Ninja Gaiden Weapon Discussion

[TakedaZX]

Sup guys.

I just wanted to open up a topic to talk about certain aspects of the weapons such as weapon progression through the different games and versions, tactics, compare and contrast, and the weapons focus. First off if you are familiar with all of the weapons, here.

So I'll start it off I guess. What did everyone think of Enma's Fang in Sigma 2 vs Dabilahro, Unlabored Flawness, and the Dark Dragon Blade from NG/NGB/NGS

 

[Brute]

Well, Emna's played like the Dabilahro but with more moves to more accurately compare with the other NG2 weapons. So technically it played better, it just looked worse. Both weapons are very fun to use.

The Dark Dragon Blade was a lot like the Dabilahro but with far less moves, a few changed moves, and it dealt greater damage. I was never a big fan simply because you get it so late in the game through scarabs it's hard to invest in learning it (and it's not too plentifully supplied in the mission mode, either).

The Unlabored Flawlessness was easily the best. It had tons of moves (including the Izuna drop with a wicked guard break and reach that scooped up many otherwise elusive enemies), and grew more powerful as your health decreased. It's counter attacks usually decapitated in one strike and gave good i-frames, making it the go-to weapon on most humanoid enemies. It's one of the most unique weapons in action gaming history, imo, and I wish they would bring it back.

 

[TakedaZX]

I remember building up my Unlabored Flawlessness... it was definitely rewarding to have when I got it... good times.

Being honest though, I did like Enma's looks. That's not to say I preferred it over Dabilahro but I just thought Enma went well with the original fiend/clone Ryu costume from NG1. In fact, when I buy NGΣ2 I'm probably mainly going to focus on that weapon (next to the TDS and BotA) once I clear the story.

It might be because I have this attraction to underdog weapons.

What about Kitetsu, Doku's Katana. Did anyone actually like that weapon?

 

[Brute]

Emna's is not really an underdog weapon, lol

My brother swore by Kitetsu, but I found it was close enough to the dragon sword that when it did change things up it totally threw me off. I've used it a few times in Mission Mode when I'm not given the Dragon Sword/Plasma Saber, but otherwise, I can't say much.

 

[CyberEvil]

Kitetsu was awesome in NGB but not so much in the original. In Black, it worked similar to the DS, had ranged moves, and could absorb health. It NG, it had all that but drained your health lol. Not too fun to use unless you equipped it on purpose to get down to red flashing on the UF, which I did a lot. Something about letting myself get hit just irked me.

 

[TakedaZX]

Emna's is not really an underdog weapon, lol

Eh well my playstyle is a little bit different. At heart I'm a combo guy, bent off of flash and aggression.

If comboers in this game had a tier list for how flexible a weapon is for combos... Enma's Fang would be rock bottom tier simply because it's too slow to pull off stuff like this (Skip to 1:08, you may have seen this video already from when I posted it in the first thread)

It's a damn good weapon, even all of the people I talk about combos with say that, but it's just not capable as far as I know, but I've only done stuff with it in the demo. I'm going to mess around with it again soon.

My brother swore by Kitetsu, but I found it was close enough to the dragon sword that when it did change things up it totally threw me off. I've used it a few times in Mission Mode when I'm not given the Dragon Sword/Plasma Saber, but otherwise, I can't say much.

Yea, interesting weapon and idea, but I didn't really find it great probably because I didn't really care much for the Dragon Sword in general in the first game. I guess it was more forgiving weapon in Sigma than it was in Black.

[Edit] Oh it was the original NG that it drained health?

I only borrowed Black from a friend then I bought Sigma since it had the dual swords so I could give it back. I didn't know lol.

 

[Brute]

Kitetsu doesn't drain HP in Black or Sigma. Never played the original NG, so can't say, there.

Anyway, I never was much for "combos," as I don't they they look as cool or as as fast as traditional "strings." That's why I hate shit like shuriken cancels and stun-lock juggles. They just look silly to me. But, in the form of a designed string such as most conventional Izuna drops or the dragon tear, etc. things seem to work/look like they should, so I think they look cooler and even more aggressive. Emna's fang brutalizes people either through stun-lock or de-limbing and has great range, making it a great choice in almost every situation presented in Sigma 2.

 

[TakedaZX]

Kitetsu doesn't drain HP in Black or Sigma. Never played the original NG, so can't say, there.

Anyway, I never was much for "combos," as I don't they they look as cool or as as fast as traditional "strings." That's why I hate shit like shuriken cancels and stun-lock juggles. They just look silly to me. But, in the form of a designed string such as most conventional Izuna drops or the dragon tear, etc. things seem to work/look like they should, so I think they look cooler and even more aggressive. Emna's fang brutalizes people either through stun-lock or de-limbing and has great range, making it a great choice in almost every situation presented in Sigma 2.

Yea, I got it in Black I believe but I think that was around the time I gave the game back (go figure I was letting my friend borrow DOA2U). In Sigma I remember I didn't touch it specifically because I had the DC and TF which were... better for the endeavors I was interested in.

Yea, not everyone is interested in the ridiculous juggles. That's just something I like to have in my back pocket to show off a bit. The other half is working on being able to takedown multiple enemies without spamming the same combo over and over or taking much damage.

I don't mind spamming when I need to but if I can change it up, then yea... I want to.

 

[Brute]

Yea, I got it in Black I believe but I think that was around the time I gave the game back (go figure I was letting my friend borrow DOA2U). In Sigma I remember I didn't touch it specifically because I had the DC and TF which were... better for the endeavors I was interested in.

Yea, not everyone is interested in the ridiculous juggles. That's just something I like to have in my back pocket to show off a bit. The other half is working on being able to takedown multiple enemies without spamming the same combo over and over or taking much damage.

I don't mind spamming when I need to but if I can change it up, then yea... I want to.

Agreed. That's what was so frustrating about the IS ninjas in NG2 (360). Aside from UT spams or Izuna spams (Falcon's Talons ->AXY, anyone?), it was really tough to get inventive on them. I've seen it done with tonfas, though.

 

[TakedaZX]

Agreed. That's what was so frustrating about the IS ninjas in NG2 (360). Aside from UT spams or Izuna spams (Falcon's Talons ->AXY, anyone?), it was really tough to get inventive on them. I've seen it done with tonfas, though.

Yea. The Tonfas are strangely in a similar boat as the BotA. Their 360 Y had some amount of i-frames on it. I wouldn't say they were on par, but that could be why.

If it's UT's, I'd rather hold off on them when I'm having fun in the game, but SoB is something I don't like to pass up. Biggest problem about that though is that I have trouble getting Ryu to hit when I'm going for it. I need to find out what I have to do to get it to aim at the right enemy when they go red.

 

[Brute]

Yea. The Tonfas are strangely in a similar boat as the BotA. Their 360 Y had some amount of i-frames on it. I wouldn't say they were on par, but that could be why.

It was actually by using the dash-cancel mechanic that was exclusive to the tonfas.

If it's UT's, I'd rather hold off on them when I'm having fun in the game, but SoB is something I don't like to pass up. Biggest problem about that though is that I have trouble getting Ryu to hit when I'm going for it. I need to find out what I have to do to get it to aim at the right enemy when they go red.

The only UT I'm a big fan of is the TDS 360 UT, but even then I don't like to spam.
Unfortunately NG2 on MN was set-up in a way that forced you to chain i-frames. Without the SoB, it was either Izunas or UT spams.

 

[TakedaZX]

Yea, I started getting used to buffering a 360 UT when I land for the Dragon Sword in the NGΣ2 demo. Even when it's not True Dragon Gleam it's hella useful.

 

[SilverForte]

Dragon sword was never my weapon of choice personally. I usually kept the lunar or claws out. The claws are so great at delimbing with that slide move.

 

[dawnbringer]

I like Kusarigama a lot. It has variety of close and long range, air, throw, crowd control options. It also has some inventive tactics against bosses, especially Elizabeth.

 

[TakedaZX]

Speaking of which, how do people feel about the changes to the Dragon Sword in 3 in general, aside from them taking away TDG and the TDS in general?

I personally miss XXXXX as a launching combo and X(Hold Y)YYY. XXXXX was probably the coolest string in my opinion for putting the opponent in the air without lifting himself up and it gave opportunies to abuse the OT kick for a cool juggle. X(Hold Y)YYY was just cool looking in general since NG1.

Ya'll?

 

[Brute]

Not a fan. I like XX->XY (because it's like DOA 214P) and the garland drop, but having it as XY(hold)Y does take away the old XY(hold)YYY.
I also miss the old XXXYY, and I'm reminded of that when I pop in WO3 of all things. Now XXXY just does some silly combo with another horizontal slash like the new XXXX does but slower, which I find stupid.

Some of the moves also feel too overkill, and practicality and sensibility are sacrificed for some odd concept of aesthetic appeal. A good example is that regular combo chain which has him teleporting all over the place. In NG2 the Falcon's Talons had a combo like that, but I was never a fan, and certainly not for the dragon sword. Shit like that really messes up my groove. I like to track my movement.

edit: The old YYY combo was also better, imo.

 

[TakedaZX]

Not a fan. I like XX->XY (because it's like DOA 214P) and the garland drop, but having it as XY(hold)Y does take away the old XY(hold)YYY.
I also miss the old XXXYY, and I'm reminded of that when I pop in WO3 of all things. Now XXXY just does some silly combo with another horizontal slash like the new XXXX does but slower, which I find stupid.

Some of the moves also feel too overkill, and practicality and sensibility are sacrificed for some odd concept of aesthetic appeal. A good example is that regular combo chain which has him teleporting all over the place. In NG2 the Falcon's Talons had a combo like that, but I was never a fan, and certainly not for the dragon sword. Shit like that really messes up my groove. I like to track my movement.

edit: The old YYY combo was also better, imo.

Yea... some of the stuff really does seem like overkill... though I do like the strings that do his flipping launcher that's like his powerblow in doa5. It's the closest thing to the x(hold y)yyy combo in this game which is cool I guess.

That reminds me. Was the YYY in NG2 any different than the one in NGΣ2? I saw this video of NG2 and I swear the 3rd slash was different... but I could be wrong.

 

[Brute]

Yea... some of the stuff really does seem like overkill... though I do like the strings that do his flipping launcher that's like his powerblow in doa5. It's the closest thing to the x(hold y)yyy combo in this game which is cool I guess.

That reminds me. Was the YYY in NG2 any different than the one in NGΣ2? I saw this video of NG2 and I swear the 3rd slash was different... but I could be wrong.

IIrc it's two sweeping horizontal slashes followed by a dual spin in both.

 

[TakedaZX]

Alright then it should be the same. In the video I saw it was the two sweeps then another horizantal slash. I'd imagine the only way that could be possible is if in NG2 at level 1 or level 2, that's how it functions.

 

[Russian-chiropractic19]

I love his new flash step attacks (note as a community can we please get together and figure out what to call these,we now have Ryu doing multiple teleport types and its getting confusing) anywho with the enemy gaurding so much I find it a godsend and I personally don't have trouble keeping track of it.

I personally prefer the Dabilhro over the Enma,it just felt heavy and powerful yes it was technically worse I suppose but there is just something about it that i love.it also gets points for looking like a demonic buster sword which I prefer over the Aztec looking Enma(which was pretty beast as well)

I love using the Kitestsu and I'm pissed out of the 3 4 fucking releases for the game we couldn't get a fucking new game+ so I could enjoy it fully.you have it in your hands for one level then it just becomes obselete once you get the TDS