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Ninja Gaiden II Mission Mode Hands-On
July 25, 2008

July 25, 2008 - Despite claiming there would be no downloadable content to add a Mission Mode to Ninja Gaiden II , Team Ninja created just such DLC. Available for just a short while before being taken off Xbox Live Marketplace, the new DLC will run you 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and comes with 24 arena-style missions.

The first 16 missions, called Karma Attack, give you Ryu Hayabusa's full arsenal of weapons, each fully upgraded. You can choose whatever weapon and ninpo you prefer and take on a set number of enemies in a section from the retail game. Defeating the enemies isn't so tough, especially if you were good enough to beat Ninja Gaiden II. The challenge is in maxing out your karma to earn a high score and get a good ranking in the online leaderboards.

While karma tallies the same as in the main game, there is one small twist. Some enemies drop green orbs. These give a karma multiplier boost. Obviously, the key is absorbing as many green orbs as possible and unleashing your best moves when your multiplier is high.

Read more of IGN's Ninja Gaiden II Mission Mode Hands-On article

 

Tomonobu Itagaki is leaving Tecmo
June 2, 2008

June 2, 2008 - If you're going to leave a company, be sure to slam the door on your way out. Tomonobu Itagaki, the man behind Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, announced in a formal statement that he has resigned from his role Tecmo.

Stating that Tecmo failed to pay him bonuses owed for Dead or Alive 4, Itagaki leaves with a strong public letter, which you can read below. Itagaki's future is unknown.

Statement

I, Tomonobu Itagaki, hereby announce that on the 14th of May 2008 I filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court against Tecmo Co., Ltd. for unpaid completion bonuses, and against the President of Tecmo...

Learn more about why Itagaki is leaving Team Ninja and suing Tecmo

 

Tomonobu Itagaki Interview (Kikizo)
June 2, 2008

Kikizo: Can you tell us about working with Microsoft as the publisher for Ninja Gaiden 2 - did this change the way you have led the project in any way?

Itagaki: There are good things and bad things about working with Microsoft. In the past, working with Tecmo Inc, it's the same company, we're all friends, we're all closely tied which is good. But because we're so small and have limited resources, it's very hard to break out of a cycle and the way that we do things. So the reason we went to Microsoft this time around and asked them to work with us and publish the game is this is my last Ninja Gaiden. It's the definitive version. So I wanted to make sure that as many people as possible have the chance to play this around the world. One of the advantages of working with Microsoft is access to their resources, things like playtesters. They have a pool of over....

 

The Making of Ninja Gaiden II
June 2, 2008

Be sure to check out the full making of Ninja Gaiden II later this month on Xbox Live.



 

Ninja Gaiden II Review (IGN)
May 27, 2008

May 26, 2008 - If, as many have said in the past, Ninja Gaiden on Xbox is the greatest action game ever made, then Ninja Gaiden II on Xbox 360 is just a sequel. It won't redefine the way you look at action games. It won't make you cry tears of joy. Don't let that dissuade you. Sequels to such outstanding games often have difficulties living up to expectations and that may end up being the case for some with Ninja Gaiden II, but those that go in looking for some pure action will leave all smiles…and perhaps with a controller broken out of frustration or two.

Once more, we find our badass hero Ryu Hayabusa confronted by the Black Spider Ninja Clan and supernatural fiends...

Read more of IGN's review of Ninja Gaiden II

Check out Gamerankings for the latest Ninja Gaiden II reviews

 

Interview: Tomonobu Itagaki (OXM UK)
May 23, 2008

It's been said this is your swansong - why?
First of all, let me say that I've been making games for almost fifteen years now, both the DOA series and the Ninja Gaiden series and every time we do our best to make the best game we can, but its tough to make it one hundred percent. And first of all I'd like to say I'm happy to be here and see everyone playing Ninja Gaiden and it re-affirms my belief that we did a great job on this title, that everyone is able to enjoy it.

Ninja Gaiden had the remix of sorts with Sigma. Can you see the series continue without you? Is that something you'd like to see happen?
First of all, I should explain that Sigma was made by another team not under my direct involvement. I can say I wasn't really happy with the way it turned out. I think its too different from the rest of the series. But here, with Ninja Gaiden II, I can say for myself and others that have been with Team Ninja for years were directly involved...

Read more of the Official Xbox Magazine's (UK) Tomonobu Itagaki Interview

 

Ninja Gaiden II Gone Gold
May 23, 2008

Get A Head Start On The “Ninja Gaiden II” Experience Through Exclusive Ask A Ninja Episodes and GamePlay HD's Documentary

Microsoft and TECMO/Team NINJA announced today that “Ninja Gaiden II,” the blockbuster action-packed sequel to “Ninja Gaiden,” has gone gold and will be shipping to retailers throughout North America on June 3. “Ninja Gaiden II” features a new and improved game engine, developed from the ground up exclusively for Xbox 360, by legendary video game developer Tomonobu Itagaki and Team NINJA.

http://2opgaming.com/2008/05/23/ninja-gaiden-ii-gone-gold/

 

The Xbox Minute
May 22, 2008

May 22, 2008 - While the release date for Ninja Gaiden 2 draws near, The Xbox Team is always thinking of new ways to provide coverage for their readers on their favorite games. Today on Xbox Minute, we give you a little taste of Ryu kickin' butt, Ninja style.



 

Ninja Gaiden II Interview (Videogamer)
May 22, 2008

VideoGamer.com: Can you tell us about the different weapons?

TI: There are a total of eight weapons. You pick them up as you go along. There's a shop scattered in several places in each stage where you can go to the blacksmith and rework your weapons and make them stronger. There are on average three power levels to each weapon and the visuals change as well as the number of moves you can do.

Another important thing that I'd like to note is unlike the previous Ninja Gaiden, in Ninja Gaiden 2 once you've completed the game on a difficulty level with all your weapons, you'll be able to start a new game on the same difficulty and keep all those weapons. So if there's a weapon you haven't got until later on in the game and you want to use it right away you'll be able to do that in the second play through. We think that really helps with replay value as well.

Read more of Videogamer's Ninja Gaiden II Interview

 

Ninja Gaiden II Interview 4 (GameSpot)
May 21, 2008



 

Ten Days of the Ninja
May 20, 2008

In celebration of the release of Ninja Gaiden® II on June 3, Xbox.com has ten days of ninja goodness for you. From May 25 through June 3, we'll be bringing you all sorts of ninja-related events including a Game with Developers event, Family Game Nights, GamerchiX Ladies Nights and even a ninja All-Nighter. Check the Community Calendar for the full schedule of ninja events on Xbox LIVE®. If your thirst for shadowy killing machines still isn't quenched, we'll have tons of ninja content from our columnists, and there'll be a chance for you to provide feedback as well.

Ninja Guile, Samurai Sword
Japanese games have had a tremendous worldwide influence. We take a look at some of the most ninja-riffic titles.

Xbox Dad and Ninjas
Xbox Dad meets a family-friendly ninja in Avatar: The Last Airbender . Play the game or download episodes from the video store.

10 Days of the Ninja

 

Win a copy of Ninja Gaiden DS a limited edition stylus
May 19, 2008

Game: Ninja Gaiden Black (Not Sigma, sorry guys, but it's a tad easier than Black, and also longer)
What: Fastest playthrough of Master Ninja difficulty (Karma doesn't count for anything at all!)
Prize: One copy of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS and a limited edition Dragon Sword stylus
Runner up prizes: The next fastest two times each get a DS stylus (small yes, but I was considering not giving anyone after first anything; second place is really just the first loser, after all!)

I will take submissions up through Friday, May 30th. As proof, I need one picture showing proof of your start date being today or after today, either a written sign or a newspaper or something similar, then a picture of your screen with proof of that day as well with the screen showing your completion time. Rank does not matter, but you'll look stupid with anything less than Master Ninja here at the Ninja Fortress!

All prizes provided by Tecmo.

Questions? Concerns?

As a note, DS games are region-free, but the game is a US copy, so English might be handy. Shipping outside of the US is possible, but may hurt my wallet a little. Take it easy on me, guys! On that note, I'm rooting for the home team, lol.

http://www.ninjafortress.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=79145#79145

 

No playable Sonia in NGII and a new action game
May 17, 2008

Buxom CIA beauty Sonia from upcoming action game Ninja Gaiden 2 will not be a playable character, Tomonobu Itagaki confirmed today.

Speaking to press in London this morning, Itagaki-san, the legendary Ninja Gaiden developer, said that Rachel, a playable character from the PS3-only Ninja Gaiden Sigma game, "wasn't done very well" and that if he had made Sonia playable in Ninja Gaiden 2 "we would have had to make a game like Gears of War".

Read more of videogamers "Sonia not playable in Ninja Gaiden 2" article

Speaking to press at a Ninja Gaiden 2 event being held in London today, Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki has offered further insight into what he plans to do next.

"I love the action game genre, in particular I am very focussed on movement and the animation. One of the precepts I always have for my games is making sure that the animation of all the characters is as fluid and as cool looking as they can be," explained Itagaki. "I think that I'm going to continue to explore the action genre and do something that allows me to go in directions that I haven't been able to go with the Ninja Gaiden series, with an entirely new franchise."

Read more "Ninja Gaiden creator to embark on new action franchise" article

 

Vengeance Weekend
May 16, 2008

Weekend of Vengeance June 13-15

- Watch some FREE classic Ninja Movies
- Check out the hour-long documentary, The Way of the Warrior: Ninja Gaiden II
- Play in the Achieve & Win for great prizes
- Revisit all seven hilarious Ask A Ninja episode

More information coming soon.

 


Latest Updates

New Ninja Gaiden fanart
August 15, 2008
Hanoko submitted a new Ninja Gaiden II fanart of Ryu using the Kusari-gami.

New Ryu Hayabusa statue
July 25, 2008
Check out this cool new Ninja Gaiden II statue from First 4 Figures.

Ninja Gaiden Youtube
June 4, 2008
Upload Ninja Gaiden videos and watch them just like youtube.

GameSpot NGII review
June 3, 2008
Check out the latest Ninja Gaiden II review by GameSpot.

TeamXbox NGII review
June 2, 2008
Check out the latest Ninja Gaiden II review by TeamXbox.

GameSpy NGII review
June 2, 2008
Check out the latest Ninja Gaiden II review by GameSpy.

Another Interview with TI
May 23, 2008
Crispy Gamer has an interview with Tomonobu Itagaki.

Ninja Vengeance Profile
May 22, 2008
Download Ninja Gaiden music and learn more about Ryu Hayabusa.

Tomonobu Itagaki Interview
May 21, 2008
Computer and Videogames has a new interview with Tomonobu Itagaki.

Ninja Gaiden II Ringtones
May 20, 2008
Download Ninj Gaiden II ringtones, the Ninja Gaiden II trailer, and wallpapers for your phone.

Ninja Gaiden II Xbox 360
May 17, 2008
There is another special Ninja Gaiden II Xbox 360 availabe only in japan.

Ninja Gaiden II Hands-on
May 14, 2008
GamesSpot has new hands-on preview of Ninja Gaiden.

Ninja Gaiden II = the end?
May 13, 2008
Kotaku is reporting that Ninja Gaidne II will be the last Ninja Gaiden created by Tomonobu Itagaki.

New Fanfiction submitted
May 13, 2008
CyberEvil submitted a new fan fiction called Chaotic Assault.

Ninja Gaiden II demo in June?
May 13, 2008
According to this article, the Ninja Gaiden II demo is coming out June 3rd.

New Ninja Gaiden II pics
May 13, 2008
Gamersyde has put up several new and old Ninja Gaiden II pictures.

Added Ninja Gaiden II pics
May 9, 2008
I added three more Ninja Gaiden II pictures to the gallery.

Ninja Gaiden II preview
May 7, 2008
Check out Eurogamers preivew of the first few chapters fo NInja Gaiden II.

Win a NGII Xbox 360
May 1, 2008
Win a custom Ninja Gaiden 2 Custom Xbox 360 Elite System and a copy of the game.

The JP NGII website update
April 12, 2008
None of the links are up except for one linking to the official game guide.

NGII on Invisible Walls
April 11, 2008
Invisible Walls episode 5 (GameTrailers) talks about Ninja Gaiden II. Starts at 10 minutes and 30 seconds.

Win a signed Xbox 360
April 11, 2008
Win an Xbox 360 signed by Tomonobu Itagaki by answering five Ninja Gaiden questions.

New Ninja Gaiden II images
April 7, 2008
Added some new Ninja Gaiden II imags to the image gallery.

New picture of Sonia
April 7, 2008
Gamersyde has a new pictures of Sonia, the new female in Ninja Gaiden II.

More NGII demo footage
April 6, 2008
Some more demo footage of the first level in Ninja Gaiden II.

NGDS FAQ submission
April 2, 2008
VampireHorde submitted a Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword FAQ.

Ninja Gaiden II impressions
March 31, 2008
Ninja Gaiden campus tour has started. Read some impressions from the event.

Ninja Gaiden DS video
March 7, 2008
Watch a video from Impress TV. You can see a woman play through the first two chapters of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. 300K version, 700K version.

Ninja Gaiden DS site update
March 7, 2008
The official Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword website has updated with some details (in japanese).

Ninja Gaiden DS review
March 5, 2008
EGM is the first to review Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword.

Game Informer NGII preview
February 22, 2008
Here's a picture of the latest Ninja Gaiden II preview from Game Informer.

Ninja Gaiden II demo?
February 21, 2008
A Ninja Gaiden II demo is listed as part of the content on Xbox Lives GDC 2008 Bringing it Home content.

New Ninja Gaiden II images
February 20, 2008
Added four more Ninja Gaiden II pictures to the image gallery.

New Ryu Hayabusa Fanart
February 16, 2008
hayabusa_reiatsuma submitted two fanarts of Ryu Hayabusa.

Ninja Gaiden II pics
February 11, 2008
Here are a few new pics of Ninja Gaiden II.

Ninja Gaiden DS scans
February 11, 2008
New images of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword from Famitsu magazine.

Added Ninja Gaiden DS pics
January 30, 2008
I added three more Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword pictures to the gallery.

Added Ninja Gaiden II pics
January 30, 2008
I added three more Ninja Gaiden II pictures to the gallery.

X-Play Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword video preview
January 29, 2008
X-play has a video preview of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword.

X-Play Tomonobu Itagaki video interview
January 29, 2008
X-play has a video interview with Itagaki. Shows small parts of new and old footage from the other previews of the game.

NGII preview and video
January 28, 2008
Gamespy added a new preview and video of Ninja Gaiden II. Ryu does a new kick move at the end of the video.

NGDS preview (GameSpy)
January 15, 2008
Gamespy's preview of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword.

NGDS pics and trailer
January 15, 2008
Gamersyde added new Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword pictures and a higher resolution versoin of the NGDS trailer from TGS.

TI interview about NGII
January 15, 2008
GTR Vision interviews Tomonobu Itagaki about NGII. IT explains the limitations of the previous Xbox.

Make NGII achievements
January 14, 2008
The guys over at Team Ninja are interested in what you would do for an achievement in Ninja Gaiden II.

New NGDS scans
January 9, 2008
Jeux France sanned the latest preivew of Ninja Gaiden DS from Famitsu magazine.

NGDS Character info
January 7, 2008
Translated some info from famitsu that reveals the profiles of the young ninjas of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan.

NGDS pre-order bonus
December 27, 2007
GameStop is offering a pre-order bonus for Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. Now, when you pre-order the game, you'll get a Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword stylus.

New Ninja Gaiden fanart
December 22, 2007
Hanoko submitted a new Ninja Gaiden II fanart.

Ninja Gaiden II website
December 22, 2007
Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden site is up. It's all in japanese and there isn't any media.

New Ninja Gaiden II pics
December 21, 2007
Added five new pictures to the Ninja Gaiden II image gallery.

Ninja Gaiden DS next year
December 20, 2007
Tecmo reported today that Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword will be releasing March 2008.

New Ninja Gaiden fanart
December 20, 2007
Hanoko submitted four Ninja Gaiden Fan arts.

New Ninja Gaiden II pics
December 20, 2007
Added four new pictures to the Ninja Gaiden II image gallery.

Ninja Gaiden II pics/movie
December 5, 2007
A few new Ninja Gaiden II pictures and a gameplay montage video came out today.

Ninja Gaiden DS scans
December 5, 2007
Jeux France sanned the latest preivew of Ninja Gaiden DS from Famitsu magazine.

FAQ submissions
October 2, 2007
Bigalski submitted a few NInja Gaiden Sigma faqs.

Itagaki on Ninja Gaiden II
October 1, 2007
Itagaki talks a few details about Ninja Gaiden II to famitsu (translated by IGN).

Sigma story page is up
August 31, 2007
Upadated the story page for Ninja Gaiden Sigma. The profiles for the characters aren't up yet though.

Fan Work page is up
August 31, 2007
I finally go the fan work page up. Now start submitting some fan work.

New Ninja Gaiden DS screens August 28, 2007
IGN posted seven new Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword screens today.

FAQ submissions
August 24, 2007
Hayabusa reiatsuma has submitted a walkthrough and scarab locations FAQ for the original Ninja Gaiden (Xbox).

Ninja Gaiden DS interview
August 3, 2007
GameTrailers has a new video interview with Tomonobu Itagaki about Ninja Gaiden DS.

Joystiq Itagaki interview
August 2, 2007
No new information. But he does say that Tekken sucks.

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword demo
August 1, 2007
GameTrailers.com released a new Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword demo today showing off some nice gameplay footage.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Image gallery is up
July 27, 2007
Added pictures to image gallery for Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

FAQs page is back up
July 27, 2007
Submit your Ninja Gaiden FAQs now.

Ninja Gaiden DS EGM preview
July 26, 2007
Check out EGM's latest Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword preview. Not too much new information.

Games section is back up
July 25, 2007
I accidently deleted a few games but I added some new ones.

Forums are back up
July 22, 2007
Forums are up and running again. Sorry for the downtime.