I recently decided to make a run at one of the great NES classics: the original Ninja Gaiden. Yes, it still has amazingly cinematic cut scenes for the time, and yes, it's still just plain stupid-hard to beat. I can breeze right up to level 6-2 (if you know the game you know what I mean!), but then it's nothing but frustration. I definitely raised my blood pressure and probably knocked a couple years off my life trying to get past that stage this weekend. I eventually threw the controller to the floor and gave up, which is my usual reaction to this game. But there was a time, one fateful time, when I didn't give up, one time that I let my true ninja gamer instincts take over. What was the result? Well, I'm either still playing the game to this day, endlessly repeating Act 6, or…I'll get to that in a minute.
I can remember the first time I ever got close to beating Ninja Gaiden. Years had already passed since I got the game, but it was one of those I could never let go. I had gotten pretty good at it with my slick ninja moves, but I never could crack that final act. One day, through sheer luck, I made it past the dreaded 6-2, only to find another level before the boss. Fortunately, 6-3 isn't that bad, and with unlimited continues it wasn't much of a problem. Then, of course I came to the final boss room. The first boss was intimidating and tough, but I was able to knock him out after taking my lumps. The problem is that there are three bosses in this game, and I was already low on health. Well, I could always continue at 6-3 if I died, and die I did. That's when the game hit me with a low blow. If you die on any of these boss fights, they restart you at 6-1! I was shocked and mad and disappointed all at once. There was no way I could ever make it all the way back through 6-2 and beat all three bosses on one health bar. I quit the game in disgust.
It may have been several more years later when the itch to finally beat Ninja Gaiden crept back into my head. I had been so demoralized by my last failure that I had started to think it was impossible. "What the hell though, I'll give it a shot." I played through the early stages easily, and found myself at 6-2. I tried again and again and made it through. I had started to develop the pattern, and remembered to always move forward, not backward as that respawns enemies in this game. I defeated the first boss, though again I found myself low on health. Sure enough, I died and it was back to 6-1. Instead of getting mad, I decided to run it again. There had to be a way, right? Slogging my way back to the boss room, I steeled my nerves and entered. That's when I got a little surprise and a huge morale boost. The first boss never appeared; the game went straight to boss number 2! I had a full health bar, and Jaquio fell to my dragon sword. The third boss was going to be a handful, but that was okay. I could always come back fresh, without having to fight the first two again. That's what I did and that's how I won the game. Beating three bosses on one health bar was too tough for me, but one at a time? That I could handle. And even though I never beat 6-2 again in my life, I still feel the satisfaction that comes from knowing I beat one of the hardest games ever made. Now, Ninja Gaiden 2? That's a different story altogether.
Blog: Random Access Memories: Becoming a True Ninja Gamer - Kombo.com
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