Were Sega's Shinobi(2002) and Nightshade(2003) more difficult ?

[dprog1995]

I tried beating Nightshade in normal difficulty and the bridge level made me go nuts for how difficult it was.(It had lots of bottomless pits that insta killed you.)

I've also heard that Shinobi is even more difficult than Nightshade.(I read somewhere that in Shinobi you have a sword that drains your HP.)

I'm not sure if 3D Ninja Gaiden games are that difficult.

[wintermute]

I would say back in the day no, NG was more difficult on the higher difficulties. Today, yes, since the PS2 Shinobi games don't hold up particularly well whereas imo NG does.

[J Jonoh Jamson]

I never played Nightshade. If you're talking about difficulty from platforming parts, there isn't many bottomless pits in the 3D NGs, NG's difficulty is more from the combat. Sigma version is the easiest in platforming, it removed a lot of the frustrating difficult platforming sections that were in Black and the Original.

Haven't played Shinobi in long time, I remember Shinobi being hard, but mostly because of the sword time limit having you rush around. I think playing Hotsuma was harder because that life draining sword, than playing Joe Musashi he had the regular sword so you weren't rushing but it did less damage, if I remember correctly.

Also the Kitetsu in the Original played like the sword in Shinobi, draining your life so you had to kill and drain enemy life to stay alive, or get the armlet of tranquillity that regenerates HP to cancel it out. Both the life draining effect and life regenerating armlet got removed in Black/Sigma, except the armlet still in some of the mission modes.

[Bobtista]

Yes! I played these games religiously back then and there was nothing this series has thrown at me that was as difficult as Shinobi/Nightshade. I have beaten these series in their entirety all difficulties and missions coop included, and I never really found this series as nightmarish as people say. Shinobi/Nightshade on super difficulty man I lost sleep and raged so hard lol, but these games are just awesome to me.

[dprog1995]

Originally posted by Bobtista:

Yes! I played these games religiously back then and there was nothing this series has thrown at me that was as difficult as Shinobi/Nightshade. I have beaten these series in their entirety all difficulties and missions coop included, and I never really found this series as nightmarish as people say. Shinobi/Nightshade on super difficulty man I lost sleep and raged so hard lol, but these games are just awesome to me.

Nightshade's bottomless pits were the worst nightmare of that game.

[Daikatan]

Played both Shinobi and Nightshade around 5 years ago. Amazing games.
Love their sense of "being in rhythm" very much. Once it clicks with you, it's wonderful experience.

I also think that Ninja Gaiden is closer to them rather than to Devil May Cry or Bayonetta.
Both NG and Shinobi/Nightshade are less about "ssstyle" score chasing and more about being very efficient and fast. It's like two different approaches.

Granted i like both Shinobi and Nightshade, i would add that Shinobi is much better balanced. While Nightshade goes like from easy early levels to difficult later levels. Shinobi has more gradual curve.

Also these two are one of the most satisfying cases of "chaining" mechanics. Feels so good to 1-hit-kill a boss after making a delicate chain of power-gaining kills. One mistake and you fail, though.

Oh, also aerial combat is sweet. Who needs floors, anyway :D