most of it. It's still fun, it's still NG, but I keep going, "man I missed this (I haven't had a NG2 playthrough in like 10 years, but I easily clocked like 1k hours during my time), BUT why the fuck did they change x or y?" "Why are the big enemies even more super armored and just command grab you when you try a combo" "Rachel STILL SOMEHOW SUCKS AND IS WORSE??" It's very frustrating that the core loop for CC is just delimb as soon as possible, because if you try to have fun, no you won't (I'm aware delimbing in OG is definitely still the most optimal way to play for fast kills, but it's an active detriment if you DON'T in this version). I just feel so mislead, yeah. Definitely just Sigma 2 Definitive edition. It's fun having the mechanical feel of classic NGB/2, and when I am able to just do combos and play like a fighting game, chef's kiss! But yeah...glad it happened, but it would have been nice to have a genuine NG2B.
Also, I never touched Sigma 2 cause it just gave me the ick overall and I started shifting to other games/genres, but the Water Dragon?? Why bother changing it at all, this and SIgma 2's version is just absolutely braindead. Awful. Yeah, let's make the open water combat boss a forced 2D platform where you just shoot at it with a shitty cannon? 360's wasn't phenomenal either, but man lol. Still love it 7/10.
i wish i could be like JayTB when i grow up (im turning 29 this year)
Will you do a 100% walktrough on master ninja to support us ho struggle?
I farmed essence for like 20-25 min on Master Ninja and got a level 3 Dragon Sword in chapter 1. Was it still just easier than in NG2 to get to the level 3 Dragon Sword? I messed-up during farming and lost like 15k. So it still seems not to crazy.
8:09 I don't remember what Giant Crystal Skull did tho...or it did exactly what you're describing? I remember people saying that it made enemies more aggressive, is it true?
I'm currently playing the 3 versions of NG2 simultaneously, there's a smooth fluidity that NG2 Black lacks compared to the other two. It's more clunky to me.
The number of enemies in NG2 vanilla and things like the Rod Of Trials/Tests Of Valor/Kureha's Room/Windmill/Incendiary's/Survival really made vanilla so much more fun. Overall, there's quite a bit missing from vanilla sadly.
Its almost perfect IMO but I am not a speedrunner. Only thing I dislike is the waifu chapters.
How are you supposed to avoid rasetsu's grab where he just lifts one arm? It gets me pretty much every time and takes all my health. 😡
Idk about sigma 2 but I'm black 2 there's no ninja that takes 3 id to kill. The is ninja take 2
Maybe on the side characters. they do very little damage. Ryu should be fine
@LastSamurai4796 oh yeah maybe he meant using ayane lol
It’s missing content and I think that’s what’s turning me off about the game a lot also some combat issues ryu lack of sense of direction enemies sometimes my UTs won’t even come out at all.
It’s still a fun game and there’s some improvements there but I hope with future updates they actually add what is missing to make it the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 2.
is it better than sigma 2?
Yes definitely
Xxy with dragon sword, rotate y with the staff (et but kills most things) for sure delimb pretty much every enemy in the game. Forward y with the claws does not tho
False advertising - yes. That actually pissed me off a bit. And I really don't like graphics in this remake. It's so bland, dissaturated of colours (like og Sigma 2 honestly), and even misty in many areas.
Was a waist of a good 50 bucks i should of done my research more before i bought this.
I very much do not believe bringing new people is inherently good, we have seen the dangers of -and consequences- of opening up a series to "new players".
Well new players are coming whether you like it or not, so get used to it. I for one am excited to share this franchise I've loved so much for two decades with a whole host of newer people.
@@hazeddon
>so get used to it
This will not happen. I will make sure to disregard NG fans like I have done with many other groups that allowed themselves to be distorted.
>am excited to share this franchise
I am not; I've seen enough "new players" result in the bastardization of RGG, Residetn Evil, DMC and Guilty Gear.
Anti Sigma people are correct. That version was trash and deserved the criticism it got. This game is unfortunately similar to it because they used it a basis but it is at least playable whereas Sigma is garbage if you’re used to original NG2. But they are listening to feedback and making some changes, what that entails I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Ng2 sigma is a travesty compared to original
Ng2 og is just so much better I played thru ng2 black and it disappointed me
Yeah :/ I played through some of it, already disappointed from another comment pointing out how basically sigma 2 remastered with og 2 sprinkled in. I played through it and it's not bad, but it's not OG (like the title implies). I remember seeing this announced and thought they found the og source code and remastered it, come to find out, it's still gone. I actually got xenia so I could play NGII instead because I was so disappointed (my first time playing OG 2, I grew up on sigma) NG4 looks scary to me, I didn't see more than 2 enemies on screen at ALL during the trailer, which is a BIG red flag imo; unless it's trying to be more like NG/NGB/NGS. Basically what I get from this remaster is, better than Sigma, worse than OG.
But it still sucks compared to the original. 👍
I heckin' love rerelease that misses 90% of the content from the original game.
People just buy a One X and download NG Black and 2, it'll cost barely more than buying this new abortion from Team "Ninja".
On ps5 it cost me 49.99. It really bothers me not having windmill shuriken, incendiary shuriken, no ult ranged attacks, no survival mode, tests of valor, 49 costumes and no water combat. It's extremely misleading. It is a passable edition, not definitive at all.
I mean all your other points are valid, but missing underwater combat must be a joke 😭
@davion4777 mainly the water dragon boss fight, I will concede the big red fish but I want the spear gun back
@@davion4777 why tho? NGII's whole game design is concentrated around the idea of constant nonstop combat. There are certain points in the Remake (especially in chapters with Volf) that feel way too empty and for a H&S game that is not good. In fact, it's a classical problem of the genre, which has been truly solved only in a couple of cases (NGII is being one of those). And the water combat wasn't that bad, at least I don't remember having any severe problems with it. I always liked the idea that it is a real water that you can swim in and fight on at the same time. I never seen that before and after in other games, really.
And yeah, the Dragon fight on water is sick
KT is pathetic, not only their beef with Itagaki won't stop but they tainted the Black tag for Ninja Gaiden AND they butchered it by making that new NG4 done by Platinum Games who were relevant eons ago with MGR and that team does not even exist there. Also how cunning they are to call this definitive NG2 when IRL it's just a Sigma 2+ with gore and essence added back. The UE5 engine is running old Sigma 2 code as per Electric Underground review and the enemy count is almost 99.% same as Sigma 2, just shameless at this point tbh. Too bad we can never get OG NG2 ever except for Xbox Series X which can run it at 4K 60FPS. That said the gore is great, the entire animations and dialogues are exact same, UE5 modding is good keeping that POS input lag and awful performance aside. Hopefully community fixes it and restores glory back to Ninja Gaiden 2 and Itagaki's team vision. Yes it's a much superior game over any Soulslop and cutscene simulators hand holding trash games.
this version feels pointlesss to me. i can't really see why you would play this version over sigma 2 in the master collection.
Exactly
Well it's got the gore back and that's the big selling point for me. I beat Sigma 2 once and never touched it again, but I'm actually playing the hell out of NG2B to the point where I actually beat master ninja and am going for the platinum.
Yeah same. I haven’t purchased this version yet but I will. In the MC I played Sigma 2 once and never felt the urge to go back to it. However, I played Sigma 1 like 12 times in the year it came out.
It’s free on gamepass games I don’t feel like paying for on my ps5 I just go on gamepass on my Xbox 😂
Black 2 is so trash. I couldn’t take the sponge of enemies. I bought OG2 instead and it is indeed so much faster. Cleaner. So many enemies on screen especially for a 2008 game. And on series x frames is constant 60. Yes staircase of death is actually fixed and so much fun to play that level. The only thing I’ll give black 2 is that it does look very nice. But even OG2 holds up extremely well.