--Zedonius, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus
Skilled ninja Ryu Hayabusa returns in the sequel to Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, starring in yet another Vita port of a console game. This title introduces some changes that simplify the experience for newcomers and veterans of the first game alike. The combat is just as fierce as ever, and the story brings in new playable characters. Sigma 2 Plus is a very natural evolution of the series.
Production Values
The graphics oscillate between very pixelated and very clear, just as the frame rate swings between very smooth and quite slow when groups of about four to six enemies appear. At their best, the graphics demonstrate yet again that the Vita can definitely handle ports of console games rather well, but, even so, they are not the most clear, smooth visuals one can find on the system. Matching the fluctuating quality of the visuals, the voice work ranges from great to completely out of sync with the lip movements of onscreen characters. I found this problem in chapter five, eight, thirteen, sixteen, and seventeen during some cutscenes. The voice acting itself is fine, it's just that it isn't always timed correctly. What the game does have that the first Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus does not have is a diverse soundtrack; the soundtrack for the first one one was very repetitive and pretty much stayed the same across many chapters, but the soundtrack here varies.
Gameplay
There are many changes here that make the game more enjoyable for players who struggled through the first title. Save spots heal your character when used for the first time, bringing up the item menu pauses the game, and the health bar regenerates up to a certain point given enough time. I played both Sigma Plus and Sigma 2 Plus on the equivalent to normal difficulty, and I had a much easier time with Sigma 2 Plus. These changes really did help me have a far less frustrating experience. Still, the game can be challenging at times.
The combat system has also been changed in some ways. Finishing moves where the camera zooms in are now included, and the weapons are far more diverse than in the first game, with options including the usual staff, Dragon Sword, and dual katanas, but also including claws, a set of tonfas, and a weapon that reminded me of Kratos' blades. My favorite weapon is the Falcon's Talons, a pair of three-clawed metal gauntlets for each hand accompanied by spiked metal shoes, which made me feel like Wolverine as I easily slashed through hordes of enemies.
Rachel the Fiend Hunter returns as a playable character from before, and Momiji and Ayane are playable in certain chapters, with Momiji being a new character and Ayane returning from before (but she was not playable in the first Sigma Plus). Playing as four different characters instead of just two like the last game does add a lot of variety, with each character having his or her own weapons set, ninpo (magic) attacks, and ranged attacks.
Extra mini levels called "tag missions" are like the bonus missions from the first Sigma Plus but a second character, an NPC, joins you, and you have far more control over what character you play as and what costume you use from the start. The NPC can be Rachel, Momiji, Ayane, or Ryu, just as the playable character can be any of these persons. You and your partner kill a fixed number of enemies in various environments from the story mode. There is also a series of challenges called ninja races where you move through a series of checkpoints as quickly as possible while a timer elapses and while enemies try to kill you or slow you down. Players can even replay individual chapters through a chapter select feature, which is also a new addition.
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| See how similar the openings of God of War II and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus are? The fact that the beginnings of both games involve a giant statue that gets animated by the enemies of the main character that the main character must fight is just one of many similarities the two share. |
Though the game is quite the natural evolution for the series, it also struck me as being more like other hack and slash games like God of War than ever before. This will not bother players who love both franchises, I'm sure, but it remains true that the gameplay mechanics are not especially unique, however well-executed they may be.
Story
(SPOILERS)
Special Agent Sonia from the CIA seeks out the ninja Ryu in Tokyo to tell him about a danger to the world posed by spiritual creatures called Fiends. She is attacked by other ninjas, and, though Ryu comes, she is abducted as he is surrounded by opponents.
A woman named Elizabet tries to leave with Sonia in a helicopter from the roof of a tall building, but she kicks Sonia to down and distracts Ryu with catching her. Meanwhile, Ryu's Hayabusa village is attacked yet again, with a pair of villains (Elizabet and Genshin) taking a demon statue. Fiends begin transforming New York into a "Fiend Realm", and a Greater Fiend named Alexei stands atop the Statue of Liberty. Alexei is defeated by Ryu, but as he leaves the place of his defeat he uses his power to animate the Statue of Liberty so that it leaps off of the island it stands on and fights Ryu.
Sonia arrives in an aerial vehicle and rescues Ryu, while Momiji, Ryu's apprentice and a Dragon Shrine-Maiden, defends Hayabusa Village, freeing a boy captive that the Fiends took. During the Fiend invasion of New York Rachel the Fiend Hunter (from the first Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus game) fights Fiends in the city.
Together, Ryu and Sonia enter an airborne enemy carrier and destroy its systems enough that the transport crashes into a nearby mountain. Ryu then pursues the Fiend Elizabet to South America, where she participates in a ritual with the stolen demon statue, though she is overpowered by Ryu. Despite warning Ryu her against it, Sonia follows him further, even when he enters the Underworld. A consequence of this is that Alexei abducts Sonia and places her in a cage, though Ryu frees her, kills Elizabet, and defeats the awakened Archfiend, a massive, powerful being that Elizabet was trying to serve. Ryu and Sonia stand together, the Fiend threat averted.
Intellectual Content
Though the lore is developed well, there just aren't many themes that are actually deep on their own. Unfortunately, the series doesn't offer much to contemplate, though it does provide a great experience for hack and slash gamers.
Conclusion
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus is in many ways a far more developed action title and a better world builder than its predecessor. It has a greater variety of side content for those who finish the main game, it (to my recollection) explains its story better than the first did as it goes along, and it offers combat that is more varied and brutal. Fans of the series will likely find this a thrilling offering that capitalizes on everything Ninja Gaiden is known for--intense combat, large bosses, and spectacle.
Content:
1. Violence: The violence has definitely been upped since the first game. Ryu, Rachel, Ayanne, and Momiji release a lot of blood as they cut away limbs and heads, with the camera zooming up for finishing moves and combos, a feature not present in Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus. While the brutality is often inflicted on non-human demonic Fiends and other creatures, it is also inflicted on humans quite a bit.
2. Profanity: There is infrequent mild profanity.
3. Nudity: A humanoid Fiend named Elizabet is shown sitting naked in a pool of blood, her breasts visible. As I've noted before when mentioning nudity in other games, female breasts are not sexual, nor is total nudity in itself. In the game Elizabet's nudity is not sexual either.
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