Shadow Warriors 2 is what a gamer should expect from a ninja themed game back in the 90's. It's packed full of action, the difficulty is above average and it's super addictive.
In Europe this game hit the selves very late, around October 1994, in contrast with the US and Japan version that came out in 1990. But that only made the PAL version more collectible, as it came out near the end of the NES era.
The events in Shadow Warriors 2 take place one year after the first Ninja Gaiden game. It is about an evil emperor named Ashtar who, after hearing of Jaquio's defeat, devises a plan to take over the world and engulf it in darkness through an evil sword called the Dark Sword of Chaos. A U.S. Army agent named Robert T. Sturgeon recruits the game's main protagonist Ryu Hayabusa and tells him that he is the only person who can stop him.
The game features high detail cut-scenes (Tecmo called them "Cinema Display System") and nice visuals, so in the graphics department get ready for some 8-bit eye candy. The sound also works great with the gameplay, giving its level its unique background.
In gameplay terms, the game is a side-scroller. The player controls Ryu Hayabusa through a series of levels called "Acts". Players have the ability to jump and latch on and off walls and ladders. Two new abilities that Ryu can do in Shadow Warriors II are climbing up and down walls and attacking with Power Boosting Items while on walls and ladders. The Power Boosting Items are found through the levels and when used they consume Ryu's ninja power (like a magic meter).
Personally, Shadow Warriors 2 was my virgin experience with Ninja Gaiden series and I think it's the best of the whole trilogy. It was rated 49 out of 100 on Nintendo Power's 100th issue in September 1997, on its "100 Best Games of All Time" list.
Conclusion: One of the must-haves on every collection. Get two copies, one with box and manual for your collection and one cartridge only so you can enjoy this awesome game without ruining the box by opening and closing it all the time. You can get it on eBay for about 60$ full or cart only for about 15$. It's rated C- (Borderline Common) on the NES rarity list, but the PAL Version is not listed.
-NESCat
 |
| The train level in awesome |
 |
| Title screen |
 |
| The red spheres contain Power Items for Ryu to use |
 |
| One of the bosses in the game |
 |
| The cut-scenes are an 8-bit wonder |
It looks like someone has gotten Ninja Gaiden identified incorrectly as Shadow Warriors 2. Whoever did the story should have more clearly explained if this was just the same game with a different name so that way there would be no misunderstanding.
ReplyDelete