Ninja Gaiden lvl2 mountains

[MottZilla]

I certainly agree just a straight port would have been pointless. They had to try to make it take advantage of the PCE which it does. I just feel that they needed more talented people working on it to get the most out of the hardware.

Colossus, I didn't write the script to the game, a friend did. You can see the script and other materials that were planned for the game on the forum. Just google Ninja Gaiden IV. Should be around the first result on a forum/site calling GamingUniverse. Unfortunately the project activity has dropped off but someday it'll get there.

[soop]

Yeah, the NES version is better, and the PCE version is certainly missing something.  Ninja Gaiden (on the NES) just feels like a NES game.  It has that same feel all great NES games do.  on the PCE it just feels like it's lost that spark, and while the NES version is more than the sum of its parts, the PCE version is somehow less.

[esteban]

Yeah, the NES version is better, and the PCE version is certainly missing something.  Ninja Gaiden (on the NES) just feels like a NES game.  It has that same feel all great NES games do.  on the PCE it just feels like it's lost that spark, and while the NES version is more than the sum of its parts, the PCE version is somehow less.

Exactly. NES Ninja Gaiden rocked and I was STOKED when I learned that a PCE port existed.

However, as soop stated, the PCE port totally underwhelms. It is truly less than the sum of its parts.

Hany says, "PCE Ninja Gaiden is a deflating tricycle tire in a Wendy's parking lot."

I am sorry for all of the folks who are confused on this issue. I hope you recover your senses.

[MottZilla]

But it's be no means a bad game. It's just lacking the magic of the original. It's still a good game.

[Mathius]

But it's be no means a bad game. It's just lacking the magic of the original. It's still a good game.

Definitely! The music and graphics really start to shine in later levels.

[RyuHayabusa]

I remember seeing pics of the PC Engine Ninja Gaiden in EGM years ago and thinking how awesome it looked. I finally got it off of Ebay 7 or 8 years ago and was pretty underwhelmed. Sure, it looks good in a few places but the gameplay isn't nearly as good as the NES, nor is the music or level design. Plus, as mentioned earlier, the choppy backgroud scrolling is terrible.

[MottZilla]

Level design? I thought the level layouts were identical. I'm pretty sure they are. Maybe the enemy spawns aren't spot on but I'm not sure about that. Mainly it just feels like the PCE could have done better with the game. I really think it needed more talented PC-Engine developers. The sound should have been clearly superior along with the graphics.

[RyuHayabusa]

Level design? I thought the level layouts were identical. I'm pretty sure they are. Maybe the enemy spawns aren't spot on but I'm not sure about that. Mainly it just feels like the PCE could have done better with the game. I really think it needed more talented PC-Engine developers. The sound should have been clearly superior along with the graphics.

The actual layouts of the levels are pretty much the same, although the enemy placements are different. What I meant was that some of the backgrounds are terrible, particularly level 5-3, Bloody Malth's stage. It's supposed to be high up in some South American ruins but there's metal girders and chains all over the place. The controls are also very floaty. Ninja Gaiden on the NES was one of my favorite games growing up. I played it so much I could beat it on one life without getting hit except for against the last boss because his head comes off and  it is virtually impossible to avoid getting hit by it. However, the gameplay on this one isn't nearly as tight and is actually more difficult in my opinion. Of course, I never played it as much as the original.

[Flare65]

Level design? I thought the level layouts were identical. I'm pretty sure they are. Maybe the enemy spawns aren't spot on but I'm not sure about that. Mainly it just feels like the PCE could have done better with the game. I really think it needed more talented PC-Engine developers. The sound should have been clearly superior along with the graphics.

The actual layouts of the levels are pretty much the same, although the enemy placements are different. What I meant was that some of the backgrounds are terrible, particularly level 5-3, Bloody Malth's stage. It's supposed to be high up in some South American ruins but there's metal girders and chains all over the place. The controls are also very floaty. Ninja Gaiden on the NES was one of my favorite games growing up. I played it so much I could beat it on one life without getting hit except for against the last boss because his head comes off and  it is virtually impossible to avoid getting hit by it. However, the gameplay on this one isn't nearly as tight and is actually more difficult in my opinion. Of course, I never played it as much as the original.

Wow...getting to the last boss on ONE life?  That's a bold statement given how notoriously hard that game is, especially in the later levels.  I know there are youtube vids out there of people beating the game, but getting it done with one life is very impressive.  You must have had a lot of spare time on your hands as a kid!

[MottZilla]

Beating the original Ninja Gaiden on one life is definitely doable. I know I have. I don't know about avoiding getting hit at all. I could probably do that though if I was interested in the challenge. Ninja Gaiden is a tough game but atleast the NES version is consistent and can be mastered.

[Colossus1574]

Wow...getting to the last boss on ONE life?  That's a bold statement given how notoriously hard that game is, especially in the later levels.  I know there are youtube vids out there of people beating the game, but getting it done with one life is very impressive.  You must have had a lot of spare time on your hands as a kid!

Getting to last boss on 1 life isn't the hard part....it's defeating the 3 phase last boss that's the tough part! I've never finished it on one life before, closest is finishing with no continues. I just can't see how you can kill all 3 phases of the last boss when after defeating Ken (ryu's dad) it takes all your chi points away....You beat him with the Dragon Sword alone??? Super impressive.

And Flare, sometimes it's not about the time spent on it, certain players just excel at certain style of games  I picked up doing combos on SF2 pretty early, buddy of mine who started same time as me, still wasn' able to do basic 3 hit combos years later....

[RyuHayabusa]

In case you didn't notice, my screen name is Ryu Hayabusa and it's for a reason.  It's all about learning the patterns. I still have them burned into my memory even after all these years. I haven't played through NG in over a year but I could pick it up right now and still make it all the way through without continuing. In my prime I could also beat Ninja Gaiden 2 on one life, but definitely not without getting hit. The game itself is a lot easier than the first but avoiding getting hit is not. I used to have vids that I posted on an old game forum called Squarepedia but they've long since been lost.