Ninja Gaiden Black(May contain spoilers)

[Dark Knight]

So, I picked this up a couple of weeks ago and I liked it more than the original version...until...I got to Murai in Chapter 16. Now, for those that don't know, this version is HARDER than the original. Enemies do a bit more damage, throw you more often and certain attacks are ineffective against certain foes.

This isn't a bad thing. It challenged me more than the original ever did. Anyways, Murai...seems much, much harder than he ever needed to be. Is it because he does so much damage? Is it because he has awesome ninja killing skills? No. It is because you are, at best, ineffective against him and at worst, a minor annoyance. He can counter everything you do with punishing combos. You have no counter against him. The only attack that was ever partially effective against him was the Flying Swallow. It stunned him long enough to at least get a decent combo in. Now, you ricochet off him like he was made of steel and when you land, chances are he'll grab you and take half your life bar.

Now, Flying Swallow was never the end all skill when it came to this fight, but it worked often enough to give you a decent chance. It is worthless now. This is the problem I'm having. I have no healing items. I used them fighting the Vigoorian Emperor(forgot how to keep his head from grabbing you. -_-).

I've looked at many strategy guides on Gamefaqs to see how to beat him without healing items. All they tell me is "if you have no healing items, you're pretty much screwed". I refuse to believe this. I put 13 hours into this file and I don't want to give up and start a new game. I've gotten him down to half his life between using Flying Swallow(if you time it just right while he's flying at you, it still works, you just can't combo off it), Partially charged Ultimate Techs and the occasional combo.

Does anyone that has gotten this far and is a God at Ninja Gaiden have any suggestions? Is he possible to beat with no healing items?

As a side note, my life bar is maxed out for the most part.

[MottZilla]

I played the original Ninja Gaiden for Xbox but never the Hurricane Packs or Ninja Gaiden Black. I have NGB but never played all the way through. It's a great game, but I can't give you much advice other than practice makes perfect, watch and learn enemy patterns and behavior.

[Warlock]

I still can't find this game anywhere (except ebay for stupid high prices). *sigh*

[MottZilla]

I got it new for 5$ at Circuit City. I think they were trying to clear em out. If I knew they'd have fetched money later on I would have bought several.

[Dark Knight]

Found mine at a local Gamestop. It was the last copy they would ever have.

Anyways, thanks for the advice(I was actually hoping you'd be the one to respond, being knowledgable in all things Ninja Gaiden). His attack patterns seem random but I made it this far, might as well fight him until I have figured out new ways to counter his punishing attacks.

I really should have had a backup save. I'm kicking myself for not remembering how to avoid the Emperor's grab, leading to the state I'm in.

[MottZilla]

Lost alot of recovery items earlier on? That certainly makes things harder in these types of games. Usually I try to push through anyway before starting over. You may get better if you don't have recovery items to makeup for your mistakes. Hopefully you won't send your controller through the TV if it doesn't work out. =)

[Dark Knight]

Oddly enough, I don't get angry at this game. Anyways, I seem to have better luck taking it slow. I got him down to 1/4 of his life by waiting for an opening and attacking him only once, twice if he flinches, and rolling away. It works often enough to be effective. Sadly, I was on the recieving end of a shuriken barrage which then turned into a combo with the Dark Dragon which ended with him grabbing me while I was in the air and running it through. I have to admit, once you somewhat get a firm grasp on this boss, it's pulse-pounding and exciting.