The other issue people will likely have with NG2 is also the one that will no doubt draw many other people to it. The game is on a whole other level of difficulty from most games these days. Sometimes the level designers are just plain evil by throwing you from one difficult battle, to a boss battle, and then right into another boss battle without giving you the chance to save or shop for more health potions.



The last level in particular has you fighting a set of five incredibly difficult boss battles in a row, only giving you a break to save and shop after the first two. If you save before fighting the third boss in the last level, and you don’t have enough yellow essence to buy a sufficient amount of healing potions and a resurrection talisman, then you're going to have to work really hard in order to beat the last three bosses because it is impossible for you to return to the previous level. There is a fine line between a hardcore challenge and poor game design, and NG2 crosses it several times throughout the game.

Overall, despite its problems, Ninja Gaiden 2 is still a worthy follow up to one of the greatest action games of all time. For those willing to take the time to master the finer points of it’s deep combat system, they will be rewarded by one of the most satisfying games available on the 360.