Ninja Gaiden (NES) - FAQ

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Ninja Gaiden
NES - Temco
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Story: Ryu Hayabusa's father disappears and he is called to head to New York 
City to find a Walter Smith. Arriving in New York City, Ryu is beset by a cult
that follows a mysterious man known as Jaquio D'meux.
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Controls: The game uses one joystick and two buttons.

D-pad    -- Moves character
Button B -- Attack
Button A -- Jump
Start    -- Pause game

Special Attacks: Spirit weapons collected use Ninpo. Spirit weapons can be used 
by pressing UP + B in most cases (in the air or standing) but cannot be used 
while on the wall (play Ninja Gaiden 2 or 3).

Wall Climbing: Ryu cannot wall climb normally, and instead needs to bounce in 
between walls or surfaces. Hold the A button and press the D-pad left and right
to bounce between wall surfaces. You can even push away from the wall, then
quickly back towards the surface at the top of a wall to work one's way up the 
wall.

Hit Points: Ryu has a total 16 stakes of life. Each enemy hit usually takes off 
1 stake except bosses and the eagles, which take off 2 to 3 stakes. Your main
challenge is Ryu's sword is only able to take out 1 stake of a boss' life as 
well and a boss is much more powerful.

Equalizer: The Jump & Slash is probably the fastest (and only) great way to 
take down the bosses without breaking a sweat. The only problem is the one 
stage after fighting Bloody Malth, where when you die, you start all the way
back at the broken bridge's beginning with no Jump & Slash. It's all about the
perfection. No text guide really helps you beat a game. Keep the Jump & Slash
and remember to hold D-pad DOWN to slash in mid-air without using the Jump & 
Slash power (saves ninpo).
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Spirit Weapons:

Ninja Star (3 Ninpo) - Straight flying star. Causes 1 stake of damage.

Windmill Star (5 Ninpo) - Goes through weak enemies and boomerangs back. If Ryu
jumps before the star returns to him, you can have it fly by and attack enemies
behind Ryu. Causes 1 stake of damage.

Art of Fireball (5 Ninpo) - 9 fireballs circle and travel upwards at an angle.
Useful in some areas.

Jump & Slash (5 Ninpo) - Ryu jumps and spins with sword extended. Does an 
incredible amount of damage in a short amount of time. Press DOWN in mid-air to
not use this weapon (and saves your ninpo when you do need it).

Invincible Firewheel - Not a weapon, but replaces it when taken. This fiery 
shield destroys all weak enemies that contact Ryu. Once 10 seconds are up, the
shield disappears and the spirit weapon slot is emptied.

Hourglass - Not a weapon. Freezes enemies on the screen for 3 seconds, which is
what you need to get by the tough areas.

Blue Ninpo - Adds 5 ninpo to the total.

Red Ninpo - Adds 10 ninpo to the total.
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