Ninja Gaiden (NES) James and Mike Mondays

[@Fadingxx]

It was fun watching Mike do his runs of this on Twitch. The no sub weapon, no death run was tense.

[@JamesNintendoNerd]

Thanks for being there when I did it live!

[@christophergarrison2628]

He died once

[@rsmith02]

@@christophergarrison2628 He redid it

[@JamesNintendoNerd]

@@christophergarrison2628 We are talking about this playthrough: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKLYipWDgrSWjcU

[@lorddoomer501]

I've beaten ninja gaiden when I was 12 and Ive beaten Ocarina of Time at 100% without dying

[@FreshWitDiceInMirror]

Before you think, you must FEEL

[@AlexyoTheFirst]

You are slow! Like sloth, taking shit!

[@hiss9989]

Before you feel, you must see.

[@nux3960]

Your thumbs must be faster than the fan spinning :O

[@EmilForsberg_GRYBO]

Before you feel!!!

[@Coffeeandacigarette]

Before you leap, you must look

[@sjshady0169]

I want to see James fulfill his destiny and beat this game once and for all!

[@truindividual]

i beat this game twice. Never have I known any of this

[@Shaewaros]

The AVGN Ninja Gaiden Episode was so great precisely because the Nerd could't beat Ninja Gaiden even with the help of the ninja master. :D So it all worked out in the end.

[@theangrykekistani9418]

But who was the mysterious ninja

[@AwesomeGamer-om4hm]

@@theangrykekistani9418 Kevin Finn, the same actor as the Glitch Gremlin.

[@standepain]

I got this for Christmas the year it came out, played it all day and only made it to the end boss on stage 3. My neighbor came over that night and we were up until about 1 and he got us to level 6. Finally called it a night and he asked to borrow it and the next morning I called him and asked if he played it anymore and he said he beat it. Called BS and when he came over later that day he popped it in and beat it with ease. Dude could master any side scroller in just a few hours.

[@DoubleBeast]

Local legend.

[@youtubeadmin1588]

DblBeast once you turn 12 these games are no longer difficult. My best friend also had the “legendary cousin” who could beat all these games, Mike Tyson etc. when I turned 12 and beat Tyson first he was pissed.

[@mmabuff101]

How old were you guys

[@standepain]

@@mmabuff101 I was 14 he was 13.

[@mmabuff101]

@@standepain ahh that makes sense. I was 7 when I got this and it took me waaaaay longer to get to stage 6

[@jamesdecade]

Watching Mike talk through how to play this game was like watching a humble professional pianist, who doesn't know how good he is, teaching a friend about the depth of complex concertos when all they really asked him for was some beginner tips for party entertainment.

[@daniellado2523]

I love how cinematic it tries to be even though it is on the NES. It paved the way for more games to have cutscenes and an engaging story along with the gameplay.

[@chubbycatfish4573]

Damn, Mike just bulldozing the game while casually chatting.

[@Urinal]

He did practice and run through it alot. The game becomes muscle memory after enough plays.

[@truindividual]

@@Urinal i haven't the patience

[@elitegamer2272]

Truly a ninja master

[@sams.5608]

@@truindividual If you can accept you're gonna die a lot it makes it easier to memorize the stages

[@moneymikz]

I mean Arkus did the same while setting the WR speed run

[@KnuckleHunkybuck]

My all-time favorite castle crumble animation isn't even in a video game, but in a pinball machine. In Medieval Madness, when you shoot a pinball into the castle with a lowered drawbridge and open gate, the towers all spring outward and back up repeatedly while all the lights flash. And the machine holds your ball the whole time so you can enjoy the whole thing before it spits your ball back out to you.

[@gplechuckiii]

"Stop making all that noise"

[@KnuckleHunkybuck]

@kaobasa "They took our wives! _[Cheering]_ "

[@gashpb9113]

It seems James is actually following the ninja path. He just see, feel, think with his arms crossed while Mike plays the game, this is just perfect, we love that.

[@BasicTechGirl]

This is like when you're showing your parents how awesome you are at a game and they love you so much that they are trying to be supportive and look interested.

[@meziens15]

If you think about it.. it's pretty surprising how impressive this game is. Short but powerful cut scenes at that time and without eternal loading screens, getting right back in the action packed gameplay. It really is a true excelent for all these years that this game has been around. I believe that many games can learn from this and apply it to the new generation of games. Shorter loading screens and short but powerful stories in-between gameplay to make a game truly fascinating and spectacular to retain the power for years. Thanks for this video James & Mike, awesome to see Ninja Gaiden content back, cheers!

[@ScyllaWyrm]

A lot of that stuff connects. In Vampire Hunter D from 1985 there's a crumbling castle at the end and Lupin the 3rd and the Castle of Cagliostro has sunken, Roman ruins hidden next to the castle, which is all very reminiscent of the Castlevania games that were made shortly after.

[@Xenovious.0]

The fact that you were able to beat Jaquio all in one try is amazing, Im impressed

[@mikematei]

Retro Art Thanks. There are more advanced methods to kill form 2 but this is the more normal way to do it

[@danielr3106]

I love how Mike guided James through the games showing him tips.

[@mecha_nemesis_6897]

"I want you to see the whole thing from beginning to end" *skips intro*

[@rftrbnm850]

He mean the whole gameplay.

[@FooFighter201]

Man, Mike made that look easy and explained everything so well it actually gave me a bit of a confidence boost to dust it off and try it again. I’m like James and just gave up after a certain point lol

[@manundermask6601]

"Ryu, your safe!" What about his safe?

[@vfrank2220]

They probably didn't care about the translation because they thought nobody would make it to that point in the game.

[@tha_JrØd]

Get the spin slash Get the spin slash Get the spin slash

[@skiffy8121]

piercing shruikens better imo

[@KnobleSloth]

So.... Get the knife?

[@dimitrisbam1132]

if you haven't played the game you can't imagine how difficult this is

[@horsecorpse]

27:31 I swear Mike says "Annnd clunk, we're here" which would be an awesome subconscious shout-out to Arcus.

[@johnmorey720]

The big winsmill throwing star has a use - if you dodge it on its return, it'll whip around wildly trying to get back to you, and you can sometimes clear a whole room just by avoiding it. It also wrecks "non-boss" parts of bosses, like the gake demon dog ot the head/tail of the final boss in one hit.

[@alexsilva28]

Trying to avoid it while simultaneously avoiding enemy projectiles is just counterproductive

[@vertyisprobablydead]

I used to do that shit all the time. I beat the game with that star.

[@jc.1191]

Best special attack of the series

[@CommandoKnight200]

Majora's Mask broke James' soul. 😃😃😃😃

[@michaelwedgeworth8625]

Haha yea it appears so...

[@haydensiska8454]

"You've suffered a terrible fate, haven't you...."

[@alphalax7747]

Why are you happy

[@alphalax7747]

@@AdamOSretro ok maybe not that bad but still sucky

[@CommandoKnight200]

@@AdamOSretro 🙂😛

[@bigrigjoe5130]

Way to go Mike on your no deaths no sub weapon run

[@pale9819]

James and Mike Mondays is my favorite series in your channel. Just two friends playing a game together and having fun.

[@RangerRickTV]

One of my first games for NES

[@donttouchmykokoropls5752]

Ninja Gaiden has one of the best music in NES. Stage 4-2 was so hype back in the day. Im even left speechless that the NES can even produce such great sounds. The beat was fantastic.

[@chrusader5134]

*Yes.* Please do more book stuff James.

[@michaeljaubert1325]

Watched Mike beat this with no deaths or sub weapons. Guy is a champ

[@DaimlerStool]

The Ninja Gaiden Nerd episode is easily in my top 3 Nerd episodes, so good.

[@Matthew6418]

27:31 I see we have another Arcus fan.

[@johnmorey720]

The reason for the final boss health refill is because, once a boss is beaten, the gae is programmed to refill your health and drain your weapon energy to tally up an end-of-stage score. Note that you lose your subweapon after any one of the three endbosses, too. WHen you come back in a different life, however, it doesn't make you refight the bosses you've beaten, so that "reset" simply does not happen.

[@robertjenkins6132]

Ninja Gaeden is a hard gae.

[@BarefootIguana]

Loved playing this game when I was a kid but I could never beat it! Loved watching this.

[@jasonsylvander3089]

I used to get that red star and jump or duck when it comes back... creates a poor man's shield if you keep avoiding catching it

[@tom198282]

AVGN: Ninja Gaiden Part II...Revenge of the Nerd...?!

[@abhijeetsharma5764]

I want to see this entire trilogy done like the Castlevania marathon so badly

[@Chamberz55]

He should do Gaiden on Xbox and have the Ninja come back and train him.

[@SuinegNet]

This NEEDS TO HAPPEN!!

[@jc.1191]

Second was the best

[@nRommeln]

The game is only over when you make it over

[@JM_DN94]

Classic game, but some levels can be sheer torture

[@Genethagenius]

So many hours of my childhood were spent on this game! I remember being blown away by the cut scenes, especially the one where Ryu’s father and the other ninja jump and clash in the air and one falls...

[@ChristopherM1701]

Merry Christmas James and Mike and everyone at Cinemassacre

[@juanelorriaga2840]

I could never finish this game I’d get close but never did it.Much respect to everyone who has beat this game cause it used to haunt my dreams in 1989

[@robski461616]

27:33 Thumbs up if you got the "clunk" reference😁

[@RusyChicken]

Good clunk.

[@robski461616]

@@RusyChicken Right lol.

[@Kukulcan1984]

Smash smash smash...

[@lance16O1]

Your comment is epic.

[@draganskoda]

Arcus

[@saladoc]

Wait... YOU CAN JUST HOLD THE BUTTON TO WALLJUMP?!!!... FUUUUUCK!!! My whole life has been a lie.

[@aaronstark5060]

I feel your pain. I’ve been playing this game for 30 years and that was new information to me.

[@Virtualglue]

@@aaronstark5060 Only 30? :P

[@imperiodasgalaxias9064]

WHAT?

[@felix-ve8jk]

James seems highly interested in learning all the speedrunning tricks

[@Kf0221-q9z]

I finally get to see people who shared the same memories as me. This is cool man. Revenge Of The Shinobi was another one.

[@patrickantony]

Drinking game: shot every time you hear the word "spinslash!"

[@jordanrichardson7498]

I got into this game real heavy because of you guys. One game that’s super difficult, but also super fun. Thanks for everything.

[@ScottKasprick]

I beat this game back in the day - literally about 25 years ago - picking it up again about year ago I still have the muscle memory to play the game like it was yesterday. You have to play it soooo much that once you get to the level to beat it, it'll be with you forever.

[@metadotjpg]

@32:42 - hearing Mike explain what took me like 3 solid weeks of constant grinding is humbling, liberating, and maddening all at the same time 👻

[@LadyCoyKoi]

Saw this when Mike was playing it on his own with no sub weapon and no deaths. O_O Fun watching him beat it again but in whatever form. ^_^ Ninja master indeed.

[@ShuriBear]

As a Ninja Gaiden speedrunner it is fun to see Mike do some speedrun tricks in this video.

[@ConstantineFurman]

Everybody knows about the Jasons (named "Jackson" in the game) in the first two Ninja Gaidens, but nobody even mentions that this first game also has the Blind Dead!

[@dgates8097]

Merry Christmas, James and Mike! Thanks for everything the past 10+ years!

[@SoulsOfWisdom]

Mike, you were using the down-slash trick (the one to get repeated slashes) a lot to hit the orb and the final boss, but it's unfortunate you didn't explain that trick to James because that's a very important trick to know for this boss.

[@ilpoh5319]

@Jerry Smith umm.. what? It's abusing a bug. Definetely a trick.

[@dannydunn802]

Why not just use the spin slash for a 1 hit kill on the boss?

[@ilpoh5319]

@Jerry Smith oh gtfo? :D you are so wrong here I don't if you are even worth it. But if it's a feature, why not in manual? They made the game so that you could slash 1-2 times midair. There is a cooldown for slash. By pressin certain buttons in midair, you can actually glitch the cooldown time and slash faster than it is supposed to. Or do you really honestly think that the devs wanted it that way? You are freaking stupid if you do :D and arguing with an idiot is pointless.

[@MrDani99xtrm]

It’s kinda wholesome that the whole point of the video is basically a friend showing another friend they can beat a hard game. “I just want to show you I can beat it. And talk about it.”

[@Ninjetika]

Episode idea: James, "The Nerd", beats Ninja Gaiden and then trains the ninja to beat it... Making the AVGN the true ninja!

[@vickyking6876]

One of the things I've always loved about these videos is the fact they DON'T use constant jumpcuts! Feels so much more natural and real without them. Keep it this way!!

[@mayb7569]

He beat Ninja Gaiden without dying? Okay that is more impressive than beating Battletoads and I have beaten Battletoads before.

[@holdingpattern245]

it's interesting to come back to this video after learning the meaning of 27:31

[@MagnumSkyWolf]

Take a shot every time he says spin slash

[@WizardOnAWhale7]

The birds in this game are the reason why every time I see a dead bird on the sidewalk, I feel a little better inside.

[@FS-cl3wo]

My tricks to beat ninja gaiden if you died on the final boss is just to get back to the door before the boss and die, so you'll get full health back, and it's not a long run to return to the end boss, so it's fairly easy to get back to the boss full health. (and if i'm not mistaken there's a potion on the last screen before the boss)

[@exantiuse497]

The issue isn't that you can't get to the boss with full health, it's that your health won't be refilled between different stages of the boss which is very problematic since you're practically guaranteed to take hits in the last stage

[@FS-cl3wo]

@@exantiuse497 sure, but once a boss phase is done it's done and you don't have to do it again. So you just gonna do the trick again and you can easily beat the last boss and the game.

[@coleron07]

There are so many games I couldn't beat back when I was little, and this was one of them. Only took 38 years to do it lol. Great run Mike. Have a great Christmas guys.

[@MrTamiya89]

James is Just Sitting There Thinking "When's It My Turn?"

[@RolandWizard]

This episode is food for my soul, i found out about “AVGN” randomly searching about ninja gaiden around 2013 and ive been hooked since!!!!...... Hey mike love watching your full game play throughs, cant wait for mike and tony tuesday’s tomorrow

[@kristfur]

Blaster Master & Ninja Gaiden are my fav NES games. Both hard AF games I never finished.

[@duffman18]

Have you played the 2 new Blaster Master games? They're just like the NES one, just bigger. Probably a bit easier as well. Though I haven't played too far into the original nes one yet. But the controls and everything feel the same. They're pretty cool games.

[@jc.1191]

Wow. I never like games I can't beat.

[@metadotjpg]

It's nice to see someone give this game the respect and attention it deserves, tbh. Thanks, Mike and James!

[@hanafuda]

11:47 they missed a golden opportunity for a “knowing is half the battle” joke

[@johnmorey720]

UTSCENE THAT JAMES DID NOT SEE: Ryu's father tells him that (now that Jaquio is dead) he needs to take the two demon statues and throw them out of the temple before the eclipse occurs. But the ecipse happens, everything starts to shake, and then you fight the demon as the final boss. I liked the way they did it in II with the bad guy's blood activating the altar.

[@kekeke8988]

Is it just me or does the "demon" look like a giant shrimp?

[@TheCardsharp]

This was crazy to watch through. It's amazing how easy Mike makes it look, but I know how much harder it is when you actually try it.

[@mikematei]

The Cardsharp Yeah, a lot easier said than done. The one thing you cant explain is timing. That just comes with practice

[@leee2818]

Really enjoy watching Mike play Ninja Gaiden these past few times. He makes it look easy.

[@zamora77786]

This was one of my favorite games from my childhood. ❤ The directing and music of this game are awesome. I went back Ann. Played. It a couple of years ago and the directing was the thing that blew me away, then the music. I think this game is responsible for me liking games that make me angry haha.

[@sheridan140]

I remember a (maybe) glitch I exploited as a kid, climb as high on a side wall as possible and let Jaquio hit me so I'd be knocked up in the corner. All I had to do then was slash when he flew by, neither he nor fireballs could touch. As a kid, this was my favorite series after Castlevania & Mega Man. Legendary difficulty. Thanks, great vid!

[@Stone8age]

Looks like Mike memorized everything in the game.

[@FernicusShred]

I used to beat this game all the time as a kid. I used to get to the final boss without getting hit. If I did, I'd reset and start all over. It's my all time favorite game.

[@vahlok1426]

If you guys are looking for a Ninja Gaiden esque movie you should give Revenge of the Ninja a shot. Ninja comes to America and tracks down an evil ninja in at the time contemporary New York I believe, but could be mistaken. Its 80's cheese and kinda schlocky at times but its probably the closest to a Ninja Gaiden movie we ever got.

[@ayotollaofrockandrolla7219]

Vahlok142 love the nudity in it

[@Sacrilege83]

Or you can just watch Ryu Hyabusa'a appearance in DOA the movie, lol.

[@demonv-1]

I remember doing all those tricks as a kid. So many ninja gaiden memories. 👹

[@JT044-iz1cv]

I loved the OVA of this game

[@1WBo55]

The Ninja Gaiden episode is what got me into AGVN for life, so its cool to see Mike actually go through all the tips to efficiently get through everything AVGN was screaming about. This is cool AF.

[@ClassicGamer78]

Mike is a beast!

[@bensabourin3464]

That "who's there" girl after level 1, I always thought she looked like 80's Geddy Lee.

[@THE_VictoryPictures]

Everyone that beats this game should get a medal.

[@burakardaaksoy6339]

Yes I must

[@O.G.Ashtre]

Would Be Nice Lol

[@THE_VictoryPictures]

NES ADDICT Still, it's one of the hardest games ever.

[@atranfanatic]

I would like 2 please as I have beaten it twice and the second time on video. lol

[@fatalfury66]

God this game was so hard when i was a kid. I never did get to see the whole game. Glad you did this video

[@Ansar-ne5er]

Ok, next: beat the game wearing Bugs Bunny suit.

[@fncrazy101]

Thank you Mike for helping James continue making AVGN back in the day ❤ Thank you James for listening to Mike and, making so many memories, fans, and great times with friends in the process ❤

[@dion6047]

The best ninja gaiden game guide ever!! Matei is like a god to me right now!!

[@foxao]

Have a cowboy that you should watch A-HEM.

[@darkl3ad3r]

Oh my god, I first played this game when I was 3 years old in 1990 and all these years I never knew about being able to do a jump sword attack while equipped with spin slash. Thank you for the tip, Mike, and excellent playthrough.

[@dm-so1st]

If I'm not wrong... the conversation at the beginning of the video about the final boss... if you do die and get sent back to 6-1, if you make it back to the boss on the same continue, it doesn't refill your health but you do at least get to continue on the form that you were on when you died instead of having to do all three again. Also, generally the game is smartly designed so that the sub-weapon that they give you is immediately useful for the situation that you're going to be put in... it's not true 100% of the time, but generally it is.

[@tadeuferreira4059]

Wow, that's a good speed run, and to think Mike only lost 1 single life and get to beat all 3 bosses on the first encounter with them and without sub weapons is amazing!

[@MrMaze.]

Fav NES game

[@DonCarlos590]

The cutscences were amazing for an 8bit. Original CGI.

[@FoxGoldEnterprises]

You're winner!

[@robertjenkins6132]

This story is happy end.

[@Zaelecz]

A winner is you!

[@alexsilva28]

Good

[@ninjanizzle]

Conglaturation

[@Davey_Cakes]

Eventually, after many playthroughs, I realized how the final stretch works. If you beat the final boss’s first form, but lose to the second, you’ll be sent back. But, once you replay that section, you won’t have to beat the first form again. You’ll go straight to the final form. And, if you die in the last area, you’ll recover in the same spot. It’s only when you die at the final boss that you’re sent ALL the way back. There’s a weird strategic element in staying within the final stretch of stages. Replay until you’re always facing the final boss’s final form. Then, just approach with the Flames ninpo and sufficient ammo. You’re good.

[@Dylan-jp9mr]

Mikes a ninja master

[@Airik1111bibles]

Haven't seen this game since playing it when it came out, good memories.

[@AlucardsQuest]

Bruh... after 30 years, James has never seen the end game cut scenes... and you skip it like it's nothing. I understand you're integral to the videos these days, (and we fans appreciate it)... but who does that?! ... Thank you for all your hard work over the years.

[@PlumZaplook]

Maybe he has. Remember the beat a game button from AVGN? I can't remember what episode its from but he beats a bunch of hard games in a row with it and one of them is Ninja Gaiden. So maybe he saw it and forgot. Also sorry for replying to a 7m old comment lol.

[@uberyoutuber3892]

Dammit Mike, you make this bastard of a game look super easy.

[@BrickManLive]

The punishment for dying on the final boss was, in fact, a glitch. But whoever was in charge looked at it, thought it was awesome and decided to keep it in the game. What an asshole. The SNES version doesn't have this bullshit (though it sucks hard enough as it is). EDIT: Found the actual proof on the game's wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Gaiden_(NES_video_game) , search for the word "glitch"

[@TStef64]

They only decided to keep it in the American and European releases too, they fixed it in the Japanese version. Especially awful about that glitch is that your health does not refill the second time you get there. I remember that whenever i would have went up to the final boss and did not have much health, i would purposely kill myself in the last section of stage 6-3 and then try to get through without taking any damage to have the best shot. Easily the worst part of the game.

[@The1uptriforce]

I have a hack that remedies that I beat it too .

[@youtubeadmin1588]

Brick Man so you’re unsure. It was probably supposed to be the other way around. Refills life if you get there a second time.

[@Gladson]

Wikipedia is not a "proof" for anything as anybody can write anything there.

[@juliabrnssr]

Highly doubt anyone's gonna read this but this episode reminds me of a fun time I had. I was going through a Faze in which I wanted to play the hardest games there where. This was one of them on the list. Like Mike I "Practiced for a while at it", then one time at a friends house I brought my N.E.S. over (This was about 10 years ago). I wanted to show the game off to my friends (Not for skill I think it's an amazing game), so I hooked the system up to a Plasma Screen. It took a little time getting used to the refresh speed but was in a rhythm after the first level. I remember it took several tries to get past that last from of the Final boss, where in everyone lost interest but brought up conversation. Then I beat it, the conversation stopped and they all stared at amazement. They found the ending a little cheezy but still well worth it. Years later I would go to that friends house and play other games on that T.V., if you looked closely at the top, the scoreboard of the game had been burnt into it. That is the only way I could tell you it was Plasma. I would say it's still there but he got rid of that T.V. a while ago. It's been years since I've played but I have a feeling I can do it again, but with items I was never that good at the game.

[@swordpanda7panda795]

Mike said to never use the red star sub weapon but there's a way to use it, you can used it as a continues attack - -the way this works is to use the rebound of the weapon by jumping over it when it returns and let it pass ( either over your head or jump over it) if you get to know the extremity of the red stars reach you can actually use it as a spinslash remote. i did some crazy shit with this game as a kid xD i practically only got new games on christmas so replaying games was all i did - also i had social anxiety so making friends was difficult :( - so the games were my diversion i remember playing batman returns on Snintendo so much that the windows jumping stage (can't remember the name for the life of me) was as easy as stage one ( -^^)> also i had about 7 of those smoke vails since i never used them, the only difficult part was the batmobile chase because let's face it, it was a blur most the time and you never are sure if that corner was to narrowly taken or to wide and you end up hitting the @#*&^%$#+ lights! xD . I wholeheartedly remember fondly those days were i just came back from school and played kung fu ninja, gaiden, castlevania bionic commando, contra and many more ^^ now you have to cherry pick to find a entertaining like those not that there aren't but mostly they are hard to find

[@swordpanda7panda795]

@Jonny Croxville 😎👉👍 thanks random stranger! And a happy new year

[@swordpanda7panda795]

@Jonny Croxville xD

[@dfailsthemost]

The cut scenes plus the wall grabbing make this game amazing.