Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 - General discussion

I don't want to create confusion in the NG2 topic so here's another one.

Today I finished this game on Warrior and after that I immediately started Mentor. I liked the first run but difficulty was too low, now enemies can be dangerous, especially IS ninjas and rpg guys. I'm starting to have fun and I'm learning different weapons. On Warrior I used Dragon Sword and Vigoorian Flail, now I'm learning Lunar Staff and Falcon's Talons. It was a good experience to learn Genshin with the claws. I almost finished chapter 3 but I'd like to know some better moves that I can use with these two weapons. Do you have any advice?

Generally speaking, in NG(S)2, every attack and weapon has their uses. They were more intended to be used singularly, not intermixed, so you can just stick to a single weapon per run if that's your fancy, it's completely possible.

In terms of useful moves, that's quite the list haha! The most important once are:

DS:
- Flying Swallow into OLUT (can only be done if weapon is lvl2 or higher)
- XXY
- XXY>Y (high delimb and knocks down)
- >XXXX (high damage, high delimb)
- >XXY (high damage, delimbs and auto corrects into OT)
- XYXXXshurikenXXY (on the ground). The on-landing-X is a spin with huge delimb, even in Sigma2
- off the wall X

Claws:
- >Y, huge delimb, good stun too
- Flying Swallow into Izuna
- XX>Y, the final hit can cancel into off-the-wall attacks
- XXXY (hold) is a grab
- >XXY cancels into a grab as well

Lunar:
- XXY is the golden combo
- X>YYYYY at level 3, huge AoE, i.frames, the works
- 360UT

Dual Katana
- XX>XY, good decapitation%
- 360Y for i.frames
- YYYY for boss punish
- >Y, very fast, good for poking bosses, decent decapitation% too
- >XXX good AoE
- running XX is good AoE too
- XXYY good AoE
- XYXXX,delay,Y,bow,shuriken,YY - in NGII you can substitute the shuriken for IS.

Flails:
- >Y is absolutely fantastic, very high damage, high delimb
- XXYY, good decapitation and AoE
- uncharged UT is good too, high delimb, fully invincible.

Kusarigama:
- jump XXY
- >Y(hold) for the grab
- XX>XXXX for a grab
- 360YYYY, not too useful, but hits multiple times and thus wrecks huge bosses like Ogre and Skeleton Giant. Massive, massive damage.

Scythe:
- XXY
- jump Y
- flying swallow
- UT

Cannot comment on the Enma's Fang since I honestly barely used it outside of OLUTs and using it's XYXXX combo to get out of bounds / skip stuff.

This is just off the top of my head, I'm probably missing a few.

Note: I just noticed I typed in Xbox symbols, X = S, Y = T. Sorry haha!

Wow, thank you very much! By the way, do you know why were other shurikens removed?

I think it was two folded in its reasons. For one, they really wanted to remove the ranged emphasis and problems, hence why ranged UTs are gone and most ranged encounters gone as well. On the otherhand, the girls had to get projectiles, and this was it. Incendiary went to Ayane and the Windmill to Kasumi who was a planned DLC character iirc. The weapons are in the game, and through hacks you can enable Ryu to have them. Kasumi eventually got the windmill in NG3:RE.

Just a shame the girls took away Ryu's ranged options.They are not as bad as Rachel in Sigma 1 but I want to use Ryu. If Team Ninja didn't create them maybe Ryu would have more weapons and ranged tools. That was only a thought, the game is still very good action-wise and it's already full of weapons.

That's the general conclusion most players have about the girls, myself included. They're fun, but I'd rather have Ryu get more tools. In Razor's Edge they did went a step in the right direction, making them play differently. Some having unique abilities while lacking others, while leaving Ryu as the powerhouse.

Got it, it seems RE fixed this problem. And besides, I know they have a separate story mode in that game, so their presence is more tolerable.

To note, in RE Ayane still has her own missions that are in Ryu's campaign. Kasumi and Momiji are just extra characters that you can use in Chapter Select and the online trials.

Well, you can't escape from girls in Hayashi's games haha. So perhaps only NG3 is just Ryu.

My Mentor run is going well. Lunar Staff and Falcon's Talons are my main weapons but I'm also using Vigoorian Flail and Kusari-gama. I'm near the end of chapter 6 and "this just keeps getting better and better".

Any good combos for Ayane's chapter?

Oof. I really don't recall man, sorry. I remember her projectile is really, really good. And I think her XXY is decent enough?

Mentor is done, I'm liking NGS2 more and more.

Good to hear man! How are you liking its more lineair structure compared to the first game?

I think I prefer the more linear approach. I only miss the fiend challenges, but I've read that NG2 has something similar. Besides, I really like the majority of the levels, the increased presence of ninjas and the multiple Genshin fights.

Yeah NGII has 'tests of valor' which are huge, huge waves of enemies in an arena, really fun and good rewards. Glad you like the Genshin fights, because if you're ever going to go for completion of NG3's trials, you'll face him a lot haha!

I've just completed chapter 2 on Master Ninja, the damage is insane. One grab and I'm dead, even just a white ninja can be dangerous. I like the challenge but it's a huge jump from Mentor haha.

Yeah Master Ninja is really weird in NGS2, basically to balance around the lack of enemy numbers the damage output is now through the roof. All grabs are basically OHKO from now on, most other hits are bonkers too. I think a blocked fireball from a Golden Van Gelf is like 90% of your HP bar gone haha. Have fun!

True, I was annihilated by a Golden Van Gelf in chapter 3. I need to be more aggressive but I'm scared of the damage and enemies kill me.

NGS2 is really weird in that sense. Your best bet is going for pretty safe delimb moves and UTs. 360UT from the Lunar is a good tool against them.

I've just made it to chapter five (Momiji). I'm slowly progressing, but this damage is still a problem.

I don't know how I finished Momiji's chapter. Being at half health without ninpo and items against Tengus was a brutal experience. It seems that hellish chapter improved my combat abilities even with Ryu, at least.

Momiji's chapter, but also Ayane and Rachel's are pretty darn difficult on Master Ninja. I rarely did fresh or challenge runs because I just disliked their chapters so much. Just wasn't fun for me. Are you going to attempt the Platinum?

It's tough question, but I'm going to try and get it. But first I have to be good at MN with every weapon, Team Missions can be beaten only with that. I don't even know if I'll find a partner for the hardest missions. The community must be composed by invincible beasts right now, I have to improve a lot before I ask for help

I'm getting better, but now I need to use Ayane.

There's still plenty of players, if you can 'twirl' (more on that later), they'll be happy to use you as bait while they style on bosses. That said, if you can find someone with a good connection and patience, there really is no equal to Ryu-Ryu'ing the harder challenges, a ton of fun and a fantastic feeling when you finally nail it.

Yeah, I prefer to use Ryu and face enemies head-on. I want to do this the right (and fun) way.

Ayane's chapter was easier than I expected after the first save point. I played a bit more and now I'm already at chapter 14.

I finished Master Ninja, Elizébet was the most difficult boss. Now I'm doing chapter challenge to earn MN ranks and to learn every weapon.
The game starts now!

Congratulations! You're really making strides RedShot, great to see!

Elizabet is really dangerous, especially in NGS2 where some of her key loops were removed. She's still very doable and even fun once you master her pattern. I can quite reliably no-damage her using the Flails these days in both versions of the game. Just so much fun to fight. Really feel they nailed her, she's basically Alma but more interesting to fight.

Only downside imo is how projectile-spam heavy she can be in NGII compared to NGS2. Glad they toned that down.

You’re making me want to play this!(I’d play Ng2 but my 360 died for the millionth time). Also, congrats Redshot, you got through MN pretty quick it seems.

Thanks guys! When I started MN I was a bit scared of the damage, everything looked deadly. IS ninjas, Golden Van Gelfs and dogs destroyed me in a second haha.

By the way, I noticed that even girls' chapters are easier in Chapter Challenge.

How would you say the difficulty of MN was compared to NGB?

I played the Sigma version, so there are some differences with NGB. However, I think NGS2 is more difficult because if you do a single mistake it's over. Sigma/Black is more balanced than Sigma 2, but I like both of them

Chapter Challenge is a slightly nerfed mode (for whatever reason), so you are correct. It isn't a huge nerf though mind you. The absolute danger you're in in NGS2 is fantastic though, really interesting. I wouldn't do a zero-death run in NGII since I don't think that's humanly possible, but in NGS2 I can see it happening.

I completed 12 out of 17 chapters on Chapter Challenge. Falcon's talons are very fun to use, but every weapon is interesting to learn.

Today I started Team Missions. I'd like to know which missions aren't doable offline. Acolyte and Warrior challenges were obviously very easy, but next there is Mentor. I haven't tried it yet, so I have no idea.

IIRC all mission are doable solo until the Master Ninja ones, and some of those can also be done solo if you're lucky with the AI. Generally people consider Rachel's AI to be the least braindead, so use her if you can.

Ultimate Ninja 04 can also be solo'd and I think there's one guy who solo'd Ultimate Ninja 03. I don't think we'll ever see UN1 solo'd, UN2 perhaps if they can somehow get the glitch to work.

But yeah UN1 is the biggest roadblock. MN03 is a good test since it has you face off against all the bosses in a row, which is good practice.

Yeah, Mentor missions are doable offline. I only wish I could play without the AI partner. Not a big fan of this mode, but I'm progressing. Mentor 05 is the last mission I need to do before I face MN and UN...

At the time it was quite novel, since no games in the genre really tried online (one could argue, for good reason). And there's something really cool about doing UN1 and UN2 with another ninja of equal skill. Note that NG3 and Razor's Edge fixed this, and just allowed you to go in alone, despite the missions still being tuned for two players.

I understand its charm but I prefer NGB/Sigma's Mission Mode.

Vanilla NG2's Mission Mode is excellent, too. And no forced partner AI, thankfully.

I always found that mission mode to be wack. Really had hoped they'd do more with enemy combinations but it plays it quite safe. Has some great endurance missions though, and the one ending with Dagra Dai is fantastic too, not to mention the Survival mode.

Yeah, it isn't as substantial as NGB's Mission Mode but I'd say it's certainly worth playing and it at least sticks to the core game's strengths (no forced co-op). And those endless arena missions in which you're limited to one weapon only are simply amazing.

It was another unfinished part of the game I feel, I liked the Karma Orbs. Wished they were available in the main game or as a seperate mode. Shame that you have to pay money for the missions but alas.

How do I practice bosses for UN1? Chapter challenge or MN3?

Best to make a seperate save for each fight, you can keep 'saves' for Chapter Challenge per chapter as well IIRC.

Ok, I'll use Chapter Challenge's save points. I have to do UN1-UN2-UN3 and I'm done with this game. I'll probably go back to Sigma 1 after those missions.

Fantastic man! If I can, I recommend going in Ryu-Ryu, by far the most fun way to do them. Twirling with Rachel can be quite annoying and lacking in satisfaction. UN3 has been done once with an AI member iirc, but I can't find the video and I'm starting to doubt if he really did it or just the first few waves haha.

Good luck! Where are you located again? USA? If you're in EU/UK we can give it a go if you want, though I am really rusty with NGS2.

Yeah, I'm always using Ryu, it's just more fun. I used Rachel only for MN4 and for grinding some kills in acolyte and warrior missions. I did some MN missions with a German player. I live in Italy and I have a good connection so there was almost no lag. Thanks for your offer but at this point I need to become more consistent against those bosses. I could have already got the Platinum thanks to that player but I want to earn it myself. Dealing with Alexei and Elizébet at the same time is very tough for me so I can't do my job very well while my partner is fighting Volf.

I’m...halfway? Through Mentor. Haven’t had a lot of time to play lately but I’m very excited to finish and play MN.

Infinity_Divide wrote:I’m...halfway? Through Mentor. Haven’t had a lot of time to play lately but I’m very excited to finish and play MN.

Heck yah! Keep it up :) It's an exciting game and keeps getting better as you push on...can come with a bit of pain though haha.