Ninja Gaiden Black

aka: NGB
Moby ID: 22361
Xbox Specs
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Description official descriptions

Ninja Gaiden Black is a re-release of Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox but with new content such as unlockable costumes, a mission mode, and more difficulty modes. Hard mode is unlocked right away if you have completed the original Ninja Gaiden and the saved file is present on your Xbox. Ninja Dog mode is also included for fans who felt the game on normal was too hard. This is unlocked by dying three consecutive times on the first chapter in normal mode. There are also two more levels of difficulty (very hard and master ninja), which are unlocked consecutively with the completion of the game on the previous difficulty setting.

There are new enemies not included in the original release of the game and a new weapon called Lunar First seen in the Hurricane bonus packs. Mission mode includes 50 missions. Those who have ever played the Xbox Live! downloadable Hurricane packs (also included in this release) will be familiar with these. The missions are of varying length and difficulty. Your score is tracked for an online leaderboard over Xbox Live!, so you can compare your ninja prowess with your peers.

There are some new in-game cutscenes. All three Ninja Gaiden games from the Nintendo era have been removed for a faithful emulation of the Ninja Gaiden arcade game originally released in the late eighties (which even requires to press a button to simulate the act of inserting a coin in the coin-op machine to start playing)

Spellings

  • 忍者龙剑传:黑 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Promos

Credits (Xbox version)

345 People (330 developers, 15 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 94% (based on 38 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.1 out of 5 (based on 26 ratings with 1 reviews)

The best video game I've played in a long time

The Good
The pace is quicker than anything I've seen in any other game before. The story is good, but takes a backseat to the action. The action is smooth and fast and satisfying. The sounds get a little bit repetitive, but compliment what's happening on-screen very well. The graphics are great, the enemies are varied and none of them are pushovers. The cut-scenes are awesome.

The Bad
The ending is very anti-climactic. If I cared more about the story than the actual game play, I'd be very disappointed.
The moves get a little repetitive on later playings.
This game is really damn hard. It can get very frustrating. Extremely frustrating.
I wish the bodies could pile up instead of disappear, but I hear they've changed that for the 2008 sequel. The chronology of the game does not relate to the difficulty of the bosses. You can encounter easy or hard bosses at any point.

The Bottom Line
If you stick with it, and don't get discouraged, it's very rewarding. Passing a section that was giving you a lot of trouble feels great. The best game I've ever played.

Xbox · by Ben Landes (4) · 2007

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Xbox version of Ninja Gaiden Black appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 22361
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by jimmy Sky.

Xbox 360 added by karttu.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Juan Miguel Gamotia, FatherJack.

Game added May 12, 2006. Last modified March 4, 2024.