Ganryu 2

mixed reviews largely because of git gud, rather than bugs. Sad to see, but inevitable when you are faithfully recreating a punishing genre of game. If you know your stuff, this is that tall sprite, quick stuff. Precise and challenging. Like back in the day when you didn't just burn through a game in an afternoon and moan online about variation and ng+ You just die, play again. Get literally an inch further, die, play some more. And enjoy it. Before long it won't be possible to do games like this, the youngsters won't stand for it and everyone else will be dead ;)

🏮 It's weird. A fast-paced action that's a spiritual successor of its little-known arcade original, but heavily inspired by the «SHINOBI» series. It only has five levels (two sections each), but it's no walk in the park — it can be genuinely HARD at times. The problem is that the devs have stopped patching it. People complain about tech and visual bugs, but they don't prevent you from completing the game; the real problem is balance. Lose all your lives and you restart the entire level, which is often unfair, given the sometimes far-off checkpoints, the timing of individual enemies in tricky situations, and the deadly pits. I usually drop unfair (broken) games because they're a waste of time, but this one is still GOOD, and even better than some later releases in the genre. It's full of secrets, and you can supposedly increase your HP (no sense, it's lost after death ???), but it's not a game you'll want to replay after finishing (and there's no point in doing so, since there's only one character, unlike the first one). If it were fixed, it would be a real gem, but it looks like the devs didn't bother (even the artist's name isn't shown correctly in the credits).

The menus and such leave a bit to be desired but the game is pure 2D action platforming gold!

There are a lot of bugs in the game, the developer apparently forgot about its existence, the most empty and uninteresting product.

Ganryu 2 is a retro-inspired action platformer developed by Storybird Studio and published by Maximum Entertainment together with PixelHeart. The game serves as a modern continuation of the 1999 Neo-Geo title Ganryu, drawing heavily from the mythology and historical legend surrounding the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Rather than presenting a historically grounded narrative, the game takes a more fantastical interpretation of Musashi’s rivalry with Sasaki Kojirō, building its story around supernatural revenge and heroic adventure. The premise revolves around Musashi’s journey across feudal Japan to confront the resurrected spirit of his rival, creating a story that functions mainly as a thematic backdrop for the intense action and platforming challenges that drive the gameplay. The narrative begins after Musashi’s legendary duel with Kojirō. Having defeated his rival, Musashi attempts to leave the life of constant battle behind and retreats north to pursue a more peaceful existence. However, tranquility does not last long. A mysterious voice eventually calls him back into conflict, revealing that Kojirō’s spirit has returned with vengeance in mind. The threat posed by this supe…

very good ninja 2d game, better than the others I have tried so far