Blogs / BobiRoka
Added by BobiRoka, 17-04-2008
Woohoo! Just when I thought NG had become unspeakably difficult, I managed to make some headway this evening...
Am finally back at the Red Dragon boss after many a perilous leap over lava and battling the most unpredictable enemies. Seriously, if they get hold of you once they'll strip a third off your health bar. This game can be so unnecessarily evil at times...
It's usually possible to harvest enough gold orbs to keep your potion supply up, but rely on healing materials too much and it WILL bite you on the arse when you turn the next corner.
I've had a hate/love relationship with NG since the start, but I think the trick really is to take your time with it. I've become too obssessed with making progress in games no matter what and getting frustrated with obstacles that slow me down. Right now, I'm quite enjoying the precision required to accomplish it's challenges in a slick way. In fact, slick really is the only way.
In one section there's a floor pad which you have to leap and then plunge your sword into. This deactivates a horrid flame filled passageway (which incidentally has no floor either). You then have to jump two ledges, swing off two beams and then in a single motion wall run across two opposite walls (of the passageway) before the flames ignite again. If you fall it's not fatal, but every bit of damage you take is some more damage you CANNOT take later on through the level (assuming all orbs have been spent - as they have in this case).
With this obstacle passed, you then have to very carefully make your way back through the lava filled level to the Red Dragon boss, which is, literally, a big fire spewing red dragon. There are more jump pads here you have to leap onto which raise you up and down the two semi-circular tiers on which you have to fight upon, whilst the great wyrm goes through it's utterly unpredictable pattern of fire breathing, fireball projectiles, wing beating and head lunges.
I was down to full health bar and one small pot of healing by this point, and it only took a few botched evasive rolls and the fucker grabbing me whole in it's gob before it was all over.
Luckily, I was able to go back to an earlier save and backtrack through all of the above in a less careless manner and I've saved it just before the dragon fight with much more sufficient health pot quota for next time I play it.
And that's what NG is all about really. Boldly getting as far as you can in each level, learning the level, figuring out how you can do it better and then putting that into practise. Quite a change really, after the comparitively frenetic and forgiving thuggery of DMC4 and God of War: Chain of Olympus.
It's usually possible to harvest enough gold orbs to keep your potion supply up, but rely on healing materials too much and it WILL bite you on the arse when you turn the next corner.
I've had a hate/love relationship with NG since the start, but I think the trick really is to take your time with it. I've become too obssessed with making progress in games no matter what and getting frustrated with obstacles that slow me down. Right now, I'm quite enjoying the precision required to accomplish it's challenges in a slick way. In fact, slick really is the only way.
In one section there's a floor pad which you have to leap and then plunge your sword into. This deactivates a horrid flame filled passageway (which incidentally has no floor either). You then have to jump two ledges, swing off two beams and then in a single motion wall run across two opposite walls (of the passageway) before the flames ignite again. If you fall it's not fatal, but every bit of damage you take is some more damage you CANNOT take later on through the level (assuming all orbs have been spent - as they have in this case).
With this obstacle passed, you then have to very carefully make your way back through the lava filled level to the Red Dragon boss, which is, literally, a big fire spewing red dragon. There are more jump pads here you have to leap onto which raise you up and down the two semi-circular tiers on which you have to fight upon, whilst the great wyrm goes through it's utterly unpredictable pattern of fire breathing, fireball projectiles, wing beating and head lunges.
I was down to full health bar and one small pot of healing by this point, and it only took a few botched evasive rolls and the fucker grabbing me whole in it's gob before it was all over.
Luckily, I was able to go back to an earlier save and backtrack through all of the above in a less careless manner and I've saved it just before the dragon fight with much more sufficient health pot quota for next time I play it.
And that's what NG is all about really. Boldly getting as far as you can in each level, learning the level, figuring out how you can do it better and then putting that into practise. Quite a change really, after the comparitively frenetic and forgiving thuggery of DMC4 and God of War: Chain of Olympus.
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Woohoo! Finished the Red Dragon off and played through the whole of mission 13 to the end. Killed the level 13 boss first time, but I had loads of 'Nin-po' to get rid of...
Nearly there... :)
Nearly there... :)
At the level 15 boss now, which is in fact - unsurprisingly for a game as mentally hard as this - 3 or 4 waves of regular demonspawn, followed by a tentacley thing I've fought several times before, then another 3 or 4 waves of demonspawn, then another boss (which isn't too tough once you learn his attack patterns), then finally the actual boss, who lobs fireballs and summons more demonspawn.
If I continue at this rate there's a real possibility I might finish the game once and for all before GTAIV comes out. 8 days and counting...
If I continue at this rate there's a real possibility I might finish the game once and for all before GTAIV comes out. 8 days and counting...
"forgiving thuggery of DMC4"
You played it on its most forgiving difficulty level. Hence it presented much less of a challenge. Imho you missed out on the true DMC white-knuckle ride experience, and only got to enjoy the superficial flashiness, which is only partly what DMC games are about. Really you'd have been better off using 'human' as a means to orb farm only, getting yourself prepped for each new level in 'demon hunter' mode...but maybe that's just me.
NG didn't have an easy level. Had it had the same choices made available, would you have opted for the hard level, or would you have played its 'human' equivalent? NG Black/ Sigma addressed this, btw....with a Ninja Dog (or summit) easy level.
DMC 3 launched with a hard only level, and got criticised for it...unlike NG, which, oddly enough, got lauded for being so old school and unforgiving. Amazing what pretty graphics can gloss over ;)The whole 'hard as nails' aspect was what elevated it above games like GOW as a sheer satisfying combat game. The feeling of acheivement was/ still is unparalleled.
You played it on its most forgiving difficulty level. Hence it presented much less of a challenge. Imho you missed out on the true DMC white-knuckle ride experience, and only got to enjoy the superficial flashiness, which is only partly what DMC games are about. Really you'd have been better off using 'human' as a means to orb farm only, getting yourself prepped for each new level in 'demon hunter' mode...but maybe that's just me.
NG didn't have an easy level. Had it had the same choices made available, would you have opted for the hard level, or would you have played its 'human' equivalent? NG Black/ Sigma addressed this, btw....with a Ninja Dog (or summit) easy level.
DMC 3 launched with a hard only level, and got criticised for it...unlike NG, which, oddly enough, got lauded for being so old school and unforgiving. Amazing what pretty graphics can gloss over ;)The whole 'hard as nails' aspect was what elevated it above games like GOW as a sheer satisfying combat game. The feeling of acheivement was/ still is unparalleled.
Hmmm... not much progress tonight.
I guess you're right. I never really gave it enough of a chance. I just wanted to blat through it to clear my gaming palette. It did give me the urge to play NG again though.
I think had I known nothing else, I would have been more compelled to take your advice and play it properly. As it is, NG has so many cool little facets. Like, I haven't really been relying too much on charging up essence for attacks - preferring to harvest it all instead - but this boss fight screams for it and it's like I'm playing a different game.
I'm sure the same could be said about DMC and the way you get to go down different combo trees. It's just that noise and the feedback you get when Ryu strings together a savage sword combo... oh how I love it so...
I guess you're right. I never really gave it enough of a chance. I just wanted to blat through it to clear my gaming palette. It did give me the urge to play NG again though.
I think had I known nothing else, I would have been more compelled to take your advice and play it properly. As it is, NG has so many cool little facets. Like, I haven't really been relying too much on charging up essence for attacks - preferring to harvest it all instead - but this boss fight screams for it and it's like I'm playing a different game.
I'm sure the same could be said about DMC and the way you get to go down different combo trees. It's just that noise and the feedback you get when Ryu strings together a savage sword combo... oh how I love it so...
Oh well... according to the guy at GAME yesterday (where I'd gone to buy my component cables for the PS3) if I'd got confirmation that my GTA IV had shipped it will probably arrive tomorrow.
So Ninja Gaiden will remain uncompleted. I'm too hungover (and have too many movies to watch) to play it today :(
So Ninja Gaiden will remain uncompleted. I'm too hungover (and have too many movies to watch) to play it today :(
