Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

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Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Developer(s)	Tecmo
Publisher(s)	Tecmo
Designer(s)	S. Sakurazaki
Release date(s)	^JPN April 6, 1990 ^NA May 1990 ^EUR October 27, 1994
Genre(s)	Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	NES, DOS
Media	Cartridge, Floppy disk

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos is the second installment in the Ninja Gaiden trilogy for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

1 Story
2 Chaos Tribesmen
3 Gameplay
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

This game takes place one year after the events of the original game. Jaquio's master, Emperor Ashtar, makes his appearance, seemingly having expected Jaquio to fail. Although Ashtar's master plan involves goading Ryu Hayabusa, through the use of Irene Lew, along with the Chaos Tribesmen, the reason is unclear at first.

Soon after Ashtar begins to put things in motion, Ryu is jumped by a mysterious group while spending time in the city, led by an inhuman monster named Dando. After dispatching them, he meets with U.S. Intelligence agent Robert T.S., who informs him that Ashtar has taken Irene Lew to his stronghold, the Tower of Lahja. On his way to find the tower, Ryu comes across another of Ashtar's followers, the bizarre Baron Spider. After defeating Spider, Ryu reaches the tower, and when he reaches its apex, he is ambushed by Ashtar's cybernetic monster, Funky Dynamite. After defeating Dynamite, Ashtar reveals himself to Ryu after using Irene to taunt him. Demonstrating his superior power over his subordinate, Ashtar attacks Ryu, and in doing so, paralyzes the Dragon Ninja. Before Ashtar can deliver the final blow, Robert arrives, shooting Ashtar in the back. While the shots do nothing to the Emperor of Darkness, Ashtar decides to provoke Ryu further by running off with Irene, goading him to follow him.

After the incident, Robert reveals his identity to Ryu, and tells Ryu what he knows of the nature of Ashtar's weapon, the Sword of Chaos. According to Robert, it is a powerful, demonic weapon grown from the bone of the Demon (similar to how Ryu's Dragon Sword was forged from the tooth of a dragon, giving the two swords a yin-yang-like relationship). Ryu pursues Ashtar through fiery caverns, rivers lined in bone, dungeon-like labrynths, and fields of ice. Along the way, he faces against the fossilized creature, Naga Sotuva, and is continually mocked by Ashtar. Finally, Ryu reaches Ashtar's warped, skeletal shrine, where Ashtar makes a final, grand guesture to taunt Ryu; he stabs Irene in the back, laughing as her blood drips from the sword's blade. Robert appears, and attempts to intervene, but is quickly dispatched by the dark emperor. Ashtar's true intentions are finally coming to light; his sword feeds on chaos and hatred, and he plans to power it up enough, and use it to open the gates to the Realm of Chaos, releasing the demonic hordes that reside within, and swallowing the world into eternal darkness. Ryu and Ashtar clash, and after an exhausting battle, Ashtar falls. Ashtar takes his defeat in stride, however, knowing the sword is ready to open the gate, and sends it away. Irene, struggling from her wounds, tells Ryu of an altar she apparently heard about under Ashtar's capture. Believing that Ashtar sent the sword there, she urges him to hurry and stop the ritual. Ryu leaves Irene to Robert's care, and heads off toward the altar. As he reaches the twisted temple wherein the altar resides, Robert and Irene are confronted by a new, yet all-too-familiar, foe...

As Ryu enters the temple, he once again faces Kelbeross, the demon dog twins he fought in the events of the first game. As he wonders what's going on, a wounded Robert shows up, saying that Irene has once again been kidnapped. He urges Ryu to press on, offering to hold off the approaching demonic hordes alone. Ryu begrudgingly accepts, and heads off into the temple's bizarre inner sanctum. Robert, meanwhile, fights the armies down to his last bit of ammo. It is unknown whether or not Robert survives.

At the end of the altar, Ryu finds Irene, and a familiar face; Jaquio! The sorcerer explains that he was merely a pawn back then, but after being revived by the power expelled by the Demon's defeat, he is a new man. He has taken the Sword of Chaos, after Ashtar had sent it there, and plans on accomplishing Ashtar's objective. The only difference is that he plans on expanding his power by taking in the energy that will be expelled by the opening of the gate; something Ashtar could not do, because of his sudden demise. Jaquio's plan also reveals details of Ashtar's plan; Ryu's soul was to be used to open the gate, while Irene was to be sacrificed to lure the demons out of it. Ryu, full of rage over the very sight of the man who had put him through so much a year before, launches into battle. After a grueling fight, Ryu strikes the Jaquio down once more. As Ryu and Irene have a heartfelt reunion, the blood from Jaquio's corpse pools outward. When the blood touches the blade of the Sword of Chaos, the sword fully awakens, and immediately begins to drain the power of Irene and Ryu, opening the gate. While Ryu manages to survive (possibly because of his strong will and power), Irene is not so lucky. Jaquio, however, is physically revived by the power that flows into him, but does not seem to regain his humanity. Soon, he is morphed into a massive, shape-changing beast (eventually resembling the Demon itself), before Ryu summons all the strength he has left to kill the self-proclaimed "evil demon king" once and for all.

After the battle, Ryu takes his love's body out of the crumbling temple, and laments his inability to save her. However, the Dragon Sword acts upon this, and changes into a ball of light, which circles the two, restoring Ryu's strength, and reviving Irene. Elated that Irene is alive, and that the threat of the demonic hordes of Ashtar, Jaquio, and the Realm of Chaos are finally over, Ryu and Irene watch as the day ends, and an era of peace begins.

[edit] Chaos Tribesmen

The Tribesmen of Chaos are loyal servants of Ashtar. Here are the following:

♦ Dando the Cursed

Through the use of alchemy, it is believed that Dando is a transmutated monster made from souls of long dead vikings. Although he is gifted with sheer strengh, it appears that he was not given much intelligence. He endlessly charges at Ryu on sight, only stopping when hitting a wall. He may be considered the lowest rank of the Chaos Tribesmen. The Dragon Sword, and bullets from Robert's gun, seem to be the only two weapons that can destroy him. He is found at the Train Station.

♦ Baron Spider

One of the scientists at the Xabil Biological Research Institute was doing research on a new species of tarantula spider, when he was bitten by one. As a result of this bite, the scientist was transformed into a half-human/half-spider mutant. He is able to superhumanly leap gracefully through the air. He can summon and control giant tarantula spiders, just as if they were his own children. It is said that Baron Spider is the Leader of the Chaos Tribesmen. Considering the fact that in defeat, he mentions that the Tribesmen are led by Ashtar, he may be Ashtar's right-hand man. He tries to ambush Ryu at the top of Lahja Mountains.

♦ Funky Dynamite

Funky Dynamite is a lizard creature, which was increased in size by Ashtar's alchemy, and was also given cybernetic limbs and implants. This half lizard/half machine flies endlessly through the air with a jet propulsion pack, and attacks Ryu with shurikens. The creature however, lands upon recieving damage, and retaliates with fire bombs. Despite the fact that the half lizard/half machine hybrid was never given any combat skills, this creature is released as an ambush on Ryu, at the rooftop of the Tower of Lahja. Funky Dynamite is believed to be another Chaos Tribesman.

♦ Naga Sotuva

There is a legend from ancient times, that states that a creature, believed to be a dragon, somehow wandered into the underworld at least 1,000 years ago. It has been said that the creature got influenced by the dark magic of the underworld, and became trapped within the walls of a cave. Maybe Ashtar perhaps, lured and trapped the creature on purpose, and used alchemy to have water endlessly flow from the dragon's mouth? It is uncertain, whether or not, the water dragon is within the ranks of the Chaos Tribesmen. Unable to move, with water mysteriously everflowing from the creature's mouth, the water dragon only attacks Ryu with his huge claws. Naga Sotuva is found living in the walls, within the deep depths of The Maze of Darkness.

♦ Ashtar

The self-proclaimed "Emperor of Darkness"

♦ Kelbeross

Though always at Jaquio's side as his loyal pet dog, Kelbeross was once killed, and offered as a sacrifice by his own master, to the evil spirits that Jaquio had pledged his life to. As a result, the soul of Kelbeross returns and takes the form of a pair of creatures, continuing to be a loyal servant, protecting Jaquio.

♦ Jaquio

[edit] Gameplay

Ninja Gaiden II features the same beat 'em up gameplay as the original title, with some extra additions.

Ryu retains his various projectile attacks which consume ninja power:

Throwing Star (5 points) - the most basic shuriken attack
Windmill Throwing Star (10 points) - acting as a boomerang, this star flies back and forth across the screen, taking out enemies until returned to Ryu
The Art of the Fire Wheel (8 points) - tosses a wheel of fire at enemies
Fire Dragon Balls (8 points) - fires dragon balls below the player at a 45 degree angle
Invincible Fire Wheel (15 points) - a circling version of the Fire Wheel which renders Ryu invincible. Unlike in the previous game, the wheel can be called at will.

Ninja Gaiden II introduced the ability of Ryu to split his body into multiple forms.

New to this sequel:

In this episode, Ryu has the power to climb any wall by pressing Up or Down on the control pad. In the previous game, the player could only "stick" to a wall by jumping towards it, but was unable to scale in any direction without jumping to an opposite wall or by using a climbing technique that involved jumping away from the wall and immediately grasping it again.
The most innovative new feature was the ability to create "split clones" (also referred to as "Phantom Doubles" or "Shadow Clones") where by picking up an item, an orange shadow version of Ryu would constantly follow him, repeating his previous actions (moving or attacking) in a delayed cycle. These clones were immune to damage, and enemies and projectiles would pass through them. If the player stopped moving, the clones would be frozen, regardless of position, being in mid-air or between enemies or objects. In the still phase, the clones performed the projectile or slash attacks of the player. Up to two split clones could be used at any given time. In the adjacent screenshot, the player has jumped to the left of the enemy, while his spirit clone remains in mid-air in Ryu's previous position. Frozen in place, the clone copies the attacks of the player.

[edit] Trivia

Holding Up and Left on the control pad along with the Select, A, and B buttons all at once, then pressing Start on the title screen will access the Musicruise screen, which allows playback of all music in the game.
In the game, Ashtar is depicted as mostly red, and his armor being an organic, bone-like substance. In other media, however, Ashtar is depicted as mostly blue and gold, with a metallic armor.
Due to the vagueness of the dialogue, there has been much confusion as to which is the true mastermind; Ashtar or Jaquio. Judging by the game's backstory, and in-game dialogue, Ashtar appears to be the true master (i.e. claiming that he will be the one to rule the world, as well as being the one to actually wield the Sword of Chaos. The backstory in the Ninja Gaiden III instruction booklet supports this). Much of the confusion has been caused by Ashtar's final words (wherein he says "join together, shadows of chaos", which many have interpreted as Ashtar sending the sword to Jaquio), and Jaquio's remark that he was a pawn, which many have thought to have been referring to Ashtar.
Ninja Gaiden II is continuously the highest-rated game in the trilogy by most fans. This is attributed to its difficulty (which, while as challenging as other Ninja Gaiden installments, never featured any exceptionally nerve-wracking elements, such as the final act in the first game, or the third's limited continues), smooth gameplay, well-designed levels, and an overall perception of a superior design.
Ninja Gaiden II is the only game in the original trilogy to have titles to its music tracks. The music played during Stage 3-2, titled The Parasprinter, is, to date, the most remixed Ninja Gaiden BGM.
For its time, Ninja Gaiden II featured a striking amount of blood and violence, especially considering Nintendo's practice of censorship at the time. Such scenes include the graphic depiction of the dripping blood on Ashtar's sword, the pool of blood expanding from Jaquio, and frequent use of realistic firearms.
Of all three games in the trilogy, Ninja Gaiden II was the most censored of the three in the SNES compilation. Among them, Jaquio's pool of blood was changed from red to green, and the pentagram on his cloak was edited to look like nothing at all.