Sunday, July 4, 2021

PrinceWatercress plays Ninja Gaiden Shadow - Part 5 of 5


Here it is: the final battle with Emperor Garuda!

Stage 5


Ninja Gaiden 3 music! Yay!

The flamethrower guys will fire their weapons when they get close, and it can be quite annoying. If you can climb underneath the rope platforms to get past, do it. Otherwise, wait for them to come at you before slashing at them. You can also pre-occupy them by having them leap up a little bit to a nearby platform that they can easily jump to. They won't be attacking you then.

The flamethrower guys are also probably the nastiest enemy in the game. They make it difficult for you to get close and get the kill, and they also turn around if they hit the edge of a platform. If you're hanging off the bottom of a platform, they actually keep walking. This makes for some interesting abuses of AI but also interesting ways to take unnecessary damage. For best results, get behind them only if you absolutely know you can do it, and use the non-rope platforms as a means of pre-occupying them with a jump where they can't attack you unless they run into you during said jump.

The grenade guys from Stage 1 are back. Coupled with the flamethrower guys, they can make get around a bit tense.

The large flying robots here will fire three very avoidable shots. They move up and down between shots, and you can simply wait for them to come down to your level so you can slash them. Some of them actually dip down from above the screen. Take those down with your ninjitsu when necessary.

The second section takes you inside a building. The laser turrets can be destroyed only if they are opened. Let them fire first and avoid the lasers, then hit them. Also, watch out for the flamethrower guys while climbing on the rope platforms.

The next section is an elevator. You'll have to avoid all the lasers as you pick up the three ninpo as well as the big health power-up near the end. Some of them you can duck under, while others you'll have to jump over. You can also grab onto the bottom of the elevator platform to avoid some lasers, if necessary.

When you reach the top, you'll face Emperor Garuda! He'll fly around and shoot lightning down from above. Strike him when he's at your level, and stay on the move as he shoots lightning at you from the top of the screen. You do not want to be directly under Garuda, as there is a good chance you're gonna get zapped.

When you damage Garuda enough, he'll turn into some huge robot-looking thing. He'll leap from one side of the room to the other and shoot three energy beams at you. He will always fire middle, bottom, then top. Stay away from them, duck under the middle, jump over the lower one, then keep slashing away at Garuda and follow him to the other side as you avoid the upper. Keep slashing until he shoots out those energy beams again. Repeat as he jumps back to the other side. As you fight him, you'll get a good idea of when to get away so he can fire the energy beams out without you being in the way. You'll also figure out that you'll need to be close enough to hit him with your sword, but not too close, so he always does a big jump as opposed to a higher jump with less distance. If you're low on health, use your ninjutsu to deal some desperation damage.

Once Garuda blows up, you've won the game! Congratulations!

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