Last week saw the surprise announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4, and the simultaneous release of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. The latter's subtitle had me incredibly excited, channeling as it does the definitive version of the original game and promising that, after the disappointing NG Sigma 2, it was time to chop up some baddies properly.
Well, turns out that NG 2 Black gets very close to that, but does have some hangovers from Sigma and is not quite the more direct remaster of the 360 original some were hoping for. As PCG's review said on the way to awarding it a very respectable 85%, this is "not the exact remaster some were hoping for, but Ninja Gaiden Black 2 is still an action game with few equals."
I agree with that verdict, though all I'll add is that as someone who likes playing these games on the hardest difficulty, it just does not quite deliver that overwhelming mass of enemies that the game somehow managed on 360. This is definitely a huge step-up over Sigma, both in enemy count and placement, but I really want it to try and kill me a bit harder.
Team Ninja: Hear my call! Perhaps it has because, alongside releasing a minor patch, the studio now says: "Based on the feedback received, we are preparing a patch aimed for release in mid-February with some balance adjustments and additional features."
I mean, we all know what the feedback was: Make it exactly like the original, but harder! More enemies! Tougher enemies! Hurt me plenty! Some "balance adjustments" are exactly what this game needs because, right now, it's a blade's width away from being the definitive version of a true action classic.
Today's patch fixes DLSS and XeSS (the options weren't appearing) and nixes a rare bug that stopped progression after bosses. Come mid-February, I'll be back to tell you whether Ninja Gaiden 2 Black has finally become the game I've been waiting for.
