Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

About Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (1990) is Tecmo's NES sequel in which Ryu Hayabusa climbs walls, clones himself and fights the emperor Ashtar to stop him opening the Gate of Darkness.

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos in Depth

A year after the first game, Ashtar, the evil lord who controlled Jaquio, plans to rule Earth by opening the Gate of Darkness with the Dark Sword of Chaos. US Army agent Robert T. Sturgeon recruits Ryu Hayabusa and tells him Irene Lew has been taken to the Tower of Lahja. Ryu rides a freight train, climbs the mountain and reaches Irene, only for Ashtar to escape with her into the Maze of Darkness and the World of Chaos. Ryu defeats Ashtar, but the sword vanishes, Irene is captured again, Robert is mortally wounded holding off demons, and Ryu must reach the altar before the Gate opens.

As before, Ryu fights through platforming Acts against a timer, leaping onto walls and ladders, but he can now climb up and down walls and use Power Boosting Items while clinging to them. Besides his Dragon Sword he can use ninja power for shuriken, boomerang-like Windmill Throwing Stars, fireballs aimed upward or downward, or the Invincible Fire Wheel, a ring of fireballs that destroys anything it touches. Crystal balls hold ninja power, score bottles, medicine, scrolls that raise maximum ninja power, and 1-ups. The big addition is an orange ninja symbol that lets Ryu "split his body": shadow clones follow him and copy every move, and can be positioned to take down enemies and bosses more easily. Each Act ends with a boss.

Making Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Tecmo developed and published it as the second of the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy, releasing it in Japan on 6 April 1990 and in North America that May. Electronic Gaming Monthly previewed it from late 1989, noting its "explosive story", and Nintendo Power awarded four stars at the Winter 1990 CES for its cinema scenes and challenge. Reviewers found its visuals, controls and cut-scenes improved while keeping the high difficulty, though the plot was called more generic; EGM's Ed Semrad called it one of the best sequels ever released. One later reviewer called it "a challenging experience the likes of which gamers in the 8-bit era lived and died for". Ninja Gaiden III followed in 1991.