Here are some tips to get you started.

The blacksmith charges10,000 Essence for the first improvement, and a whopping20,000 for the second!

We recommend starting with the Dragon Sword, since itoffers a nice balance of speed and range.

Ryu facing off against enemy ninjas in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Upgrading your weapons can alsochange their appearance!

Arms, legs, and even heads can be removed with relative ease!

You’ll know you executed this properly if your dodge isaccompanied by particle effects.

Ninja Gaiden NES cover art and promo art for the Ninja Gaiden Master Collection

Thankfully, there’s actuallya way to use them in a much safer fashion.

After killing an enemy, their corpse willusually spawn Essence.

This alsogrants invincibility for the spells' duration, so it’s a great get-out-of-jail-free card.

A fully upgraded dragon sword in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Practice Countering

Another way to move from defense back to offense is to counter incoming blows.

Depending on which weapon you’re using, youmay be able to start a combo of your own!

During these moments, you canhold the Right Bumper to highlight where you gotta goto advance the story.

Ryu performing a Flying Swallow in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

It’s often beneficial toignore this momentarilyand venture into the additional paths available to you.

Theyoften hide Ki pickups and Life of the Gods spheres, which can beused to increase your maximum health.

There are quite a few versions of each Ninja Gaiden game.

Ryu looking at a dismembered enemy in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Here’s all of them, and which is best to start with.

Ryu dodging an enemy attack in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Ryu charging a Ultimate Technique in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Ryu casting Ninpo in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Ryu countering an enemy in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Ryu collecting a Life of the Gods sphere in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.

Ninja Gaiden Arcade, Ninja Gaiden 2 and Ninja Gaiden 3.

Triple-A Games

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black