Ninja Gaiden I, II, III (NES)

2007-03-22 10:45:24 pm

I'm a digital dreamer, baby.

Since I am new to the whole thing, I would probably start by doing a multiple sectioned NG3 run. That way I could really get used to repetition (although I play it enough as it is lol) and find new things before attempting the single segment. Sometimes Stage 7 has it out for you. ^ ^

I'm also thinking about doing a Castlevania SOTN run, and I'd really like to do an XBox Ninja Gaiden Black run, although I would have to do that one in stage segments (kinda like a Sonic type thing, I would love to see NGB have a speedrun board like that, or any of the NG's for NES)

What do you guys think? Think we could get enough (around 5 at least?) people to do NG-stage runs like Sonic? It has a timer as well so it would be easy to verify/compare.

I look forward to seeing the NG3 run when it finishes downloading (and congrats on the time, single segment is frustrating in NG games). That game really is a love/hate relationship. Smiley

Emptyeye

2007-03-22 10:45:32 pm

Talk to the Hand

I've gotta say, I don't see where 30-60 seconds of improvement is possible on NGIII (And holy hell did you deliver on Act 7...I can't believe I never thought of that!). Yeah, I saw little things--an extra hit on a boss here, a move through instead of around a barrier there--but not that much improvement.

stanski

Edit history:

stanski: 2007-03-22 11:20:19 pm

2007-03-22 11:19:51 pm

wise fwom yo gwave

Definately room for improvement in NG3. I honestly voted for it to be rejected, no offense to you frezy, but the run missed a lot of time savers:
1. Jump attacking. You hardly did this at all.
2. Jump-canceling. Jump after you attack, cancels the animation.
3. Useless power ups. A few spots where they do not help with speed at all.
4. Battles you didn't need to engage in. There were a bunch of times where i was going "why is he bothering to kill that enemy? Yes, enemies are really random in that game, but I know you can especially do the beginning of the game especially better.

However, I realize you wanted to get the run done so we have 3 ng runs, so eventually I sort of agreed that it was barely passable. Again, no offense to you frezy, but for a run this short, it definately has room for improvement.

Oh, and NG1 is my favorite of the bunch. That run was marvelous, great work Tmont!

mikwuyma

Edit history:

mikwuyma: 2007-03-22 11:26:03 pm

2007-03-22 11:25:11 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

What stanski means by useless power ups is when you collected the sword power up in stage 3. The sword power up doesn't actually make your attacks stronger, it only gives your sword a bigger hitbox.

Frezy_man

Edit history:

Frezy_man: 2007-03-22 11:46:25 pm

2007-03-22 11:43:15 pm

bläää

Jump attacking is very easy in NG1... Silly in NG3. At least what I felt.

Here a bad explanation. Even if I never really tried to calculated when I sayed 30-60 seconds...

1 seconds - 1-1 A - don´t have to wait for the enemie in the beginning. Some kind of enemie boost is possible.

3 seconds - 1-2 A - Use to do the first boss fight 2-4 seconds faster

2 seconds - 2-1 A - miss fire item and going back.

2 seconds - 2-1 A - Screw up another 2 seconds when got hit.

3+seconds - 2-3 A - Boss fight

6+seconds - 3-2 D - skip the sword upgrade. (boss can be faster too.)

2 seconds - 4-1 A - Got hit and such. My timing from the jump right before were bad and missed the dragon ball.

8 seconds - 4-2 A - The hole room can be done at least 5 seconds faster with one less hit taken. And you can use that energy in a few other spike passages later in the level. I guess you will save at least 8 seconds in total.

5 seconds - 4-2 c Can kill him before he goes down under the ground the first round you know.

3 seconds - 5-1 A - There is a few option passing this area at least 3 seconds faster.

3 seconds - 5-1 C - here too.

2 seconds - 5-2 A - There is a few option here too. I just played safe with an OK strategy.

4 seconds - 5-2 B - At least 4 seconds better is smooth.

4+seconds - 5-2 D - skip the life energy/filler thing. and mistakes.

4 seconds - 6-1 A - You can almoust run trough here without loosing speed. Its just very hard.

3 seconds - 6-1 C - Lots of small mistakes.

3 seconds - 7-1 A - You don´t have to stop or get hit here.

8 seconds - in the rest of the final level.

TOTAL: 64 seconds... But there is a lot more. I didn´t care for very small mistakes like less then a second, taking damage and such.

By the way Empteye. If you try the strategy I use in level 7. You will see... It looks easy Smiley

Jump attacking is very easy in NG1... Silly in NG3. At least what I felt.

Here a bad explanation. Even if I never really tried to calculated when I sayed 30-60 seconds...

1 seconds - 1-1 A - don´t have to wait for the enemie in the beginning. Some kind of enemie boost is possible.

3 seconds - 1-2 A - Use to do the first boss fight 2-4 seconds faster

2 seconds - 2-1 A - miss fire item and going back.

2 seconds - 2-1 A - Screw up another 2 seconds when got hit.

3+seconds - 2-3 A - Boss fight

6+seconds - 3-2 D - skip the sword upgrade. (boss can be faster too.)

2 seconds - 4-1 A - Got hit and such. My timing from the jump right before were bad and missed the dragon ball.

8 seconds - 4-2 A - The hole room can be done at least 5 seconds faster with one less hit taken. And you can use that energy in a few other spike passages later in the level. I guess you will save at least 8 seconds in total.

5 seconds - 4-2 c Can kill him before he goes down under the ground the first round you know.

3 seconds - 5-1 A - There is a few option passing this area at least 3 seconds faster.

3 seconds - 5-1 C - here too.

2 seconds - 5-2 A - There is a few option here too. I just played safe with an OK strategy.

4 seconds - 5-2 B - At least 4 seconds better is smooth.

4+seconds - 5-2 D - skip the life energy/filler thing. and mistakes.

4 seconds - 6-1 A - You can almoust run trough here without loosing speed. Its just very hard.

3 seconds - 6-1 C - Lots of small mistakes.

3 seconds - 7-1 A - You don´t have to stop or get hit here.

8 seconds - in the rest of the final level.

TOTAL: 64 seconds... But there is a lot more. I didn´t care for very small mistakes like less then a second, taking damage and such.

By the way Empteye. If you try the strategy I use in level 7. You will see... It looks easy :)

tmont

2007-03-23 01:18:17 am

Not going to school today

Congratulations to the other two guys; today was a happy day. And thanks to DJGrenola, nate and mikwuyma for making March 22 International Ninja Day.

Frezy_man: I probably should've waited a week or two before I wrote my comments for the run. I was still a little steamed. But I'm not particularly fond of Ninja Gaiden, for precisely the reasons I stated in my comments: it's like it was programmed to piss you off and hit on your sister.

I watched the other two runs, and was very impressed. Good job, guys!

Also, the mechanics of NGIII seem a little weird, like you jump real slow compared to the first two. Is that true, or was I hallucinating?

Oh, and spook, I'd love to hear your comments, if you can muster the courage to type them out again.

Shadow_Hado

2007-03-23 01:45:37 am

I'm a digital dreamer, baby.

There were some areas in the run I really liked, especially since I know how frustrating they can be or how it feels like you're really taking a risk irl or something trying some of them haha.

But as was stated before, and you have addressed many of them already, there were an excessive number of stops, waits, having ninpo and not using ANY of it (including bosses?!), and enemies/areas you didn't need to be/fight.

Low 14's are definitely possible, but I want to see someone sit down and do it in a single segment. ^ ^

Emptyeye

2007-03-23 01:55:17 am

Talk to the Hand

Quote:

Also, the mechanics of NGIII seem a little weird, like you jump real slow compared to the first two. Is that true, or was I hallucinating?

You're not hallucinating; Ryu is much more "floaty" in NGIII as compared to the first two.

Anyway, I also watched the NGII run. I'd never think to damage boost to skip sections, which is why I'll stick to stuff like Magic of Scheherazade. Smiley

Vugmer

2007-03-23 02:22:57 am

Cigar Man

Nice runs, guys. Having all three Ninja Gaidens released on the same day is pretty much the coolest thing ever. It'll be interesting to see if anyone beats our times in the near future.

Frezy_man

2007-03-23 07:31:01 am

bläää

Quote:

Low 14's are definitely possible, but I want to see someone sit down and do it in a single segment. ^ ^

Low 14? NG 3?

Enemie boos can´t be used in NG3. Take damage to save time is a an hard option compared too the first and second games. Simple, becasue Ryu can´t take very much damage in the third game.

Emptyeye

2007-03-23 12:36:30 pm

Talk to the Hand

Yeah, NGIII is really a whole different beast than the first two in terms of strategy, in part because Ryu suddenly grew frail between the second and third games, plus the different controls (Floatier jumps, and I think Ryu gets knocked around more when he does get hit, especially in the air).

Frezy_man

2007-03-23 12:49:06 pm

bläää

"knocked around more". The animation and move when you got hit is not very annoying compared to the first two games. But sometimes you fly very high and slooow. Down in the hole Smiley

Tmonts seconds last boss fight is probably the weakest part of his run. I will never say that your gaming were bad. If someone find another strategy so bring it on! The boss fight is very intresting. double hits is possible. what about three hits in one jump? A very difficult battle. I love the "down+B" glitch.

Also impressed over the usage of the shadows in Ninja gaiden 2. Its seems like you can handle them well. You sayed the final battle were improvable but for me it was one of the highlights...Good strategy.

Vugmer

Edit history:

Vugmer: 2007-03-24 08:49:18 pm

2007-03-23 03:43:17 pm

Cigar Man

Quote:

Also impressed over the usage of the shadows in Ninja gaiden 2. Its seems like you can handle them well. You sayed the final battle were improvable but for me it was one of the highlights...Good strategy.

My fire wheels missed the boss in 7-3 at least once. If I had hit the boss with every fire wheel, I would have killed him at least three seconds faster.

Also, someone not on this forum told me a faster strategy for defeating the boss in 7-5. He said that instead of ducking under the first hand I should have jumped over it and started slashing the head immediately. He said that the head can be destroyed before the boss's second hand shoots out. I haven't tried this strategy yet, but it seems like it would work.

Edit: I just tried this strategy, and it definitely works. It saves about four seconds.

spook

Edit history:

spook: 2007-03-23 04:08:18 pm

2007-03-23 03:59:19 pm

Yes, a ninja riding a tiger.

Quote:

Oh, and spook, I'd love to hear your comments, if you can muster the courage to type them out again.

K I'll bite. Work is boring, anyways. My review:
1-1 - I thought this was great. I go about the first three enemies a bit differently but I 'm sure it doesn't cut any time at all since I barely get 119's like you can.
2-1 - You can jump over the guy on screen 2 (the one that hits you...) and grab the item if you jump from the ledge. I dunno if you tried to and just slipped or what...I tend to always hit reset whenever I get a screwup like that. You can also jump over the guy with the dog at the end...no need to waste a weapon.
2-2 - Really good. Does the end hit really boost you towards the end? I tend to just jump when that guy gets close enough...hard to tell. Ever kill the 2-3 boss in one attack? It's kind of weird to get down since you have to practically be inside of him when executing the hurricane...but it's possible and saves a second. Eh.
3-1 - Perfect.
3-2 - Pretty damn good...I know how you like to be cautious at the end, but I always do the "leap of faith" off of the very end of the ledge and always make it...once you get it down you'll know when to jump. You'll take a hit and all, but you'll go forwards and not backwards. I think I always get around 118 because of it.
Great boss fight at 3-3. It used to be my big "slow down" portion so I do need to perfect that 3-1 weapon grab.
4-1 - The jungle was so fun to figure out. You do a lot that I do, but instead of dropping down below the bat I actually take another "leap of faith" and boost on the upper ledge from it. Probably saves a second since you don't have to wall climb and all. It's extremely trickier than the 3-2 jump, though, so it takes some perfect timing to get down.
4-2 - Hmm...the mine shaft seems to be one of your rougher sections, especially when you grab the shuriken. I always keep the hurricane slash and take some time to grab items so that I can blaze through that long stretch with the dropping ninjas and the birds. Just keep running. Think I can get around 118/high 117 as a result.
4-3 - I never like this section, but you handle it pretty well. I go about the statue/jump kicker combo at the top a bit differently...and I sometimes get lucky with a damage boost from the hatchet man to the ladder but that's just luck...so there's no real time improvements that could be incorporated. Of course those stupid jump kickers always get in the way...other than that it's a good run.
5-1 - The cave...that one part where you get hit...yeah I always get hit there, too. As a side note, I hate how the projectile throwers in this game are so random, and that part is certainly a point where you just hope that he won't throw anything. It's a really rough part...
5-2 - That beginning part gets me sometimes, as well. When you jump up to the ledge you could try and hit the guy on there...usually works. Kinda wastes time when you're waiting for him. The guy on the next ledge up I always throw a weapon at. Might as well. But I notice that you're saving up a lot of weapon power...screen 2's ladder thing is always rough...stupid bird...great usage of the jump kicker on screen 4...never thought of that one...
5-3 - Good stuff. Like I said before, you probably took a bit too much caution in saving up weapon power, since you end up having 10 left when you kill the boss...so you could probably take less stops along the way...
6-1 - I love this stage because I have it down to a science. But if you mess up once it kind of throws the whole pattern off. It hurts to see you get hit twice, but at least the birds weren't any part of it...
I honestly get rocked at these last 2 stages, and since they are the big "make or break" sections of the game, my time suffers for it. Anyway...
6-2 - Screen 1 is always tricky, but your method works well enough. I do some small differences but nothing big. Screen 2 is interesting...Is wall climbing really faster at first? And I always drop down and get hit by the bird...I know it's insane and all but I find it faster...maybe it's not. I always wish there was a way to jump those 2 statues...and can you always nail that ladder jump to the very top? I rarely ever get it...
6-3 - Not much to say other than you should have tried to grab at least one more item at the first "hourglass" section....I think there's a +10 by the end before the ladder...it would obviously save you a bit when striving to reach the very end...
Not much to say on the final fights...it's always rough for me, as well...my Jacquio time is 115 on my tape...I think I got lucky, but I know I can narrow it down a bit. I stay on the right wall the whole time and get those 2-3 slashes almost every time...oh if only they let you keep the weapon from the Masked Devil fight...
Yea I guess that's it. I also wouldave liked more from the comments section other than "this game is hard so don't even try and play it". At least you explain the jump slash trick...
Sorry if it all comes off as critical. I really did enjoy your run, and I absolutely know how frustrating running this can become (I lost my good controller because of it, actually...), so kudos.

[quote]Oh, and spook, I'd love to hear your comments, if you can muster the courage to type them out again.[/quote]
K I'll bite.  Work is boring, anyways.  My review:
1-1 - I thought this was great.  I go about the first three enemies a bit differently but I 'm sure it doesn't cut any time at all since I barely get 119's like you can.
2-1 - You can jump over the guy on screen 2 (the one that hits you...) and grab the item if you jump from the ledge.  I dunno if you tried to and just slipped or what...I tend to always hit reset whenever I get a screwup like that.  You can also jump over the guy with the dog at the end...no need to waste a weapon.
2-2 - Really good.  Does the end hit really boost you towards the end?  I tend to just jump when that guy gets close enough...hard to tell.  Ever kill the 2-3 boss in one attack?  It's kind of weird to get down since you have to practically be inside of him when executing the hurricane...but it's possible and saves a second.  Eh.
3-1 - Perfect.
3-2 - Pretty damn good...I know how you like to be cautious at the end, but I always do the "leap of faith" off of the very end of the ledge and always make it...once you get it down you'll know when to jump.  You'll take a hit and all, but you'll go forwards and not backwards.  I think I always get around 118 because of it.
Great boss fight at 3-3.  It used to be my big "slow down" portion so I do need to perfect that 3-1 weapon grab.
4-1 - The jungle was so fun to figure out.  You do a lot that I do, but instead of dropping down below the bat I actually take another "leap of faith" and boost on the upper ledge from it.  Probably saves a second since you don't have to wall climb and all.  It's extremely trickier than the 3-2 jump, though, so it takes some perfect timing to get down.
4-2 - Hmm...the mine shaft seems to be one of your rougher sections, especially when you grab the shuriken.  I always keep the hurricane slash and take some time to grab items so that I can blaze through that long stretch with the dropping ninjas and the birds.  Just keep running.  Think I can get around 118/high 117 as a result.
4-3 - I never like this section, but you handle it pretty well.  I go about the statue/jump kicker combo at the top a bit differently...and I sometimes get lucky with a damage boost from the hatchet man to the ladder but that's just luck...so there's no real time improvements that could be incorporated.   Of course those stupid jump kickers always get in the way...other than that it's a good run.
5-1 - The cave...that one part where you get hit...yeah I always get hit there, too.  As a side note, I hate how the projectile throwers in this game are so random, and that part is certainly a point where you just hope that he won't throw anything.  It's a really rough part...
5-2 - That beginning part gets me sometimes, as well.  When you jump up to the ledge you could try and hit the guy on there...usually works.  Kinda wastes time when you're waiting for him.  The guy on the next ledge up I always throw a weapon at.  Might as well.  But I notice that you're saving up a lot of weapon power...screen 2's ladder thing is always rough...stupid bird...great usage of the jump kicker on screen 4...never thought of that one...
5-3 - Good stuff.  Like I said before, you probably took a bit too much caution in saving up weapon power, since you end up having 10 left when you kill the boss...so you could probably take less stops along the way...
6-1 - I love this stage because I have it down to a science.  But if you mess up once it kind of throws the whole pattern off.  It hurts to see you get hit twice, but at least the birds weren't any part of it...
I honestly get rocked at these last 2 stages, and since they are the big "make or break" sections of the game, my time suffers for it.  Anyway...
6-2 - Screen 1 is always tricky, but your method works well enough.  I do some small differences but nothing big.  Screen 2 is interesting...Is wall climbing really faster at first?  And I always drop down and get hit by the bird...I know it's insane and all but I find it faster...maybe it's not.  I always wish there was a way to jump those 2 statues...and can you always nail that ladder jump to the very top?  I rarely ever get it...
6-3 - Not much to say other than you should have tried to grab at least one more item at the first "hourglass" section....I think there's a +10 by the end before the ladder...it would obviously save you a bit when striving to reach the very end...
Not much to say on the final fights...it's always rough for me, as well...my Jacquio time is 115 on my tape...I think I got lucky, but I know I can narrow it down a bit.  I stay on the right wall the whole time and get those 2-3 slashes almost every time...oh if only they let you keep the weapon from the Masked Devil fight...
Yea I guess that's it.  I also wouldave liked more from the comments section other than "this game is hard so don't even try and play it".  At least you explain the jump slash trick...
Sorry if it all comes off as critical.  I really did enjoy your run, and I absolutely know how frustrating running this can become (I lost my good controller because of it, actually...), so kudos.

Frezy_man

2007-03-23 04:11:37 pm

bläää

spook: nice comments

vgmrsepitome: intresting strategy in the final boss fight. I were thinking about something similar. But your strategy were great to. Even if it was not the fastest for a speedrun.

tmont

2007-03-23 08:32:56 pm

Not going to school today

Quote:

1-1 - I thought this was great. I go about the first three enemies a bit differently but I 'm sure it doesn't cut any time at all since I barely get 119's like you can.

Yeah, it's possible to get by the first three enemies without stopping, but it's easier to do a slight midair stop like I did. You can't get faster than 119 anyway, and it only saves like 1/4 of a second if that, and it's much easier.

Quote:

2-1 - You can jump over the guy on screen 2 (the one that hits you...) and grab the item if you jump from the ledge. I dunno if you tried to and just slipped or what...I tend to always hit reset whenever I get a screwup like that. You can also jump over the guy with the dog at the end...no need to waste a weapon.

Yeah, I screwed up the jump and that guy where I got hit. I preferred to play it safe and use the swirly slash on the guy and the dog at the end. I tend to screw up my jumps a lot, so if I had extra weapons, I generally used them, even if it wasn't completely necessary.

Quote:

2-2 - Really good. Does the end hit really boost you towards the end? I tend to just jump when that guy gets close enough...hard to tell. Ever kill the 2-3 boss in one attack? It's kind of weird to get down since you have to practically be inside of him when executing the hurricane...but it's possible and saves a second. Eh.

The boost at the end doesn't help. Jumping won't help you avoid him, unless you're really close to the door. I needed to use the swirly slash twice on the boss, so I couldn't use that on the enemy. Scumtron (the guy who did the tool-assisted run) said the same thing, I think. I didn't think the 1/2 second it would save would be worth the trouble.

Quote:

3-1 - Perfect.

Yep. I screwed up that ninja star throw so many times...

Quote:

3-2 - Pretty damn good...I know how you like to be cautious at the end, but I always do the "leap of faith" off of the very end of the ledge and always make it...once you get it down you'll know when to jump. You'll take a hit and all, but you'll go forwards and not backwards. I think I always get around 118 because of it.

That jump at the end was death for me. I could never get it down. And if you miss, you're absolutely screwed, because you'll either die, or get stuck on the ledge, and the bird will have his way with you. I know it looks corny and lame, but it saved my sanity.

Quote:

Great boss fight at 3-3. It used to be my big "slow down" portion so I do need to perfect that 3-1 weapon grab.

Yeah, rdrunner helped me out with the strategy on that one. My best time there is 145 (I got 144 on this run), and I missed him a couple times. You have to time your shots perfect so all four fireballs or whatever hit him. That way you can also shoot faster.

Quote:

4-1 - The jungle was so fun to figure out. You do a lot that I do, but instead of dropping down below the bat I actually take another "leap of faith" and boost on the upper ledge from it. Probably saves a second since you don't have to wall climb and all. It's extremely trickier than the 3-2 jump, though, so it takes some perfect timing to get down.

Yeah, I considered that damage boost, but I kept getting rocked the wrong way, so I decided to just climb up the wall. Again, saved my sanity.

Quote:

4-2 - Hmm...the mine shaft seems to be one of your rougher sections, especially when you grab the shuriken. I always keep the hurricane slash and take some time to grab items so that I can blaze through that long stretch with the dropping ninjas and the birds. Just keep running. Think I can get around 118/high 117 as a result.

This level is usually pretty easy for me. I just screwed up and missed that one bird when I jumped over it. On every other run, I hit it as I land, and just keep running. Unfortunately, I missed it, so then I had to wait, and the ninja caught up to me, and everything went to hell. Luckily, it only costs me two seconds or so. I usually get 117-118 on that level, too (there's a table of all my best times a few pages back).

Quote:

4-3 - I never like this section, but you handle it pretty well. I go about the statue/jump kicker combo at the top a bit differently...and I sometimes get lucky with a damage boost from the hatchet man to the ladder but that's just luck...so there's no real time improvements that could be incorporated. Of course those stupid jump kickers always get in the way...other than that it's a good run.

I screwed up on this level, too. I've done it a few seconds faster before. Weirdly, this was generally my worst level for all my runs.

(cont'd because of length)

[quote]1-1 - I thought this was great.  I go about the first three enemies a bit differently but I 'm sure it doesn't cut any time at all since I barely get 119's like you can.[/quote]
Yeah, it's possible to get by the first three enemies without stopping, but it's easier to do a slight midair stop like I did.  You can't get faster than 119 anyway, and it only saves like 1/4 of a second if that, and it's much easier.

[quote]2-1 - You can jump over the guy on screen 2 (the one that hits you...) and grab the item if you jump from the ledge.  I dunno if you tried to and just slipped or what...I tend to always hit reset whenever I get a screwup like that.  You can also jump over the guy with the dog at the end...no need to waste a weapon.[/quote]
Yeah, I screwed up the jump and that guy where I got hit.  I preferred to play it safe and use the swirly slash on the guy and the dog at the end.  I tend to screw up my jumps a lot, so if I had extra weapons, I generally used them, even if it wasn't completely necessary.
[quote]2-2 - Really good.  Does the end hit really boost you towards the end?  I tend to just jump when that guy gets close enough...hard to tell.  Ever kill the 2-3 boss in one attack?  It's kind of weird to get down since you have to practically be inside of him when executing the hurricane...but it's possible and saves a second.  Eh.[/quote]
The boost at the end doesn't help.  Jumping won't help you avoid him, unless you're really close to the door.  I needed to use the swirly slash twice on the boss, so I couldn't use that on the enemy.  Scumtron (the guy who did the tool-assisted run) said the same thing, I think.  I didn't think the 1/2 second it would save would be worth the trouble.
[quote]3-1 - Perfect.[/quote]
Yep.  I screwed up that ninja star throw so many times...
[quote]3-2 - Pretty damn good...I know how you like to be cautious at the end, but I always do the "leap of faith" off of the very end of the ledge and always make it...once you get it down you'll know when to jump.  You'll take a hit and all, but you'll go forwards and not backwards.  I think I always get around 118 because of it.[/quote]
That jump at the end was death for me.  I could never get it down.  And if you miss, you're absolutely screwed, because you'll either die, or get stuck on the ledge, and the bird will have his way with you.  I know it looks corny and lame, but it saved my sanity.
[quote]Great boss fight at 3-3.  It used to be my big "slow down" portion so I do need to perfect that 3-1 weapon grab.[/quote]
Yeah, rdrunner helped me out with the strategy on that one.  My best time there is 145 (I got 144 on this run), and I missed him a couple times.  You have to time your shots perfect so all four fireballs or whatever hit him.  That way you can also shoot faster.
[quote]4-1 - The jungle was so fun to figure out.  You do a lot that I do, but instead of dropping down below the bat I actually take another "leap of faith" and boost on the upper ledge from it.  Probably saves a second since you don't have to wall climb and all.  It's extremely trickier than the 3-2 jump, though, so it takes some perfect timing to get down.[/quote]
Yeah, I considered that damage boost, but I kept getting rocked the wrong way, so I decided to just climb up the wall.  Again, saved my sanity.
[quote]4-2 - Hmm...the mine shaft seems to be one of your rougher sections, especially when you grab the shuriken.  I always keep the hurricane slash and take some time to grab items so that I can blaze through that long stretch with the dropping ninjas and the birds.  Just keep running.  Think I can get around 118/high 117 as a result.[/quote]
This level is usually pretty easy for me.  I just screwed up and missed that one bird when I jumped over it.  On every other run, I hit it as I land, and just keep running.  Unfortunately, I missed it, so then I had to wait, and the ninja caught up to me, and everything went to hell.  Luckily, it only costs me two seconds or so.  I usually get 117-118 on that level, too (there's a table of all my best times a few pages back).
[quote]4-3 - I never like this section, but you handle it pretty well.  I go about the statue/jump kicker combo at the top a bit differently...and I sometimes get lucky with a damage boost from the hatchet man to the ladder but that's just luck...so there's no real time improvements that could be incorporated.   Of course those stupid jump kickers always get in the way...other than that it's a good run.[/quote]
I screwed up on this level, too.  I've done it a few seconds faster before.  Weirdly, this was generally my worst level for all my runs.

(cont'd because of length)

tmont

Edit history:

tmont: 2007-03-24 02:38:34 am

2007-03-23 08:33:12 pm

Not going to school today

Quote:

5-1 - The cave...that one part where you get hit...yeah I always get hit there, too. As a side note, I hate how the projectile throwers in this game are so random, and that part is certainly a point where you just hope that he won't throw anything. It's a really rough part...

This level and 6-1 are probably the easiest levels in the game, and I screwed them both up. I don't know what was wrong with me. It's like I suddenly forgot which buttons to press. It pissed me off when I watched this again, because I could generally do that level with my eyes closed.

Quote:

5-2 - That beginning part gets me sometimes, as well. When you jump up to the ledge you could try and hit the guy on there...usually works. Kinda wastes time when you're waiting for him. The guy on the next ledge up I always throw a weapon at. Might as well. But I notice that you're saving up a lot of weapon power...screen 2's ladder thing is always rough...stupid bird...great usage of the jump kicker on screen 4...never thought of that one...

On that first ledge, I decided to always wait for that guy to move for the same reasons I wait for that guy on 3-2. For some reason, I always had trouble making that first screen look smooth. I like to have a lot of extra swirly slashes in case I screw up something and I'm low on health, which happened a lot on level 5 because there's so many birds that I intentionally get hit by.

Quote:

5-3 - Good stuff. Like I said before, you probably took a bit too much caution in saving up weapon power, since you end up having 10 left when you kill the boss...so you could probably take less stops along the way...

Yeah, I had extra power, up oh well. Sometimes it's nice to have extra. I think this was actually the fastest I had ever completed 5-3.

Quote:

6-1 - I love this stage because I have it down to a science. But if you mess up once it kind of throws the whole pattern off. It hurts to see you get hit twice, but at least the birds weren't any part of it...
I honestly get rocked at these last 2 stages, and since they are the big "make or break" sections of the game, my time suffers for it. Anyway...

Yeah, I was so pissed that I screwed up the rhythm, because this level is so money if you can do it right. When I first played this level, I got so thrashed I'd die before the level was half over. Seeing it done perfectly is like a work of art, and I screwed it all up. I usually get 130 (instead of 127) on that level, and it looks so fine.

Quote:

6-2 - Screen 1 is always tricky, but your method works well enough. I do some small differences but nothing big. Screen 2 is interesting...Is wall climbing really faster at first? And I always drop down and get hit by the bird...I know it's insane and all but I find it faster...maybe it's not. I always wish there was a way to jump those 2 statues...and can you always nail that ladder jump to the very top? I rarely ever get it...

This level took a lot of time to get down, particuraly the first screen. Wall climbing I believe is faster, you just have to move slightly to the right so that the screen will scroll. The ladder at the end requires a fairly perfect jump; just jump and mash left and hope for the best. If you miss, it's not that big of a deal, it just wastes about 2 seconds while you kill that dude and climb the wall. I did miss that jump on occasion.

Quote:

6-3 - Not much to say other than you should have tried to grab at least one more item at the first "hourglass" section....I think there's a +10 by the end before the ladder...it would obviously save you a bit when striving to reach the very end...

Yeah, I totally screwed up the hourglass part. I don't usually get either the +5 or the +10 that's hovering over the giant pit because I always jacked up the jump if I wasn't concentrating. But I did screw up getting the hourglass, so the green ninja froze in the wrong place, which caused me to miss the +5 that I usually get. Luckily, it didn't really mess anything up. This was also the fastest I've ever completed that level (100).

Quote:

Not much to say on the final fights...it's always rough for me, as well...my Jacquio time is 115 on my tape...I think I got lucky, but I know I can narrow it down a bit. I stay on the right wall the whole time and get those 2-3 slashes almost every time...oh if only they let you keep the weapon from the Masked Devil fight...

Yeah, Jaquio went crappy. I've beaten him in 116 before, and I think it's possible to get it down to 125-130. I really jacked up all the double and triple hits. It's painful to watch. The same with the last boss, although I only last a second or two instead of 10.

Quote:

I also wouldave liked more from the comments section other than "this game is hard so don't even try and play it". At least you explain the jump slash trick...

Well, I don't really like this game, but no one who had already done a run would send their damn run in, and that kind of pissed me off. I didn't really have a good time running this game, and I don't really care for it anyway, so I didn't really have anything nice to say. And I wrote the comments shortly after completing the run, so I was still a little steamed (towards the end of my attempts I was really getting angry).

Anyway, thank you very much for the comments; I hope you keep trying to beat my time. I think somewhere around 13:10-13:15 is possible, if you can beat down on Jaquio fast eough.

[quote]5-1 - The cave...that one part where you get hit...yeah I always get hit there, too.  As a side note, I hate how the projectile throwers in this game are so random, and that part is certainly a point where you just hope that he won't throw anything.  It's a really rough part...[/quote]
This level and 6-1 are probably the easiest levels in the game, and I screwed them both up.  I don't know what was wrong with me.  It's like I suddenly forgot which buttons to press.  It pissed me off when I watched this again, because I could generally do that level with my eyes closed.
[quote]5-2 - That beginning part gets me sometimes, as well.  When you jump up to the ledge you could try and hit the guy on there...usually works.  Kinda wastes time when you're waiting for him.  The guy on the next ledge up I always throw a weapon at.  Might as well.  But I notice that you're saving up a lot of weapon power...screen 2's ladder thing is always rough...stupid bird...great usage of the jump kicker on screen 4...never thought of that one...[/quote]
On that first ledge, I decided to always wait for that guy to move for the same reasons I wait for that guy on 3-2.  For some reason, I always had trouble making that first screen look smooth.  I like to have a lot of extra swirly slashes in case I screw up something and I'm low on health, which happened a lot on level 5 because there's so many birds that I intentionally get hit by.
[quote]5-3 - Good stuff.  Like I said before, you probably took a bit too much caution in saving up weapon power, since you end up having 10 left when you kill the boss...so you could probably take less stops along the way...[/quote]
Yeah, I had extra power, up oh well.  Sometimes it's nice to have extra.  I think this was actually the fastest I had ever completed 5-3.
[quote]6-1 - I love this stage because I have it down to a science.  But if you mess up once it kind of throws the whole pattern off.  It hurts to see you get hit twice, but at least the birds weren't any part of it...
I honestly get rocked at these last 2 stages, and since they are the big "make or break" sections of the game, my time suffers for it.  Anyway...[/quote]
Yeah, I was so pissed that I screwed up the rhythm, because this level is so money if you can do it right.  When I first played this level, I got so thrashed I'd die before the level was half over.  Seeing it done perfectly is like a work of art, and I screwed it all up.  I usually get 130 (instead of 127) on that level, and it looks so fine.
[quote]6-2 - Screen 1 is always tricky, but your method works well enough.  I do some small differences but nothing big.  Screen 2 is interesting...Is wall climbing really faster at first?  And I always drop down and get hit by the bird...I know it's insane and all but I find it faster...maybe it's not.  I always wish there was a way to jump those 2 statues...and can you always nail that ladder jump to the very top?  I rarely ever get it...[/quote]
This level took a lot of time to get down, particuraly the first screen. Wall climbing I believe is faster, you just have to move slightly to the right so that the screen will scroll.  The ladder at the end requires a fairly perfect jump; just jump and mash left and hope for the best.  If you miss, it's not that big of a deal, it just wastes about 2 seconds while you kill that dude and climb the wall.  I did miss that jump on occasion.
[quote]6-3 - Not much to say other than you should have tried to grab at least one more item at the first "hourglass" section....I think there's a +10 by the end before the ladder...it would obviously save you a bit when striving to reach the very end...[/quote]
Yeah, I totally screwed up the hourglass part.  I don't usually get either the +5 or the +10 that's hovering over the giant pit because I always jacked up the jump if I wasn't concentrating.  But I did screw up getting the hourglass, so the green ninja froze in the wrong place, which caused me to miss the +5 that I usually get.  Luckily, it didn't really mess anything up.  This was also the fastest I've ever completed that level (100).
[quote]Not much to say on the final fights...it's always rough for me, as well...my Jacquio time is 115 on my tape...I think I got lucky, but I know I can narrow it down a bit.  I stay on the right wall the whole time and get those 2-3 slashes almost every time...oh if only they let you keep the weapon from the Masked Devil fight...[/quote]
Yeah, Jaquio went crappy.  I've beaten him in 116 before, and I think it's possible to get it down to 125-130.  I really jacked up all the double and triple hits.  It's painful to watch.  The same with the last boss, although I only last a second or two instead of 10.
[quote]I also wouldave liked more from the comments section other than "this game is hard so don't even try and play it".  At least you explain the jump slash trick...[/quote]
Well, I don't really like this game, but no one who had already done a run would send their damn run in, and that kind of pissed me off.  I didn't really have a good time running this game, and I don't really care for it anyway, so I didn't really have anything nice to say.  And I wrote the comments shortly after completing the run, so I was still a little steamed (towards the end of my attempts I was really getting angry).

Anyway, thank you very much for the comments; I hope you keep trying to beat my time.  I think somewhere around 13:10-13:15 is possible, if you can beat down on Jaquio fast eough.

rdrunner

2007-03-23 09:30:08 pm

Quote:

Well, I don't really like this game, but no one who had already done a run would send their damn run in, and that kind of pissed me off.

Guilty.

Actually, until recently when tmont asked me for help, I forgot that I even had my NG1 run on tape still. Roll Eyes

Glad to see I was at least able to help out.

I haven't downloaded these runs yet, but I'll try to watch them soon. Can't wait!

spook

Edit history:

spook: 2007-03-24 03:45:16 pm

2007-03-24 02:05:53 am

Yes, a ninja riding a tiger.

And I'm guilty as well! Tongue

I was happy to have a no death run, but I honestly couldn't live with myself if I had turned it in...like you had said, t, you can do better, and I feel the same about myself.
Anyways thanks for the response/answers!

Breakdown

2007-03-24 08:12:17 am

Haters gonna hate

Just got done watching the NG1 run; great job job tmont! All in all a very well put together run of the game. A few mistakes here and there, but you'll have that, especially in a game this aggravating. The only real spot where I saw a decent chunk of improvement possible was the Jacquio fight, but even still you killed him faster without a special than I ever had by a wide margin. Lot's of good "ohh" and "ahh" moments throughout. Good work sir!

I haven't played the other two games, but I'm sure they're quality as well, and it's great to see this series finally well represented on the site. Good job all!

Vugmer

2007-03-24 01:05:13 pm

Cigar Man

I just watched the Ninja Gaiden I run for the second time and was even MORE impressed this time.

Frezy_man

2007-03-26 07:13:27 am

bläää

I have seen all these runs at least 5 times each. I love this. Again... Thanks Tmont and thanks vgmrsepitome, Tommy and Jim Smiley

Vugmer

2007-03-26 09:15:15 am

Cigar Man

I've become obsessed with Ninja Gaiden II. I'm currently revising my run. So far, I've figured out how to improve my time by about 32 seconds. The most significant improvements will probably occur during stage 5-2 and during the battle with the final boss.

If anyone knows of any ways to improve the time of my Ninja Gaiden II run, please let me know.

Frezy_man

2007-03-26 01:09:12 pm

bläää

No big time savers... Maybe some of this can be of some use.

When you climb down from the screen to get to a new screen/area. Jump down on the wall a bit. Too much would be very risky

Somewhere when you jump down in a hole to reach the next area there is spikes on the wall. I know it looks cool. But hang on the spikes is not faster Tongue

The boss in 5-3. You should be able to hit him right before he teleport. (in the beginning)

Well. Not much of time savers. Good luck!

Arctic_Eagle

Edit history:

Arctic_Eagle: 2007-03-26 06:55:41 pm

2007-03-26 04:22:58 pm

I was very impressed with your NG speed run tmont! You could probably have shaved off a few seconds on e.g. the Jaquio-fight if you had played NG for one more week, but I understand, sanity comes first.

After watching your run, I managed a 26.15 run, but I have no chance with Jaquio without a special-weapon yet. I take your good advice and stop the NG madness, other games are waiting.

I noticed some of the enemies (all?) were running faster compared to Ryu on the NTSC than PAL. The sidescroller is probably adjusted on the european version, and I managed a 121 on level 1-1 (included having enough 'jump'n slash' for the 1-2 boss), though I did more mistakes than you did in your speed run on 1-1, getting 119. So 121 on level 1-1 PAL-B is definitely slower than 119 on NTSC.