NINJA GAIDEN Σ

Beating the game will encompass completing all 19 Chapters, 3 of which will be played as Rachel and 16 as Ryu. You will die, a lot while you learn the game, as even on Normal it is not easy by any means. These tips will aim to help you get over the line for the first time, even if that means playing on Easy (or Ninja Dog). This, however, will assume that you are playing on Normal difficulty, as a first -time player.

Chapter 1:
This Chapter isn’t too bad, once you have learned the basic mechanics the game is teaching you. There are a fair amount of health items to grab, including a free Talisman of Rebirth, and the majority of the enemies are easy to read and don’t deal much damage.

The boss of this Chapter is Murai. Murai is a skill check, to ensure that you have already (or are going to) learn when to attack and when to defend yourself. There are two ways to beat him if you are struggling. One is to spam wall attacks with your Dragon Sword. This will most likely work, even if it costs you a few Elixirs, and requires no skill at all. The other, superior method is to wait for the openings, then hit Murai with X, X, Y. These openings happen after he does his lunge attack, or after he rolls towards Ryu.

Chapter 2:
This Chapter is slightly tougher than the one before it, as the main enemies are now Samurai and Samurai Mages. Samurai block more than the Brown and White Ninja and deal more damage, with the Mages backing them up with projectile attacks and only closing in when necessary. At the first Muramasa statue, buy the Art of the Inferno Ninpo for 1000 Essence, as this is much better than Fire Wheels for almost all enemies. Against the mounted Samurai, either use the Bow or just after they miss a charge, charge up an ET or UT and wait to unleash it until they charge again. When it comes to the fight against Doku, you are not meant to win, so don’t worry about dying.

The real boss of this Chapter is Masakado. Masakado is basically a mounted spear Samurai on steroids. The same strategies with the Bow and ETs and UTs all work just as well on him too. Focus on him and he should go down pretty quickly, just remember to block his attacks when you don’t have room to dodge. He is also quite vulnerable to the Inferno Ninpo if you want to make the fight a little easier.

Chapter 3:
This Chapter is no harder than Chapter 2, even though it contains the first Ambush and a boss that is a little tougher. There are free health and Ninpo items in the airship rooms where you start, so don’t forget to grab these. Also to not forget are the 3 Golden Scarabs (use a guide if you need to) and the weapon Dragon’s Claw and Tiger’s Fang, located through the door in the room where you obtain the ID card. There is an Ambush (a challenge where Ryu faces off against 60 enemies) through the door at the far end of the corridor you begin in, which will reward a Lives of the Thousand Gods and a fair chunk of Yellow Essence if completed. Try and upgrade your Dragon Sword to level 2 in this Chapter, as it will deal more damage and open up combos to make combat easier.

The boss of this Chapter is Dynamo. Dynamo fights either at long-range using his electric arm cannon, or at close range using melee attacks and a grab if Ryu is close enough. To fight him quickly and easily, close the distance as much as you can, then hit him with Violent Gale (while running, X, X). Roll out of the way of the follow up melee strike and/or grab, then repeat until dead or he does his ground pound. If he ground pounds, hit him with the Inferno Ninpo, then dodge his lasers until the dome effect disperses, then go back to the previous strategy. The lasers can be dodged just by running in a circle around him, without jumping, at least on lower difficulties.

Chapter 4:
This is the easiest Chapter yet, as there is no boss fight and the majority of the enemies are the same MSAT commandos that you fought in Chapter 3, though some might have brought along grenade launchers this time. In the first open area, a body will have the technique scroll for Guillotine Throw, so don’t forget it. The next area if you head straight and around instead of turning left will have a new weapon, the Lunar Staff. In the area with the Lily Door, wallrun and head across the wire for a Lives of the Thousand Gods. There are 3 Golden Scarabs up for grabs, along with a Spirit of the Devils (+1 Ninpo slot) and a Great Devil Elixir. The Spirit of the Devils is located up the staircase in Clock Tower Plaza, past a group of MSAT commandos and 3 Black Spider Ninja. These guys like their Incendiary Shuriken and have powerful combos, so take care when fighting them (Counter Attacks are very useful, as is Fiend Sealer (if an enemy is on the ground, press Y near them to kill them)). If you are hit by the Incendiary Shuriken, wait about a second then roll, perform a wall attack or an ET/UT, you won’t take the explosion damage. The Great Devil Elixir is located in the chest near the lever you must pull to unlock the door to Han’s Bar and Pleasure Street.

The “boss” of this chapter is 2 motorcycle MSATs. If you obtained the Spirit of the Devils, before approaching the door to Han’s Bar, head into the nearby alleyway (there is a Golden Scarab in here too) and wallrun up the areas marked with the blue lines to obtain the Windmill Shuriken and use the Team Ninja monolith, which will fully heal you and refill your Ninpo for free. As long as you have 2 Ninpo uses, the motorcycle guys are easy, they go down in 1 Inferno.

Chapter 5:
The first Rachel chapter. Mostly linear, with quite easy fights to get you used to Rachel. Her best combo is by far X, X, X, X, then focus on using ETs and UTs with the Essence that is loose. Rachel cannot perform some moves that Ryu can, such as wallrunning and Flying Swallow. There is an Ambush in this chapter, found by wall jumping up in the area with the Muramasa statue, then following that path to an enclosed courtyard (Ryu will come here later). It will only drop a hairstyle for Rachel though, so if you aren’t worried about the achievement, you can skip it.

There is no boss fight for this chapter.

Chapter 6:
This will be the hardest Chapter so far. Back with Ryu, immediately turn around and open the chest behind you for a free Talisman of Rebirth, then head down through the building for 2 maps and a free Elixir of the Devil Way. If you didn’t get the Windmill Shuriken in Chapter 4, Ayane will drop you a note about it now. There are 3 more Golden Scarabs up for grabs, along with a few free health items on the streets of Drawbridge Hill.

Once you get to an enclosed courtyard pat the area where Rachel entered the Monastery (and Ryu meets a half dozen Black Spider Ninja), there will be what makes this Chapter difficult. First up is more motorcycle MSATs, though this time they have sidecars with miniguns in. Same strategy as before though, either Inferno or Bow are your best weapons. Once these guys die, some Galla (red dino looking fiends) turn up. These guys are your first big enemies and are dangerous. Their attacks hit hard, and they aren’t always stunned by hits like the man size enemies are. Play conservatively and hit them with a combo like X, X, Y, Y after they attack. Once you kill them, the real boss turns up. Hydracubus is quite easy by boss standards but isn’t a pushover by any means. Flying Swallow his tentacles until they are both cut off, then use a quick X, X, Y combo, followed by a UT charged with the Blue Essence from the second tentacle you cut off (the Dual Swords UT really hurts him badly). After this, his tentacles re-grow and the cycle starts again.

Chapter 7:
Easier than Chapter 6, but harder than Chapter 4. An Ambush can be completed here, once you clear the Archives for the first time, re-enter and face off against the enemies for another Spirit of the Devils. The chests along the walkways on the upper levels of the Altar Hall have Great Spirit and Great Devil Elixirs, so do not forget to grab them. The chest just before the elevator down has a new weapon, the Vigoorian Flail, which will be essential later on, and there are 6 Golden Scarabs up for grabs.
This Chapters boss is the Bone Dragon. Most of the Bone Dragon’s attacks will be throwing bones at you that can be blocked and deal little damage, though it can also swipe, stomp, bite and whip its tail around, depending on which limb is currently being damaged. Keep away from the edge for the swipe, roll away from the stomp and bite (bites have a clear telegraph), jump over the tail whip (it might come straight back, be ready to jump again!), then get back to attacking the current limb.

Chapter 8:
Rachel’s second Chapter. Mostly linear again, but once you get back to Clock Tower Plaza, instead of heading to Great Bridge Square, head to the Military Gate instead. There will be another ambush, and this one gives Rachel a Spirit of the Devils, the only one she will get ever, so this is worth doing. Fighting as Rachel is exactly the same as Chapter 5. Kill small enemies with a combo, then ET and UT chain.
Gamov is the boss of this Chapter. He will prefer shooting at Rachel, though he will sometimes close in to use his knife or a grab as well. If he uses his knife combo, dodge on the third strike, then hit him with a hammer combo. If he’s shooting, just keep blocking and slowly close the gap when you can.

Chapter 9:
The hardest Chapter so far by a mile, probably 3rd most difficult in the whole game. Grab your Lives of the Thousand Gods from the Bone Dragon. Grab your Dragon Sword level 3 and Vigoorian Flail level 2 in this chapter, along with the 5 Golden Scarabs. After opening the rooms with the chambers of the Red and Blue Eye, there is another Hydracubus. Fight him just like you did at the end of Chapter 5, he should go down just as easy. After killing him, jump back up to the top and grab the Jewel of the Demon Seal from the chair. Use it on your Inferno Ninpo. While the next Ninpo, Art of the Ice Storm is just a short walk away, this Ninpo is worse and isn’t worth the upgrades. When you get back to the Monk’s Room, check the desk again for a new safe code and complete the Archive Ambush if you did not do so already. Then head back down into the water and swim through the tunnel to the Save Point. Trust me.

Alma is the boss of this chapter, and she is probably the 3rd, maybe 2nd worst boss in the entire game. Her two projectile attacks of pink energy balls and pillar sections can be avoided by consistently jumping and rolling in one direction. Her dive is best avoided with a roll (and then follow up with Haze Straight Slash if you’re feeling brave). Her grab just run and roll away from her, listen for the sound cue to know when its over, then smash her with a Flying Swallow in her recovery. When she is on the ground, standing up, she can use close quarters punches, a flip kick grab, and her energy balls. Block her melee attacks and dodge the projectiles same as normal. If you hit her and knock her down to one knee with a Flying Swallow or an Inferno Ninpo, immediately close in and land X, Y, X, X, X, X on her, then get ready to try and knock her down or play defensive again. Don’t be ashamed of using health items liberally, or leaning on your Ninpo to finally kill her, she is a very difficult boss.

Chapter 10:
Fortunately, the difficulty turns back down for this Chapter so you can breathe a bit easier. Immediately save you don’t have to fight Alma again if you do die, then head back into the Monastery. Grab the War Hammer from where it fell it the cutscene before (left side of the Altar Hall), then head back down to the Ritual Room, where you got the Holy Grail. There is an Ambush here now, with the skeletons, so equip your Flail and take out the archers, then chain UTs for the melee attackers. This can be done in Chapter 13 if you miss it, so don’t worry if you miss it, but the health boost is nice as early as possible. Leave the Monastery and head for Military Gate, visiting Muramasa as necessary. Kill the turrets and few soldiers here, then prepare for a boss fight.

Alternator is like Dynamo, but a bit fancier. He has one new attack, which is jet propelled shoulder charge that should be rolled away from. Otherwise, he has exactly the same strategies and weaknesses as Dynamo, so look back to Chapter 3 if you need help. After killing him, grab the Strongbow, but don’t go through the now open gate. Instead, backtrack to the Skull Door in the alleyway just outside, grab your two Golden Scarabs and then head up to where the RPG soldier was in the window. Using two arrows, hit the window and then the switch within to get a chest to appear in front of the gate. Open it for a free Talisman of Rebirth, then you can end the level.

Chapter 11:
This is a moderately difficult Chapter, as there will be 3 bosses fought nearly back-to-back, though they are not especially difficult. Remember to grab the 4 Golden Scarabs, as you won’t be coming back here. When you reach the Locomotive Turntable, pay a visit to Muramasa and stock up on health items if you need them, as there be bosses coming.

The bosses for this Chapter are two tanks and a helicopter gunship. The tanks come first, one at a time. Head for the APFSDS Cores crate, stay behind it, then pelt the tank with them. As long as the tank is far enough away and not to Ryu’s side, the tank shells will not hit him here, so you can just go ham. Once you kill the first tank, the second makes an appearance and should be fought in exactly the same manner. If the tank is at an angle where the shell might hit Ryu, just jump when it is stationary, not using the machine gun and aiming at you. After killing both tanks, a lift will lower. Head to the opposite corner on the same side of this area for a free heal and Ninpo refill, courtesy of the Team Ninja monolith. Then use the lift and save, heading onto the bridge for the gunship fight. The gunship will either use the nose cannon, which you should just tank to keep pelting it with APFSDS Cores, missiles that need to be dodged by evading just as they are about to hit Ryu and a quick rain of bombs, that should be ignored by performing an ET or UT. If you kill the gunship, the rest of the chapter is just an easy, linear path.

Chapter 12:
This Chapter is long, with several boss fights and 2 Ambushes to boot, which can make it somewhat of a slog. There are 9 Golden Scarabs up for grabs, along with a generous supply of Great Spirit Elixirs. If you have not already done so, upgrade your Dabilahro (the reward for 20 Golden Scarabs) to Level 3, as it makes this chapter much easier. For both Ambushes (though more so the one with the beetle fiends), the Dabilahro UT is a great way to both finish the challenge easily and make money while doing so.

The first boss you will face is the single electric worm. It has 4 attacks, being spitting a ball of electricity, making a swipe with its body, electrifying the water its in and a grab. For projectiles, watch the worm closely, and as it pulses forward to spawn the projectile, just roll. For the swipe, let it wind up, then roll toward the swipe. For the grab, roll straight to either side, otherwise it will hit anyway. After anything but a projectile attack, the worm is vulnerable to damage, so crack out the Dabilahro and hit it with the full length of Flaming Hell Slash. The window to deal damage is small though, so make sure you hit it quickly after dodging a swipe or grab, lest it retreat into its hole.

After gaining access to the underground passage, you will come to a Muramasa statue, stock up on health if you need to. In the next area there will be a fight against the double electric worms. They behave just the same as the individual one, but they have to be fought both at once, so the same strategies apply, with the added need to keep an eye on what both worms are doing.

The actual, real boss (yes, there’s more) is Pas Zuu, who will be fought in the Underground Sanctuary. This is not a particularly hard fight, though he hits like a truck, so stay on your toes. At a distance, he will use either a horizontal or vertical laser, which will then create an explosion along the track a second or two later. This is obvious and easily evaded by rolling to the side, front or back as necessary. If you close to melee range, he can stomp with either leg, flap his wings to hit targets in front of him, bite down for a grab or jump to the other end of the room (or his high perch). His melee attacks have huge wind-up animations and not great range, so just retreat a little if you see him doing something that isn’t the laser (be prepared to dodge if he’s moving). When you deal enough damage to his legs, he will go down on one knee and let you attack his head for massive damage for a short while. If he does go down, just pile on the damage until he stands back up again, as he is helpless when he is knocked down.

Chapter 13:
The level section of this is mainly about Ryu swimming and occasionally killing some giant fish with the Spear Gun (obtained in this level). In the first area, head down to the small platform down the stairs and charge a Dabilahro UT. When the fish swimming around draw near, let it go and collect the essence orb for a massive amount of money (each fish is worth something like 6k if killed with a UT). There is a free Talisman of Rebirth available too, in the caged area beneath the platform with the Triton door (grab the Oxygen Cylinder from the ship first!). 5 Golden Scarabs are present, so don’t forget them, and if you didn’t already, absolutely upgrade the Dabilahro to level 3 (you should have more than enough money if you kill any fish with some UTs).

The reason for wanting the level 3 Dabilahro is the boss of this level, Doku. Doku is quite a tough boss on the face of it, but he has two major flaws that are very easy to exploit. The first is that he cannot block the UT from the Dabilahro, and it hits him hard. 5 UTs will kill him stone dead, with minimal effort as long as you can get them off. Equip the Armlet of Celerity if you can, as this takes a full second off the time needed to charge a UT. If he does his breath or ground pound, charge a UT (after dodging if necessary), and you should nail him every time. If you don’t want to use this strategy, the best time to attack him is after he does his lunge with the Kitetsu, as he has a long recovery time from this move. Play defensive until he does it, then hit him with a quick Dragon Sword combo. In addition to his breath, ground pound and lunge, he also has a combo string, a grab and a sword throw. If you stay out of close range, he will never perform the grab and rarely try and combo you. The sword throw is easily dodged, just remember it does damage both on the way out and the way back, so don’t get sloppy.

Chapter 14:
This is the last time you will get to play as Rachel, and it won’t be for very long either. The bridge where you fought Masakado in Chapter 2 has an Ambush of Samurai and Samurai Mages, if you feel like you want to take it on. Otherwise, its just some combat, then getting to a boss fight that you are meant to lose vs Ishataros and Nicchae (who you do not have to fight as Ryu until you are on Very Hard or Master Ninja).

Chapter 15:
Back with Ryu, grab the Kitetsu from the centre of the stadium, then head for the exit. Pull the lever, then head back for the Ambush if you want to, but definitely the Golden Scarabs and items. After you leave the stadium, there is another Ambush in the stair area, though this one is significantly easier than the stadium one. After you move on, remember to smash the heads with a heavy weapon for a Life of the Gods and another Golden Scarab, as well as getting the one in the pool of water just past this area. Once you have entered the caverns, the level grows much more difficult and there are 3 bosses to be faced, so make sure to keep stocks high.

The first boss will be Yotenfrau, the Ice Fiend. This is one of the easiest bosses in the game, so don’t worry. He can breathe a line of ice, attempt to smash Ryu with his arms, pound the ground to cause clusters of ice to appear for damage, try and grab Ryu in his hands and jump around. For any melee attack, roll or run away as soon as the windup starts, and he’ll never hit you. For the breath, evade as he pushes forward and ice starts appearing, and for the ground pounds, just keep running and rolling until the attack stops. After any attack save for an attempted hit, get in close and attack him quick. If he roars and tries to smash you, be prepared for this to happen more than once back-to-back, only go in for damage once he’s stopped doing more.

The second boss will be the flame worm. Much like the electric worms, the only difference is that the projectile it uses is a ring of fire, that can be evaded by jumping up in the air at the right moment. It can also move around the arena, but it is no more difficult than the single electric worm, so just be patient and hit when you know you can, it should go down easy now that you’ve killed 3 of these already.

Last up as the actual real boss, Smaugan. While he doesn’t have many attacks, the ones he does have possess some questionable hitboxes and hit pretty hard. If he rears back and is going to flap his wings, either time a roll, or just block and take a small amount of damage. If you are on the bottom level, he can also spit fireballs, which have to be dodged, as blocking them negates none of the damage. He can also breathe fire from one side of the platform to the other, or snap in and bite Ryu as a grab, which deals immense damage, though some can be mitigated by mashing the face buttons to escape. The best place to fight him is the upper middle platform in the front left corner. Here, you are safe from bites, so only need worry about the fire breath and heat blasts. If you equip Celerity and charge an ET or UT with the Dabilahro and release it at the right time, you should take no damage while hurting the boss. He will also lower his head in every so often for you to attack it, though after one combo he will pull away. If you jump at him during this time, after the animation of being shaken off ends, you will be able to deal a wall attack to his head, which hurts about as much as an ET or UT from the Dabilahro. Should you possess the UF by this time, a great strategy is to use the lava to get the flashing low health, then pick up the statue that triggers the fight. His first move is always to put his head in for damage, and two of the in-air combos from the low health UF should kill him stone dead in about 10 seconds, no effort needed.

Chapter 16:
Picking up just after the previous Chapter, there will almost immediately be an Ambush of Wasp Fiends, which is the easiest Ambush by far to complete if you spam Ninpo and collect the dropped Red Essence or use the infinite arrows at the top of the area. Once you have gained the ability to use the stone circles to teleport, another Ambush is available, in one of the buildings at Great Bridge Square. 3 Purple Zombies in Drawbridge Square will give you a free Talisman of Rebirth if killed. Once you have cleared as many of these as you wish, follow the path from Twin Serpents Plaza. At the Muramasa in the Hayabusa Village, upgrade your Lunar to level 3 if you have not done so already. Once you get to the area where Rachel saw Spirit Doku, prepare for the 2nd most annoying boss of the whole game.

Yep, Alma is back, and this time she’s now half some weird centipede thing. She can still throw fireballs and rocks just the same as she always could, so crack out the dodging skills whenever this happens, same as her first fight. Her grab is now telegraphed by her bottom swinging forwards, which she likes to do after you fail to Flying Swallow her, so always roll away if you don’t hit. She can also rush at Ryu when on the ground, which should be dodged, then attack her straight afterwards. If you can manage to knock her down, make sure to take as much health from, her as you can, as she is more difficult to knock down than Alma 1. The True Dragon Sword is by far the best choice of weapon for this fight, so just stay patient and use your stock of items to keep in health and Ninpo as necessary.

Chapter 17:
Inside the pyramid, there will be a fight against 3 Vigoorian Berserkers, though fortunately only 1 at a time (you will fight more than one at once in places on Very Hard and Master Ninja). The best way to fight them is with the level 3 Lunar, using only counter attacks. As long as the attack doesn’t break Ryu’s guard, as soon as you hear the sound effect for the block, tap X to counter. A few of these and the Berserker will, surprise, go berserk, but the strategy doesn’t change, they just get more aggressive. Don’t worry if the odd attack gets through, as these guys always drop a large orb of Blue Essence when killed. After winning, pick up the item and the exit will open. For the rest of the level, the main enemy is Ghost Fish, so use the Vigoorian Flail and the Fire Pit combo to get rid of them. There are 2 Golden Scarabs in the Labyrinth, so remember to get them now to save you having to face all the Ghost Fish again next level. After unlocking the door with the Key of the Lioness, prepare for your boss fight.

Spirit Doku is here, madder, and meaner than when he was corporeal. Sharing a lot of the same moves as he did in the first fight, he can now also throw his hand for a different grab attack (yay!), so if you get caught, mash the face buttons like mad, you’ll soon escape unharmed. His ghostly sword also hits harder, so watch out and keep up a solid defence. How you tackle him is up to you, as the True Dragon Sword seems just as effective as the UF, which is just as good as spamming UTs with the Dabilahro, at least on normal. Safe times to attack him are after his lunge or the end of his combo string, as well as when he has thrown his sword.

Chapter 18:
Be careful jumping near the Save Point, as you can jump into the hole and die. Once you’ve saved, the key for the palace door is obtained by heading around the edge and through the doors guarded by the Ghost Fish at the far side. This is also a good opportunity to head into Tairon to visit Muramasa if you need to (there’s a lot of bosses (6) coming, so full stocks advised). Also ensure you have a full stock of projectile weapons, as you’ll be needing them soon. There will be Ghost Fish between every floor, so use them to regenerate some health and Ninpo between fights. There is a Team Ninja machine at the top, which you should use before heading into the portal. In here, after a dozen or so little fiends, you will fight another Hydracubus, then Yotenfrau again, then Marbus himself.

Marbus fights similar to Alma. He mostly flies around, though he lands and dives, rather than having to be knocked down. He has one projectile attack, which creates areas of damage on impact, so you will need to be a little careful when dodging not to run into a previous fireball. When he tries to stomp you, you can hit him once or twice while he recovers and takes flight again. If he starts corkscrewing in the air, wait until he starts descending, then roll away. He will be grounded for much longer after these attacks, allowing for a full True Dragon Sword combo, but get it off then retreat, as he will grab if you keep trying to attack. He can also be hit while in the air with Air Destruction Slash (jump and X), which allows for consistent, if mediocre damage.

After defeating Marbus and heading through the Gates of Hell (via the Save Point, Team Ninja monolith and potentially a final trip to Muramasa), there will be the next boss. The Vigoorian Emperor, Angel Form, is a weird fight. His attacks consist of summoning lasers which then move in various patterns, which have to be dodged by moving the flying platform around or having some i-frames active at the time of getting hit. He can only be hurt by attacking each shoulder, his chest, and his head, with the crystals shattering once they take enough damage. This isn’t necessarily so much about skill as it is getting used to the weird style, so practice will be needed.

After killing him in Angel Form, he comes back in Devil Form. In Devil Form, he takes damage by having his smaller skulls destroyed, or by attacks against the big, horned skull on top. Projectiles are your friend here, as he mainly stays in the lava. APFSDS Cores and Exploding Arrows can destroy more than one skull at once, so use these first, before resorting to the Strongbow and Incendiary Shuriken. After pelting his skulls with arrows, he will send them to attack Ryu. Once this happens, pop a Fire Wheels Ninpo, and start charging up a Dabilahro or UF UT. After he sends a certain amount of skulls to die on the Fire Wheels, the big skull will come down and try to bite you, so release your charged UT before it makes contact, and you should deal big damage. His body will then jump somewhere, then walk to a new spot before repeating the same moves. If it jumps up on the platform, you will be able to use melee weapons against it, but you will be at the risk of getting stomped by one of the legs, so use at your own risk. Killing him will end the Chapter.

Chapter 19:
Use the Save Point immediately and then follow the platforming path up to the Dark Dragon Blade, then to Rachel. Jump at her to trigger a cutscene and the final boss fight.

Fiend Murai is a technical boss, though he isn’t as difficult as he seems and is by no means the hardest of them all. Most of his attacks will be combos with the Dark Dragon Blade, which will always break Ryu’s guard whenever it connects. If the first slash doesn’t hit however, he may not continue the string. He has two grab attacks, one for when he doesn’t have the blade in his hand, and he reaches out for Ryu, then punches him and one for when he does have the blade, where he will throw Ryu high into the air, then smash him down. These really hurt, avoid them at all costs. He can throw large shuriken, which will deal damage even if blocked, so should be evaded. He will sometimes teleport and summon a giant black dragon from within the blade. If he does, wait for it to dive towards the centre of the arena, then jump over the shockwave it creates on impact (or Ninpo, though this will forfeit your chance to deal damage). If you can hit him with a Flying Swallow, he will be stunned for a short while and you can land a quick string like X, X, Y, Y with the True Dragon Sword. After his combo attempts, he is also vulnerable, though sometimes this will get you hit. He also has two dash attacks; one is like Ryu’s Haze Straight Slash and the other is a floating corkscrew. He is not invulnerable during these, so if you are able to charge up an ET, you will damage him while avoiding damage yourself. If you can kill him, final cutscenes, credits roll and then the final score screen, letting you know that you’ve finished what is likely your first playthrough of 4.