Ninja Gaiden: What's the deal with Alma?

[Andrew Mallon]

This month's EGM has an interview with ol-whats-his-name, the designer of Ninja Gaiden. One of the questions they asked was basically, did you purposely design Alma (the boss at the end of Chapter 7) to be the hardest boss ever made or did it just work out that way?

Huh? I'm on Chapter 10 of Ninja Gaiden now and had just beaten Alma a few nights earlier. Up to that point, I had considered her one of the easier bosses in the game. I think I beat her on my second try using only a few potions. All I did was basically dodge all her attacks and waited for her to land on the ground and then I'd combo her ass. Did anyone else have problems with Alma or is the EGM staff simply talking out of their collective rear end?

Disclaimer: Lest someone accuse me of bragging, Alma is one of the few bosses that I breezed through. I mush have had to fight the boss at the end of Chapter 3 more than fifty times before I could beat him.

[hogie7]

Alma is one of the tougher bosses in Ninja Gaiden. She cranks it up a notch in Hard and is really tricky in Very Hard. I didn't find her too bad as well as I was well stocked with elixirs. Interestingly, my first time through I had big problems with the Chapter 9 boss, but a lot of it was due to the fact that I had very little in terms of elixirs. When you finish the game, give it a whirl in Hard or Very Hard - I think she'll change your mind  

[Purge]

I read a similar message in an FAQ somewhere... I fought Alma the first time, and beat her without missing a beat.

I tried her again, and found her much more difficult. It might be a rhythm thing; if you mess with her fighting patterns quick enough you can basically control the battle. If you don't, well, she's *very* capable of handing you death and humiliation.

I found that the third boss wasn't too tough either (airship), but the the bloody 2nd level boss schooled me a few times. And the two worms; yeesh.

The one worm was easy enough, especially with Unlabored Flawlessness.
Trigger the sweep attack, bird jump off the wall and pummel the ground. Wash, rinse and repeat. Unfortunately with the two worms, no wall.

[hogie7]

I tried her again, and found her much more difficult. It might be a rhythm thing; if you mess with her fighting patterns quick enough you can basically control the battle. If you don't, well, she's *very* capable of handing you death and humiliation.

I agree. In very hard, I had a real doozy of a time with the two tanks and helicopter. Each tank cannon blast would take 3/4 of your health (and they fire much more frequently). By the time I got to the helicopter, I had very little in terms of elixirs/resources.

[Andrew Mallon]

I found that the third boss wasn't too tough either (airship), but the the bloody 2nd level boss schooled me a few times. And the two worms; yeesh.

The one worm was easy enough, especially with Unlabored Flawlessness.
Trigger the sweep attack, bird jump off the wall and pummel the ground. Wash, rinse and repeat. Unfortunately with the two worms, no wall.

Grrrr. I just turned off the Xbox a few minutes ago because I'm stuck on the two worms. I can barely get a few hits in before I get killed. I've never simultaneously loved and hated a game so much.

[aledromo]

Dabilahro level 3.  Windmill Shuriken.  Block button.

Focus on one worm at a time.  Roll away from their projectiles and (here's the tricky part) hold block until they're about to fall on you, at that point, roll along with their sweep.  You should end up standing right next to your target having taken no damage and ready to unleash an XXXXXY on the poor thing.  Turns them into oatmeal.  For kicks, just keep throwing your Windmill at them when they're far away.

Once you get the timing, it's one of the most enjoyable boss fights in the game, just because of how vulnerable they are and how quickly you can lop off huge chunks of health.