So now that I have an Xbox, it seems to me that I should have a copy of Ninja Gaiden. So I know Ninja Gaiden Black is an upgraded version of the original, but what are the differences? More importantly, is there anything about the first version that you miss out on by choosing Black?

Sorry, I only own black and I haven't even played it yet.

From Wikipedia:

Tecmo published two remakes of Ninja Gaiden: Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Essentially the same game as the original, they tell the same story of Ryu and the Dark Dragon Blade, but include additional content and updated game mechanics. Itagaki deemed Black to be the final version of Ninja Gaiden,[48] but with the release of the PlayStation 3, Tecmo ported the game to this platform as Sigma.

[edit] Ninja Gaiden Black

Tecmo announced at E3 2005 that Team Ninja was working on Ninja Gaiden Black,[74] and later exhibited a working version of the game at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show.[75] Black is a reworked compilation of the original Ninja Gaiden and the two Hurricane Packs.[48] The game features new foes, such as exploding bats and doppelgänger fiends who can imitate Ryu.[76] It contains more costumes than the original, and swaps Ninja Gaiden's unlockable NES games for an arcade version.[77]

One key feature of the remake is its two new difficulty settings—the easy 'Ninja Dog', and the very hard 'Master Ninja'.[9] Itagaki added Ninja Dog after receiving complaints of Ninja Gaiden being too hard in its default incarnation,[78] although he believed that, with persistence, any player was capable of completing the game.[79] Hence he ensured that those players selecting Ninja Dog would be subjected to gentle mockery by the game—players on this difficulty setting receive pink ribbons as accessories, and Ayane treats Ryu as an inferior. In compensation, Itagaki made the other difficulty settings harder than in Ninja Gaiden. Ryu's adversaries were strengthened and made more aggressive, and some of his offensive moves, such as the Flying Swallow, were toned down.[9]

Another feature of Black is its Mission Mode, which comprises 50 combat missions, one of which is adapted from the custom game designed for the Ninja Gaiden Master Tournament World Championship final. The last five missions are based on those in Hurricane Pack 2, but with the Black game engine, and form a linked series known as "Eternal Legend".[77]

so the only tradeoff, it seems, is that instead of the NES game you get the arcade game... That actually souns like a better deal.

Are you serious?

You're gonna buy both, and you know it.

Why? Because they are there.

There is some merit to this theory, i think. :)

You know, come to think of it i don't own either version. That doesn't make any sense...

I would absolutely buy both, when prices allow for it. (ie. It's okay to pay "real" money for one of them, but the other has to be practically free, since they are basically the same thing.) Now I at least have a justification for it (NES games vs. arcade game). :D

Of course now I regret passing on a cheap (new) copy of the original about a year or 2 ago, thinking I wouldn't need it if Black was better.

[gloat]I have:
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden Black
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Ninja Gaiden II[/gloat]

Ha ha, you don't have the DS one. :cool:

>>>so the only tradeoff, it seems, is that instead of the NES game you get the arcade game... That actually souns like a better deal.

I couldn't stand the arcade version, sure it looked better and was a different game, but it has horrible controls and is just unpleasant to play...at least for me. Although it is an interesting change that I didn't know about black.

It's also a lot less common, having never gotten a port. That makes it more interesting as a collecty piece.

Oops. :dead: My bad Marcelo. Yea, I got Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword to.