Summary
- Ninja Gaiden 2 Black offers difficulty options to face challenging bosses like Volf and Marbus.
- Fighting the Black Spider Tengus together is a unique challenge in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.
- Elizebet stands out as a formidable boss, highlighting the intense difficulty of the game's bosses.
Ninja Gaiden 2, along with its 2004 predecessor, gained a reputation for being two of the hardest games ever. They’re still considered to be in league with the various Soulslike experiences out there in terms of difficulty, thanks to the aggressive enemies that constantly put players on the defensive. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, the latest in a series of ports, fixes this by giving players some helpful difficulty options.
Every Playable Character In Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, Ranked
Out of the four heroes in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, who reigns supreme?
No matter what difficulty players choose to play in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, they’re still going to face a challenging adventure, especially when it comes to bosses. By the end, it’s going to feel like a Mega Man game, as many of these bosses return multiple times. With that in mind, let’s rank the hardest bosses in Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.
8 Volf
A Howling Duel
- Appearance: Chapter 6
Volf is a werewolf if the name wasn’t already a giveaway. He wants a good challenge and thinks Ryu is up for the task once they reach the Roman Coliseum. Players are given a good arena to fight in, but it’s a bit dusty and hard to see at times. This is done on purpose to enhance Volf’s advantage in the ring.
He wields a giant scythe that’s slow, but it can hurt a lot when it hits. Players will have to be ready to dodge his advances and then loop around behind to rush in a few blows with something fast before retreating again.
7 Marbus
His Wings Give Him An Advantage
- Appearance: Chapter 8
Marbus is first encountered during a guest character’s level. Rachel is a returning character from 2004's Ninja Gaiden game who wields a giant hammer along with a machine gun. Marbus is a goat-like creature who can fly and is decently good at it.
Rachel is at a real disadvantage because she’s not fast on her feet and swinging that hammer takes time, meaning that Marbus can easily zip past her with his wings. Players will have to take care of random enemies that spawn and then shoot Marbus with Rachel's machine gun to stun him before moving in to hit him with a few hammer blows.
6 Fiend Witch
That Bubbled Body Is A Shield
- Appearance: Chapter 11
The Fiend Witch has no official name, and she’s the boss for Ayane’s guest level. Ayane is from the Dead or Alive series, but is also a ninja within this Ninja Gaiden franchise. She’s the quickest character in the game thanks to her lightweight twin sword weapons.
The tricky thing about the Fiend Witch is her bubbled body, which does not take damage from a lot of angles. Players will have to hit the boss' main upper body, which isn’t easy, as the Fiend Witch is constantly on the move, and getting close can be dangerous too.
5 Black Spider Tengus
Two Bosses At Once Is Always A Challenge
- Appearance: Chapter 5
The Black Spider Tengus are the last set of bosses that belong to a guest level, and yes, there are two of them. There’s a Blue and Red version of the Black Spider Tengus. Players will first face the Blue one alone with Momiji, a shrine maiden who is trying to save a young child.
The solo fight isn’t all that hard, but facing both colors at once will be tricky, as Momiji won’t be as well-equipped with items as Ryu since she is just a guest character. She does have the advantage of wielding a really strong weapon though, the Heavenly Dragon Nagita, which has a decent reach and attack power to help make this fight a little easier.
4 Genshin (Fiend)
The Last Time’s The Charm
- Appearance: Chapter 17
Genshin is seemingly just a male ninja like Ryu, but he’s from a rival ninja clan. Players will face him several times in the game, and will eventually “kill him,” although he gets resurrected as a monster after the killing blow.
This Fiend version of Genshin, which appears in the last level of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, is his strongest version yet, with more aggressive attacks. His weapons are enhanced along with the stature of his towering body. The last few levels of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black are kind of like a boss rush mode as there are many fights in quick succession, making a lot of them challenging because they occur back to back.
3 Alexei
Lightning Fast
- Appearance: Chapter 4
Alexei is a demon who is the master of Lightning. He’s an early boss in the game’s fourth stage, the top of the Statue of Liberty, which is always a great place for a showdown in New York City. Players may find Alexei impossibly hard when he appears so early in the game, because he uses lightning to enhance his movement.
7 Best Weapons In Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, Ranked
There are many weapons in the game but which should be focused on?
Alexei is hard to counter in this state, so players just have to be diligent about dodging his attacks and trying to get in a few swipes when they can. Hopefully, they come into the fight packing a lot of items.
2 Dagra Dai (Fiend)
An Energized Prophet
- Appearance: Chapter 17
Dagra Dai is the priest of a demon cult who is trying to gather sacrifices to revive The Archfiend. Before The Archfiend, players have to face a mutated version of Dagra Dai, who is a gifted mage.
He can fill the small battlefield with blasts from all directions, plus he has minions running around to help his assault. The cramped space and explosive nature of his attacks may cause players to panic, unsure of what to do. It’s chaos pure and simple, but Dagra Dai doesn’t have very good defense, so it won’t take long to take him down once players start attacking.
1 Elizebet (Fiend)
Should Have Been The Main Villain
- Appearance: Chapter 13
Elizebet can be seen with Genshin throughout the game. She won’t be fought until the thirteenth level when she sheds her human skin and takes on her more demonic form. Elizebet is strong from all angles of her boss fight. She can fly and is fast to boot, which makes it hard to hit her, much like Alexei. She also uses blood magic to hit Ryu with a barrage of crimson tentacles that are nearly impossible to dodge.
She’ll be fought again right after Genshin in the final level, which is just as hard of an encounter, although players should be stronger by that point. She probably should have been the main villain of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, as she is one badass femme fatale.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
- Released
- January 23, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Koei Tecmo Games Co., Ltd.
- Publisher(s)
- Koei Tecmo Games Co., Ltd.
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC
