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How to Defeat the Final Bosses in 'Ninja Gaiden' (NES)

Follow these steps and you'll be complete with the game in no time.

By Mark Wesley PritchardPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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10/3/2017: Finally defeating the Demon Sculpture and the entire game after 20 years of frustration.  

Ninja Gaiden was a side-scrolling action-platforming video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in March 1989. The game features a ninja named Ryu Hayabusa who seeks revenge for his father's death. This game was one of my favorites to play as a kid. In 1997, I had reached the first of the final three bosses, which was The Masked Devil, several times. Unfortunately, I never got past him and was forever frustrated. In 2016, 19 years after the infuriating event, I purchased an NES Classic Edition, in hopes of redeeming myself and finally defeating the final three bosses after all of those years. In this article, I'll be sharing some tips on how to trounce The Masked Devil, Jaquio, and The Demon Sculpture. If you fail to defeat all three enemies, you will have to start over at Act 6-1 and try again, regardless on the number of lives you had left.

The Masked Devil: The goal is not actually attacking the enemy himself. Ryu will prepare to face whatever boss the Jaquio has in store for him, only to find out that his father is not dead. Your job is to destroy the mind control mechanism that's on the wall. It shoots out fireballs, so proceed with caution as you dismantle it. After the orb has been demolished, Ryu's father regains consciousness. Their reunion was short lived as the Jaquio emerges and shoots an energy projectile at Ryu, but his father takes the bulk of the attack.

Jaquio: He is a boss that floats up across the top of the screen, back and forth between the walls. When I reached him for the first time, the hair on my body stood up. Literally, he was creepy and scary. I tried defeating Jaquio numerous times, but failed miserably. Luckily on the evening of October 3rd, 2017, that all changed and finally got my revenge. So how do you defeat him, you ask? You must learn the swing of his attacks and how to dodge his fireballs so that they drop down to the floor. The problem is that you have a short time to inflict damage to him before you get back down and ready to strike Jaquio again. Once you have defeated him, be prepared to face the final boss: The Demon Sculpture.

The Demon Sculpture: You're going to have your hands full with this final enemy. The Demon Sculpture is someone that shouldn't be taken lightly. It has three vulnerable points, one being tied to the health meter: the head, tail, and heart. Make sure you're evading its fireball attacks while you're destroying it. Just like the Jaquio, I faced The Demon Sculpture for the first time and tried countless times routing it, but was unsuccessful. Again on the night of October 3, I was fired up and eager to finally annihilate this boss. Here's how you defeat The Demon Sculpture: start by removing the head and tail first, because again, the heart is tied to the health meter. Once you have attacked the head, it'll drop down to the ground and slides to the left of the screen towards you. Next, pulverize the tail and don't forget to dodge The Demon Sculpture's fireball attacks. If you get hit by them, you lose three bars. Once that's done, go straight for the heart. Pay attention on how much health you have and continue to dodge its attacks until the heart is no more. Congratulations! You have crushed The Demon Sculpture. The night I finally defeated this enemy, I was so emotional, in a good way. After 20 years of frustration, disappointment, and agony, it felt good to finally beat Ninja Gaiden.This was one of the two games on the NES Classic I have beaten last year and considered them as gaming achievements. Ninja Gaiden was mad difficult, but overall, it was a game that I enjoyed so much.

I'm eager to play Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos. It's the sequelto the first Ninja Gaiden game that came out for the NES in April 1990.I heard that it's difficult, but I'll be the judge of that. I hope these tips will help you dominate Ninja Gaiden. Happy gaming, my friends.

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About the Creator

Mark Wesley Pritchard

Award-winning cosplayer, cosplay model, influencer, retro gaming fanatic, die-hard Texas Rangers fan, and nostalgic freak. Need I say more?

Threads: @thecosplayerfromtexas

Instagram: @thecosplayerfromtexas

TikTok: @thecosplayerfromtexas

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