Game Parameters and Controls

• Press Left and Right to run
• Press Up and Down while hanging from a wall to climb it
• Press Down while on the ground to crouch
• Press A to Jump
• Press B to Slash, damaging enemies, some projectiles, and breaking Item Orbs
• Hold Up and Press B to use Ninjutsu
  • Must not be holding Left or Right
• Press Start to Pause and skip cutscenes
  
  

• Ryu has 16 HP, as do all bosses.
• All of Ryu's attacks will deal 1 damage.
• While in mid-air, you can't change the direction you are facing
  • Moving backward in mid-air slows you down to about 1/3 of the speed of moving forward
• Slashing your sword has a 20 frame cooldown time. See Sword Slashing.
• Using Ninjutsu has a 20 frame cooldown time, and all projectiles must be off the screen before firing again.
  • You can move Left or Right immediately after using Ninjutsu. This is Moonwalking.
• Ryu's HP is automatically refilled only after completing an entire act.
• Ryu begins every act with the Shuriken and 10 Ninpo.
• Ryu runs at 1.5 pixels per frame (at 60 fps).
• Ryu climbs at 1 pixel per frame.
• Ryu's collision box is horizontally smaller than in Ninja Gaiden, with respect to standing on surfaces.
  
  

Sword Slashing

Slash-climbing is faster than normal wall climbing.

• 20 frame cooldown.
• Slashing while standing on the ground forces you to stand still for the duration of the cooldown.
  
  

Jump Slashing

Like in Ninja Gaiden, it is useful to slash jump to kill ground-based enemies without moving. However, in Ninja Gaiden II, the sword's hitbox is different such that it is often more difficult to successfully kill enemies with slash jumps. A and B must be hit in quicker succession than in Ninja Gaiden in order to kill most enemies. However, with a zero-time penalty from damage boosts in this game, it is often wiser to boost off of an enemy than kill it, or even to use ninjutsu to kill enemies at the expense of a few frames lost.

While slashing in mid-air, you can move left and right. But, if you slash in mid-air just before moving backwards, you move at full horizontal speed for the duration of the slash cooldown. This will not work if you have previously moved backwards in mid-air yet during the current jump. This is Backslashing.

• Example input 1: Facing Right: Tap A, tap B, hold Left
  
  

Slash Climbing

Unlike Ninja Gaiden I, you can climb up and down most walls in Ninja Gaiden II as if they were ladders. You can speed up the rate of your climb by jumping off of the wall, slashing immediately, and then moving back against the wall. If done quickly enough, you can gain 2-3 pixels in height each time this is executed. Since you climb at a rate of 1 pixel per frame, each successful slash-climb can save 2-3 frames. Done repeatedly throughout a run, several seconds can be saved. The technique can be difficult and tire your hands, though, so only do as much as you're capable of, as messing up can easily cause you to lose time. Also note that this technique is especially fast in Stage 4-2 when climbing up waterfalls.

After reaching the top of a wall, you'll have to walljump at the top to finish the ascent. Since you'll be travelling at "backwards mid-air" velocity until you actually land on top, if you slash-climb during the walljump, you'll have full horizontal velocity already when you reach the top.

• Example input: Hold Right, tap A, tap B, release Right, hold left. If done while clung to a wall, this is Slash Climbing.
  
  

Damage Boosting

Damage boost up to an out-of-reach platform

A damage boost refers to purposely taking damage to save time, and is usually done in the following forms:

• Avoiding the damage would normally take too much time
• While not climbing, taking damage pushes Ryu upwards a few pixels, letting you reach some platforms quicker, or clip over walls.
• Taking damage gives you permanent invulnerability until you hit the ground, and then 1 additional second of invulnerability.
  
  

The mechanics of damage boosting is very similar to that in Ninja Gaiden I, with a few differences.

• While not climbing a ladder, taking damage pushes you in the direction that you got hit from.
  

You lose all control in this situation until you land on the ground. If you take damage while wallclimbing, there is no effect on your controls.

• You do not lose any horizontal speed when damage boosting. Whatever your previous horizontal speed was before the boost, that will be your speed during the boost.
  

This means that you can get boosted at full speed, even in Stage 2-2 when the wind is active. Thus, damage boosting in Ninja Gaiden II can rarely slow you down, and is encouraged almost everywhere that you cannot easily pass enemies, provided that you have the health to do so. Keep in mind that if you have recently moved backwards in mid-air, getting boosted will move you at the same slow speed, too.

• You gain a few pixels of vertical height when damage boosting, but not as much in comparison to Ninja Gaiden I.
  

While you can still reach higher platforms by damage boosting, it requires a bit more timing than in Ninja Gaiden I, since you usually have to hit an enemy at the pinnacle of your jump in order to get a successful increase in height.

Boost Grabbing

• If you take damage in mid-air, and Ryu's hitbox is overlapping a climbable wall, he will instantly begin climbing it and not be boosted. This is called Boost Grabbing. You must be holding Up for this to work.
  

In Ninja Gaiden I and II, there are no ceilings - you simply pass through solid wall by entering it from underneath. Also, some walls in the background can be climbed, but if you're on the ground, you'll simply walk in front of it (or inside of it). If you're inside a wall and want to climb up its side, you typically have to move outside of the wall and then move back towards it so that it'll detect collision against it and you can begin climbing. A Boost Grab is where you actually grab onto the wall earlier by simply taking damage while overlapping the side of the wall. You can be about 16 pixels from the edge of a wall and still cling to it after a Boost Grab. This is primarily useful in Stage 2-2, Stage 4-1, Stage 4-2, and Stage 7-1, saving significant time in most cases. If you're holding A and Left or Right during a Boost Grab, you instantly walljump, losing no horizontal speed.