GamerNode: Columns - Pro Tip: Ninja Gaiden II

Pro Tip: Ninja Gaiden II

Creighton is off cruising around Europe, so he left me with the responsibility of writing the Pro Tip for this week. My goals for filling his shoes were simple: 1) Figure out which game to write about, 2) Figure out what tips would be worthy of the "Pro" designation, and 3) Post the column in a timely manner on Thursday. Oops. Better late than never, I suppose.

This week's Pro Tip comes from the bloody mess that is Ninja Gaiden II, where well-timed strikes, not button mashing, are the first secret to success. Now I'm new to this Pro Tip thing, so I almost want to describe extensive strategy that will allow you to slay your foes faster than a PR rep spins NPD numbers, but I will save that for the strategy guide (coming June 2120), and focus on just one tidbit of life-saving tippage for today.

Pro Tip: After you finish off the armadillo, hold down the L trigger to block.

You see, if you kill this mammoth beast and then just run around aimlessly like I did, you are asking for a one-way ticket on the Game Over train. Once all of his health has been depleted, the armadillo will flash red and subsequently explode like the fourth of July (or a BOMB), instantly killing Ryu, and instantly irritating whoever is manning the controller. Holding L guards against this postmortem assault and allows you to finish the chapter successfully.

Stupid armadillo.

[Eddie Inzauto]

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