awesome
Ninja Gaiden 2 takes the gameplay that the first had and adds to and improves on it. It's easily one of the better action games on the NES and continues on the tradition of the first with it's cinematic cut scenes.
--- Presentation ---
Weaker than the first. While the cinematic cut scenes still look as great as they did in the first, the storyline has degraded significantly from what the first had to offer into a more typical "have to save the girl and then the world storyline" with your typical villain "wha-ha-ha! I will destroy you!". The dialogue is also very dry and monotonous and are barely entertaining anymore with much less thought put into them. Also, unlike the first, in which the levels you play through make perfect and logical sense, the levels in the second have only a very vague congruence to the storyline. This is a shame, because the first had it down pat. Despite all this, it's still well presented, but a significant step back nonetheless.
--- Graphics ---
About the same as the first, but slightly cleaner and slightly more flashy (yes, it's a reference to the info at the top of the screen). Don't worry, it still manages to be quite dark and gritty, but the levels are much more fantasy based this time around. In other words, the game had solid graphics for it's time.
--- Music / Sound ---
Again, about the same as the first: solid, but not perfect. The sound effects are the same as the first while the music quality is slightly bumped up. Which soundtrack you like better is a matter of preference.
--- Gameplay ---
Significant improvement here. Wall climbing is much easier and you can use secondary weapons while doing so. There's a new special weapon to be used, while the spinning jump attack is thankfully gone (it was far too erratic). Finally, you can create clones of yourself by collective up to 2 clone power-ups. These clones don't sustain damage but can damage enemies, lending a bit more strategy to the game. The enemies are more varied and the levels are just better designed in the second installment, and the game is not nearly as glitchy as the first (but still not glitch free, mind you). Due to these improvements, and the addition of a seventh act, the game is not only a bit longer but more fun to play as a result. The difficulty? Yeah, it's still a hard game.
--- Lasting Appeal / Conclusion ---
Ninja Gaiden 2 manages to still be fun today, but once you beat it all you can do is try for higher scores and speed runs. Still, if you haven't played it or haven't completed it, it's definitely worth the five dollar price of admission. If you only have five bucks, I'd recommend this one over the first simply because the actual gameplay is better.