Support NeoGAF

[FeralEcho]

Absolutely.

This is so easy, on the hardest difficulty Im not being touched in the first stage. I know im not bad at NG and just played NGIi but cmon

Yeah,I really don't understand how they could mess this up...is it because they are chasing the "modern" crowd who need to be handheld all the way. What's the point of difficulty levels then,what are they doing...

Just make Ninja Gaiden 2 again with better graphics and some qol changes...how hard can it be?? Instead they went with Sigma of all things as a blueprint? Like with the "master" collection,Why?

Wtf is Team Ninja's obsession with the Sigma games.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

alright, finished chapter two on NG2 (the true dragon sword really trivialises pretty much every encounter) right as the download finished for black.
Will switch back and forth between them so I can see all differences in real time lol.

 

[DanielG165]

OK just cleared chapter 1 and they removed the statue boss fight altogether

Not sure if it's a good thing

It is to me; that boss always felt tacked on, and wasn’t in the original version on Xbox. Probably because a giant Buddha statue made no sense lol.

 

[Mister Wolf]

The game has a raytracing setting. Anyone know what it's doing?

 

[Killer8]

>Ninja Gaiden 2 remake

>it's based on Sigma

It's okay, i'll still play that shit. Sigma was still better than 90% of games.

 

[kevboard]

Hopefully Ninja Gaiden I Black is getting this treatment also!

honestly... I wouldn't want it. UE5 isn't an upgrade in all regards. and honestly, I feel NG Black on Series X probably looks superior in many aspects to whatever a UE5 remaster would look like.

the motion artifacts in this one, the constant Lumen shimmering, the awful screen space reflections on top of low quality lumen reflections, the dithering on every transparency, the smearing of particles and moving textures...
like, even this one looks worse in many aspects compared to the original Xbox 360 release.

 

[kevboard]

The game has a raytracing setting. Anyone know what it's doing?

probably hardware Lumen instead of software Lumen.

I haven't downloaded the PC version yet, but that's what I'd assume

 

[II_JumPeR_I]

ok, I wouldn't recommend the 120fps mode. at least on Xbox it looks horrendously bad if you turn that on.

since it's UE5, it sadly also has the typical ugliness associated with that dog shit engine. but in the 60fps mode it looks ok

Yup noticed the same. Also felt like there was input lag in the 120fps mode. Framegen?
60fps with all the garbage effects turned off feels ok to play.

 

[DanielG165]

Yeah,I really don't understand how they could mess this up...is it because they are chasing the "modern" crowd who need to be handheld all the way. What's the point of difficulty levels then,what are they doing...

Just make Ninja Gaiden 2 again with better graphics and some qol changes...how hard can it be?? Instead they went with Sigma of all things as a blueprint? Like with the "master" collection,Why?

Wtf is Team Ninja's obsession with the Sigma games.

It feels more like a compromise/balance between the two. They removed a lot of the inane BS, while still keeping in some things that I’m not a fan of, like the auto lock on Bow and no bow UTs… Yet also have the chaos of NG2 vanilla, the feel and responsiveness of NG2 vanilla (S2 always felt clunky as hell to me), and the blood and gore of NG2 vanilla.

 

[Kronark]

I was excited until I realized it was just Sigma with UE 5 bullshit and a new price tag... Why do developers keep doing this shit.

Edit: Just give me a raw re-release of Ninja Gaiden Black on steam. That's all I want.

 

[MMaRsu]

So… The tactical ninjas? They…They are Spider clan ninjas.

Ok but in vanilla ng2 i dont remember seeing them, and they are certainly not in the first stage

 

[Timberwolf25]

Just booted it up and it's missing Master Ninja Difficulty.
See 4 difficulties by default. Not sure what "Hero Play style" means and 3 "Paths of ___ "
So missing a 4th (if you don't count Hero Play style) and 5th difficulty by default

Per this page from Team Ninja https://teamninja-studio.com/ng2black/us/comparison/

 

[Quezacolt]

I was excited until I realized it was just Sigma with UE 5 bullshit and a new price tag... Why do developers keep doing this shit.

Edit: Just give me a raw re-release of Ninja Gaiden Black on steam. That's all I want.

They can't. They lost the code of the original releases. Only the sigma games have been saved properly.

 

[MMaRsu]

They can't. They lost the code of the original releases. Only the sigma games have been saved properly.

I mean I assume they can run code to emulate the Xbox version and just upscale that right? That should be doable. It wont have any fancy bells or whistles

 

[Alexios]

My SSDs are getting full, is it playable alright from HDD (with extended loading between levels or whatever, sure, but no issues during gameplay)? I just moved Dynasty Warriors: Origins to HDD and it seems completely unaffected during gameplay, though it already had a bit long loading on SSD.

 

[Kronark]

They can't. They lost the code of the original releases. Only the sigma games have been saved properly.

Then they'd have to remake it. Play the original, recreate the encounters, etc.

It would have required some effort and this is Team Ninja in 2025 so I know expectations are on the fucking floor, but if modders can make improvements what's stopping the devs?

 

[PJX]

Ok but in vanilla ng2 i dont remember seeing them, and they are certainly not in the first stage

So you never made it to chapter 7 on OG NG2? Because that was their first appearance. They were in the first stage when you played Mentor difficulty


Go to the 5:20 mark

 

[clarky]

Will wait to see more info.
Sigma enemy counts is disappointing if true.
Also being a 60fps game on UE5 on console I asume it will look like shit.

Actually I didn't see any Unreal logo in the NG4 trailer or key art. Please tell me it's using another engine.

Only had a quick blast on my 3070ti laptop but my UE5 fears seem unfounded. Seems as Smooth as Phil Scofield's exit from this Morning.

 

[kevboard]

Yup noticed the same. Also felt like there was input lag in the 120fps mode. Framegen?
60fps with all the garbage effects turned off feels ok to play.

on Series X the input lag in 120fps is ridiculously low. so absolutely not frame gen no. it also runs at a significantly lower resolution to reach 120fps.

subjectively I'd say the 60fps mode is at around 80~90ms of lag and the 120fps mode at 40~50ms

 

[Timberwolf25]

I just played the opening fight on both OG and Black versions on Warrior difficulty. Doesn't seem to be any less enemies
Might be slightly easier on Black, but I played the OG first so could be that I was more warmed up to the game.

I did notice that the save points were on opposite sides of the old man's shop, but other than it seems the same. Cut scene was also different slightly...maybe

Turned off all post processing and kept it to 60 fps to try to make it a match as much as possible. Notice more shimmering in Sonia's hair that I didn't notice on the OG version. More blood for sure in Black that stays on the ground. The higher resolution definitely helps and make the game pop so much more.

I will definitley play more/finish of the OG first before coming back to Black, but just wanted a quick comparison.

 

[MMaRsu]

So you never made it to chapter 7 on OG NG2? Because that was their first appearance. They were in the first stage when you played Mentor difficulty


Go to the 5:20 mark

Ofcourse I have but they do not normally appear in the first stage do they not?

 

[Timberwolf25]

on Series X the input lag in 120fps is ridiculously low. so absolutely not frame gen no. it also runs at a significantly lower resolution to reach 120fps.

subjectively I'd say the 60fps mode is at around 80~90ms of lag and the 120fps mode at 40~50ms

Did you keep all the postprocessing on by default?

I usually turn them all off for performance reasons, but maybe should turn some of them back on. Would be curious to know what the best settings would be. On a 1440p monitor

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

booted it up, the very first fight is exactly the same as in NG2, I didn't spot any differences there.
But the game itself felt weird, turned off motion blur completely, and changed the block button to match NG2, and now it feels exactly like NG2; NG2 still looks cleaner somehow on xsx though.
After the first fight it does change to sigma layout (there's no save statue next to the building and it automatically goes into the cutscene, instead of having to open the door manually), the enemy count drops by 2 in the subsequent encounters, but the enemies still feel exactly as aggressive as in NG2

 

[adamsapple]

Neogaf rejoice, booba's are still there with physics.

 

[MMaRsu]

So you never made it to chapter 7 on OG NG2? Because that was their first appearance. They were in the first stage when you played Mentor difficulty


Go to the 5:20 mark

Nah those are the rocket launcher enemies these are actual black suited enemies with green eyes, and they have like machine guns. Its stupid

 

[kevboard]

Did you keep all the postprocessing on by default?

I usually turn them all off for performance reasons, but maybe should turn some of them back on. Would be curious to know what the best settings would be. On a 1440p monitor

I turned Motion Blur off, the rest I have on. but I haven't really played around much yet.

I played through the first level and most of the second one, just to get a feeling for it.

 

[MMaRsu]

Neogaf rejoice, booba's are still there with physics.

Like who are these generic ninja guys???? Where is the friggin spider clan bro?!?

I know they show up later in the lvl I just do not understand changes like this.

 

[Kacho]

Neogaf rejoice, booba's are still there with physics.

I feel like you and I are finally on the same page

 

[Timberwolf25]

Neogaf rejoice, booba's are still there with physics.

I don't think he's playing on like for like difficulty settings. From my short play, before the save statue on Black, I had more enemies than he had similar to what I had on OG version.

Edit: I haven't gone pass that door yet so can't speak for the rest of it.

 

[PJX]

Nah those are the rocket launcher enemies these are actual black suited enemies with green eyes, and they have like machine guns. Its stupid

Mate, are you watching the same video I'm watching or are you confusing yourself? Those same guys appear earlier before the time stamp.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Hopefully Ninja Gaiden I Black is getting this treatment also!

I dont really think it needs one. It still looks fantastic and holds up like a motherfucker.

 

[Taur007]

They brought back the gore too. Every other game I’m playing is immediately going on the pay no mind list until I finish this.

Of course why wouldn't they? Xbox never had a problem with the gore, that was Sony with those crappy sigma games

 

[FoxMcChief]

Neogaf rejoice, booba's are still there with physics.

Jiggly boobs are important.

 

[Jack Package]

I've actually started replaying NG2 vanilla this week as I picked up a series x just to do that (and play Rock Band 4, cos I had a real hankering for it). Played most of the first level of 2 Black. Fixed the buttons (why did they make block RB? Why isn't the original layout an option?) and it feels like it takes a weird middle space between vanilla 2 and Sigma 2. It's pretty enough, and is really fun, but vanilla so far remains the best for me.

 

[Timberwolf25]

I dont really think it needs one. It still looks fantastic and holds up like a motherfucker.

Agree.
If they ever do it, just uprez and update the textures. Maybe some other QoL, but don't mess with what is otherwise perfection gameplay wise

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Like who are these generic ninja guys???? Where is the friggin spider clan bro?!?

every ninja in that video is spider ninja clan?

 

[MMaRsu]

every ninja in that video is spider ninja clan?

Where are the enemies who your fighting in the xbox 360 version, why are they now different ninja's with guns?

 

[MMaRsu]

Mate are you watching the same video I'm watching or are you confusing yourself?

Jesus christ are we really doing this

Literally the first group of enemies you fight. They don't have the claws.

They are different ninja's who use guns.

Two entirely different groups of enemies.

The claw ninja's (lets just call them OG spiderclan) are way more dangerous and aggressive. They show up later in lvl 1. But why do they even change stuff like this.

And I dont remember fighting guys like this in NGII, but it's been awhile.

 

[DavidGzz]

Holy fuck! Downloading NG2 Black now! Is that the only one done in UE5? I'm guessing so.

 

[PJX]

Jesus christ are we really doing this

Literally the first group of enemies you fight. They don't have the claws.

They are different ninja's who use guns.

Two entirely different groups of enemies.

The claw ninja's (lets just call them OG spiderclan) are way more dangerous and aggressive. They show up later in lvl 1. But why do they even change stuff like this.

And I dont remember fighting guys like this in NGII, but it's been awhile.

It goes to show you didn't pay attention to the game or you played on the easy difficulty, completed it and was done. Enemy placement changes with difficulty level.

 

[DavidGzz]

Seems like a remake using UE5.
But it's not on Steam, so screw it.

It is. Oops, I was on the first page, I'm sure you know by now..

 

[winjer]

It is. Oops, I was on the first page, I'm sure you know by now..

Not when I made that post.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Where are the enemies who your fighting in the xbox 360 version, why are they now different ninja's with guns?

I dunno what you mean, I haven't fought any enemies with guns and I'm near the end of chapter 1.

 

[Timberwolf25]

Replayed the opening fight on Black and he is definitely not playing on the same difficulty for both versions.
Also, yea no claw Ninjas in the opening fight where the OG did, but same number and it appears difficulty from what I can tell.

 

[MazingerDUDE]

Ok, just beat chapter 3, and so far it's identical to Sigma 2 if not easier (Mentor difficulty)

 

[Neff]

I can invert the camera this time right

 

[MMaRsu]

I dunno what you mean, I haven't fought any enemies with guns and I'm near the end of chapter 1.

Like is shown in the screen the opening fight is different, these guys use guns. At least on the hardest difficulty.

 

[PJX]

Like is shown in the screen the opening fight is different, these guys use guns. At least on the hardest difficulty.

Mate, you are playing on Very Hard which is equivalent to Mentor on OG NG2. The tactical ninjas appeared on the first chapter for that difficulty level.

 

[ReBurn]

Cool, time to play some Ninja Gaiden.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Neogaf rejoice, booba's are still there with physics.

I love boobs, but what is up with that new character design?