Collection essentials #90: Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES)

I don’t have a ton to say about Ninja Gaiden II, because it largely follows the same formula as the first game. That’s not a bad thing by any means, since the basic formula was so good. Ninja Gaiden II is another tough-as-nails action platformer that again incorporates storytelling between its levels with impressive cutscenes, as Ryu tries to thwart the plans of the dark lord Ashtar.

There are two very notable gameplay additions to Ninja Gaiden II. One is the ability to actually climb up and down on walls rather than simply cling to them. The other is a cool power-up that creates clones of Ryu (visible in the photo). These clones travel in his wake and attack as you attack, leading to some very cool strategic possibilities where you can get to a strategic defensive position but still have one of your clones in a spot to dish out damage with its sword. 

Ninja Gaiden II is still really hard, but thankfully its final boss encounter is not as ruthlessly unforgiving as the first game. It actually feels possible to beat, and indeed, I have actually beaten Ninja Gaiden II (which I did pretty recently), unlike the first game. It’s one of the best action games on the NES and easily an essential.

Sadly, unlike the first game, this one is not currently playable with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

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