Improvements on gameplay, with menacing music and decent graphics make this game a must-buy for any Wii owner.
In the beginning of the stage you encounter some thugs in a metropolis that were sent by Ashtar to kill you. After defeating the first boss, a U.S. Army solider, Robert T.S., informs you about Irene’s kidnapping and later on tells you the importance of Ashtar’s plan. In this game, you start out with a regular ninja star as your special weapon. You also have a limit to see how many “spirit points” you can carry, unlike the first NG in which you can carry up to 99; in this game you start out with 40 and you collect scrolls in each Act (except the First) to increase your limit by 10. New to this game is carrying Ninja Spirits as your exact doubles (or is it triples?) and they mimic exactly on what you do. They cannot be harmed but then can inflict damage as much as you do (they can be helpful against bosses, especially with some powerful special weapons). Also new (as well as improved) is that you can now climb walls as well as using special weapons while climbing. This makes the game much easier, but you cannot use your sword while climbing. There’s another technique in which you, from the edge of the wall can jump out and then land on top of that edge; this skill takes some practice. Basic controls such as jump and slash are there, although the might jump-and-slash maneuver is absent (the programmers probably thought the move was too cheesy since you can defeat the bosses with one well-timed move).
The cinema scenes are also still there with a new storyline. Ashtar taunts (in a bit of a cocky manner) Ryu throughout, and Irene seems to be more of a damsel in distress rather than the tough cookie we saw in the first. Robert proves to be a valuable ally in the cinema scenes. The music during the gameplay is still as fast-paced, and during the cinema scenes are more eerie than the first. The difficulty level is just as punishing with enemies respawning constantly, though not as mercilessly as the first game. The graphics remain the same but they're still very good for its time.
NG II for the VC is a perfect sequel to buy for 500 Wii points if you’re familiar with the original NG. Even if you’re not familiar with the NG series, this is a good gateway start to become familiar with the original, though you might find the gameplay of this sequel to be better than the first.