I was playing through Ninja Gaiden II for the first time today (that's the 360 #2, not Dark Sword of Chaos on NES) and I get to level 4 which takes place at the statue of liberty.
It was at this moment that I had a retro mind fuck as Shadow Dancer, in all it's 16-bit glory, came back to me. Specifically level 3, which takes place atop the Lime Lady of Liberty.
Was this an intentional homage by Itagaki, do you think? Or was he unintentionally paying tribute to the greatest Ninja game of all time? (On a small side note, is anyone else bummed that we won't get any extra NG2 content
due to this disaster? No XBL tournaments, no remixed levels, certainly no NG2 Black...)
While I originally came here to moan about NG2, and lament the loss of the crater faced rock god of gaming ninjahood, I got sidetracked because Shadow Dancer is fucking awesome. And the dog! Man, that dog was awesome. The way he would attack on command, and turn in to a puppy when he took damage, and grow again when Hayate powered up.
An interesting observation: Joe Musashi is Hayate's father, and it was he who starred as the hero in the other Shinobi games. Both Ryu and Hayate have fathers named Joe!
Coincidence again?
I think not. Let's not forget that Hayate is also the name of Ryu's best friend in the DOA universe!
Of course, the fond memories of Shadow Dancer are driven even deeper by the realisation that NG2 just isn't as good as the original. Not only is the camera worse than I remember (also could have been fixed with the bonus content) but it dropped the ball when it came to being a fun challenge. Instead of rip-off-your-dick-painful-but-fair enemies and numbers, it's turned in to a ten ton weight that is lots-of-overpowered-enemies-with-many-cheap-shots.
Like those fucking ninja dogs.
Fuck them.
There's only one ninja dog I will ever love, and he is a white wolf looking thing.
This blog didn't start with any real point, other than I'm tired and wanted to talk about Ninja Gaiden 2 and Shadow Dancer but I want to leave you with a reminder that the dog in Shadow Dancer is awesome.
Shadow Dancer is awesome.
This thing that
BatThink just posted it awesome, and I want one, because it has Shadow Dancer on it. (My copy is 500ks away. Moving out of home meant I had to leave a lot behind. My retro collection was most of that.)
I'll be back with a proper review when I've finished Ninja Gaiden 2, but at the moment It doesn't look like it's gonna be better than either the X-Box original or the NES original. Or Shadow Dancer.
Which is awesome by the way.
P.S. The dog's name is Yamato.
I have been informed that it is an old name for Japan, roughly translating to "source of the sun", which makes some kind of sense since they are in the most eastern part of Asia. The more you know!
P.P.S. I know I'm late with the whole NG2 thing. But this is Australia. Have some compassion. We won't get Fallout 3 at all...
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I CAN EAT YOUR CONTINUES!
While some parts of Ninja Gaiden 2 were cheaply frustrating, I thought the new mechanics were awesome. Enjoy the rest of the game.
Also, as long as you have the internet... I'm sure you'll be able to get Fallout 3 for PC anywhere world-wide.
The game needed more unlockables, though.
And yes, I've already got Fallout 3 taken care of. I'll import it for PC, and if it gets stopped at the border, then I'll download it.
Also, I'm at level 6 and I don't have the Scythe yet, I think I may have missed it somewhere. That and a few skulls. I'm guessing I can replay the game and keep my old weapons?
You get the scythe automatically at the end of stage six after you battle Volf. It's actually kind of an easy fight. Once you get the weapon, level it up all the way and jump and press XYYY for an incredibly helpful combo that usually cuts a few limbs off.
http://www.gamegadget.net/pc/ocz-neural-impulse-actuator/prod_14.html