One of the best game I have ever played in my life...
Not Recommend---Young kids, as well as people who own a PS3 because Ninja Gaiden Sigma is an even bigger revamp of Ninja Gaiden Black and it would be better to just get that
OMG! This is one of the best games ever, and without a doubt the best game on the Xbox (along with Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict). I remember when I was a little kid and I was in GameStop one day, and this older guy was buying some game called Ninja Gaiden. It looked like the worst game ever, and I quickly forgot about it. A few years later, I read about it online and how it was one of the best-reviewed games for the Xbox and how a revamp of it was coming out (Ninja Gaiden Black). I eventually got an Xbox, and this was one of the first games I got for it. If this never got released for the Xbox, I honestly wouldn't have bought it. This and a few other little games are the ones that compelled me to buy the Xbox, especially this one. I wasn't disappointed AT ALL, either! There is so much action in this game, with a bunch of weapons and upgrades available. Then there is the magic powers you can use, and all the maneuvers you can do with the billions of weapons/upgrades at your disposal. There are a lot of item, too, like potions which really help because this is a HARD GAME!! This is the second hardest game I have ever played (behind F-Zero GX), and you will continually be using potions and trying to save as much as possible. But this level of difficulty is also what makes the game fun and challenging. Boss fights are really fun, although hard, but mostly fun. There is also a lot of bonus content that was added in from the original Ninja Gaiden, including new weapons, costumes, monsters, items, and the new mission mode to name a few. The mission mode is really fun, but I never got to play a lot of it. Also, you can play the original Ninja Gaiden from the NES (not the original one for the Xbox). This is the weird thing, too, because Ninja Gaiden 1-3 were included on the first Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox, but Ninja Gaiden Black only has the first. It would have been nice to see the other two, but they're easily playable on an emulator for a PC and doesn't bother me too much. The graphics are also THE BEST that I have seen for the 6th-generation of video games, unless I'm forgetting some. Both cutscenes AND gameplay look great and are filled with detail. The sound is also really great and authentic, and never gets annoying or repetitive. You'll be wanting to play this game all the time, even if you've beaten it 100%. There is a lot of replay value because the game is just SO fun. The only reason not to get this game (especially at it's price now of around $15 I believe) is if you own a PS3 because Ninja Gaiden Sigma is out for it, which adds EVEN MORE content to this game. The graphics are a million times better on it, too, but it's $60 so it's your choice. I wouldn't want to ruin playing Ninja Gaiden for the first time by playing Black if you're able to get Sigma. I would still pay for it at $60 if I were you, but that is a big price difference and it's still the same game at it's core.
Conclusion---Overall, this is just one of the best games ever no matter which version you play. You need to get it. Period.