Neoleo2143
Member
Before Dark Souls, the "hardcore" difficult action game of the day was Tomonobu Itagaki's classic, Ninja Gaiden Black which featured numerous adjustments to the game in terms of balance. Many of these adjustments were also included in the Hurricane Pack for the Original Game, but the re-release really brought them to the forefront. As such, this is the definitive game in the series even among the NES classics in my opinion.
First off, this game has aged really well in terms of the audio visual experience. The animation work is as solid today as mindblowing as it was back then and still holds up even against the great action games of our time. The visual effects all remain smooth and the sound effects are satisfying. Water looks like jelly but it's not too hard to ignore.
Level design wise. the game is solid, levels loop in on themselves like Dark Souls and different areas connect to each other. This also falls in line with how great the locomotion is in this game. Wall running and roll jumping are very satisfying. At no moment are your fingers bored but your mind gets rest in between the bouts of high intensity action. The Swimming is problematic as it's a little too easy to get caught on objects, but there's only one level dedicated to it and it isn't too intrusive otherwise.
Unfortunately, the game is let down by its camera especially considering how aggressive the enemies are. You sometimes don't get great angles, which can make a number of fights really awkward. It is by far the biggest weakness of the game. However, this can be adapted to with a certain amount of practice in the combat particularly with instant blocking.
Unlike most fast paced action games, Ninja Gaiden Black is well known for its emphasis on defense over all out offense and crazy combos like its peer in Devil May Cry and even its sequels to some extent. The enemies are significantly more aggressive from the get go in this game and damage is rather high. However, like those great action games, Ninja Gaiden also ups the unique characteristics of enemies and switches up item layouts to push you to a higher level as a player. Ninja Gaiden Black is among the best in this regard with enemies being absolutely insane with 10 fire balls from enemies flying around the screen with hard samurai defending to no end. Most groups usually end up with a only couple enemies that of higher quality and dangerous and it lends tension to each encounter. However, your defensive options are very powerful to combat how strong the enemies are. Blocking is close to insane and your roll has good invincibility on it. With careful timing after your moves and knowledge of their cooldowns or cancels, you can block and dodge plenty of things and stay alive. Encounters also end up rather varied demanding different sets of tools such as bows or shurikens. You are actively encouraged to change your weaponry.
Speaking of weaponry, this is one of the great Strengths of Ninja Gaiden Black, the balance in the weaponry allows most of the weapons to be viable in the game in spite of how strong the enemies are. The movesets are varied enough and the timing of the Ultimate Technique mechanic creates a really fun spacing battle between you and your foes. The movesets between all of these weapons are small compared to games like Bayonetta's many pause combos, but many of them carry important and useful properties unique to them including many different stagger states and the ability to decapitate or help produce essence of some kind. So while the movesets are smaller, they're also better explored and demanded by the higher difficulty enemies.
So, if you're looking for an action game that's extremely tough and demands fun defensive play like Dark Souls but without the slower speed of Dark Souls, look no further than this classic.
First off, this game has aged really well in terms of the audio visual experience. The animation work is as solid today as mindblowing as it was back then and still holds up even against the great action games of our time. The visual effects all remain smooth and the sound effects are satisfying. Water looks like jelly but it's not too hard to ignore.
Level design wise. the game is solid, levels loop in on themselves like Dark Souls and different areas connect to each other. This also falls in line with how great the locomotion is in this game. Wall running and roll jumping are very satisfying. At no moment are your fingers bored but your mind gets rest in between the bouts of high intensity action. The Swimming is problematic as it's a little too easy to get caught on objects, but there's only one level dedicated to it and it isn't too intrusive otherwise.
Unfortunately, the game is let down by its camera especially considering how aggressive the enemies are. You sometimes don't get great angles, which can make a number of fights really awkward. It is by far the biggest weakness of the game. However, this can be adapted to with a certain amount of practice in the combat particularly with instant blocking.
Unlike most fast paced action games, Ninja Gaiden Black is well known for its emphasis on defense over all out offense and crazy combos like its peer in Devil May Cry and even its sequels to some extent. The enemies are significantly more aggressive from the get go in this game and damage is rather high. However, like those great action games, Ninja Gaiden also ups the unique characteristics of enemies and switches up item layouts to push you to a higher level as a player. Ninja Gaiden Black is among the best in this regard with enemies being absolutely insane with 10 fire balls from enemies flying around the screen with hard samurai defending to no end. Most groups usually end up with a only couple enemies that of higher quality and dangerous and it lends tension to each encounter. However, your defensive options are very powerful to combat how strong the enemies are. Blocking is close to insane and your roll has good invincibility on it. With careful timing after your moves and knowledge of their cooldowns or cancels, you can block and dodge plenty of things and stay alive. Encounters also end up rather varied demanding different sets of tools such as bows or shurikens. You are actively encouraged to change your weaponry.
Speaking of weaponry, this is one of the great Strengths of Ninja Gaiden Black, the balance in the weaponry allows most of the weapons to be viable in the game in spite of how strong the enemies are. The movesets are varied enough and the timing of the Ultimate Technique mechanic creates a really fun spacing battle between you and your foes. The movesets between all of these weapons are small compared to games like Bayonetta's many pause combos, but many of them carry important and useful properties unique to them including many different stagger states and the ability to decapitate or help produce essence of some kind. So while the movesets are smaller, they're also better explored and demanded by the higher difficulty enemies.
So, if you're looking for an action game that's extremely tough and demands fun defensive play like Dark Souls but without the slower speed of Dark Souls, look no further than this classic.
