Ninja Gaiden Σ 2 Review

While Sigma 2 has additional content not in the original Ninja Gaiden 2, a large amount of content was also removed from the game, or altered.

With Team Mission Mode in, the single player version was taken out, players instead being given a computer-controller partner (if without a second player or offline).

In Story Mode, Karma Scoring is separated and now only done in Chapter Challenge. Three chapters were also added, not linked to Ryu, but one of the three additional characters. Tests of Valor were also removed, scattering the rewards across Ryu's chapters.

The total number of enemies in the game has been reduced, keeping few characters on screen at all times; enemy health was raised to compensate.

Co op and Team missions
Added by MasterMFive new bosses were added, replacing two old boss encounters. There is one new boss for each alternate character's chapter (including returning bosses from NG:DS and NG1), a Dragon to replace the double Quetzalcoatl fight (though Quetzalcoatl can still be fought alone as in NG2), and two giant statues; a giant Buddha Statue, and a Statue of Liberty animated by Alexei. The Tunnel Worm has been omitted, causing Ryu to fall through a tunnel leading from dark night to bright day.

Enma's Fang is a new melee weapon, a greatsword. The Weapon Upgrade system has also been altered to restrict your upgrades similar to NG:Black. You can only upgrade once per special shop, though you do not require the use of Essence in order to perform those upgrades.

Some ranged weapons have been removed. The Incendiary Shuriken were removed for two reasons, opening paths and their power due to the removal of the ammo count, and is instead Ayane's main projectile weapon. The Fiend's Bane Bow, now with unlimited ammo, had its Ultimate Technique removed as it would have also been too powerful, and instead was replaced by a new weapon, the Howling Cannon, a heavy cannon with a slow projectile speed. The Windmill Shuriken was also removed. The Harpoon Gatling Gun was removed, and with it, all water combat. Most flying enemies were also removed due to infinite ammo.

The Action button was changed from RB/R1 to Circle, which is now also the Shuriken button, while other ranged weapons have been separated to the R2 button. This allows both the Bow/Cannon to be equipped at the same time as the Shurikens. The player cannot unequip the bow or cannon. Thus, the two weapons bulk up Ryu's appearance even though they don't appear in cutscenes.

Keys have been completely removed, doors simply popping open now, as well as adding a button to tell the player where to go (R1).

Projectile spam has been greatly reduced from NG2. Healing items become an abundance (and the only thing you can spend money on). Most chests are now simply yellow, blue, or red essence. Players are no longer allowed to hold onto Life of the Gods, Lives of a Thousand Gods, or Spirit of the Devil. Instead they are automatically consumed upon pickup.

Costume recolors (Legendary Black Falcon to Type 20; same shape, different texture) were removed. Biometal and Shadow Walker, Xbox DLC, are not player-selectable, and instead used by the returning enemy Ryu clones in Team Missions. Ashtar from Sigma 1, Sigma 2 Special (Ryu dressed as Joe Hayabusa from NGS2's new Prologue), Choun Shiryu (Ryu dressed as Zhao Yun from Dynasty Warriors), and Classic Ryu were added. Fiend remained in both versions, but without any of its alternate colors.

The game, moved from its original engine to the one used to create Ninja Gaiden Sigma, has many textures (not all) throughout the chapters completely replaced to vastly improve the visual appeal of each environment, but leaves character textures mostly unchanged.

Finally, almost all the gore has been removed. Purple mist now burst from enemies, along with reduced blood splashes. Dismembered body parts no longer stay on the ground, but vanish. Additionally, cinematics have been altered to remove dismemberment, dissection, and blood effects. The Asian version of NGS2, the player can only decapitate monsters and non-humans.