NG1 3-2

Overview: Act 3, Stage 2
Timer Target: 120



3-2 is another short level consisting of a single room. It features some very difficult jumps and damage boosts in a speedrun, with several different options depending on your level of skill. It is important to carry Art of the Fire Wheel from the previous stage to the end of this stage, so make sure not to accidentally replace it. Aim to end the stage with 30 Ninpo at the very least in order to take out the boss (40 is a safer number to have). There are plenty of Ninpo drops; don't be tempted to collect too much, since having spare Ninpo after defeating the boss wastes time awarding you bonus points.

The TAS Boost
Also known as the "Exo Boost", this boost relies on good RNG. The reason this boost is one of the easier ones is that bad RNG won't kill you, you'll just lose a little time. Since this is still early in the run, it's usually worth it to attempt this boost once you have learned it. Even with good RNG, this boost is very tight. There are a lot of things that can go wrong. Below is a video correctly executing the boost.

The boost begins at 7 seconds and spans most of the rest of the video.

Common TAS Boost Mistakes
1) Messing up the sword slash.

This slash is done for timing. You don't have to do it, you can just stand still for the exact amount of time a sword slash takes, but it's much easier to do it. If you walk forward too quickly before doing the sword slash, the bird will be scrolled off the left side of the screen and you won't be able to do the full boost. Just slash as soon as you land, and you shouldn't have a problem.

2) Getting hit by the first Hammer Brother.

99% of the time this is bad RNG, however: if you notice at round 9 seconds, I do a jumping slash before the bird hits me. Sometimes this will destroy the hammer brother's projectile and you can continue the boost as usual, sometimes you're just screwed.

3) Your jump bumps the wall or you grab the ladder.

If your jump bumps the wall even slightly, you held forward too long or your jump onto the ledge was too deep. If this happens, the bird will fly off the right side of the screen and disappear, blocking you from getting the boost.

4) You miss the slash on the Hammer Brother.

This is another spot where the RNG can screw you. If he walks back too much or pauses to throw a projectile, your sword slash won't hit him and you won't have time to kill him before the bird scrolls away.

5) You get hit by the Bird.

Notice in the video I do a toejump (see 2-1) off of the ledge with the hammer brother, and then I just do a regular ledge jump off of the next ledge. This is very precise, and while you may be able to get similar effects in other ways, I believe this is the easiest method for setting up the next part.

6) You get hit by the Runner or the Bird.

This part is very very tricky. To correctly do this, you need to get a good jump over the bird as it swoops at you from behind. Next, you need to jump just as the Runner Guy appears, no sooner no later. To time this, watch the video. Try to use the Item Orb as a visual cue for timing this jump. Next, you need to take a step or two before jumping again, and you need to hit the next football player on your way down.

7) The bird didn't boost you.

When I do this boost, I completely let go of right for a really short amount of time, and then continue running. This way I never clear the bird.

All things said and done, this is a very precise boost but it saves you a second/some frames. Welcome to Ninja Gaiden.

The Last Jump


A fairly tricky jump, there are actually two variations.

For the easier version, just do a toe jump and you should land on the right side of the enemy and damage boost over to the boss door.

The second variation involves taking no damage, but requires a much trickier jump. There really isn't a great obvious visual cue for this jump, and it's fairly precise, but if you have good eyes you can see: 1) Ryu's right foot is lined up pretty perfectly with the drooping piece of snow. 2) The large kind of detached white piece is between Ryu's legs.