Ninja Gaiden Episode II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

Ninja Gaiden Episode II is an action game by Tecmo that has awesome cutscenes and music. And also unused music.

Sound Tests#

Watch on YouTubeCuriously, there are several sound test modes in this game! On the title screen, hold Up + Left + A + B + Select all at once before pressing Start to reach the normal sound test, which has a little Chibi-Ryu image.

If you wait for the title screen to fade to the intro, press Start to return to the title screen, and then enter the code, the menu will show a little Chibi-Irene instead.

If you wait for the title screen to fade to the intro, return to the title screen and wait for it to fade again, and then enter the code, you'll reach the Musicruise sound test, which has both Chibi graphics, track names, and volume/channel controls.

In the European version, the cheat sequence for this Sound Test is changed to Down + Left + A + B + Select.

Unused Music#

Ninja Gaiden 2's NSF contains a track not used in the game; it's not even in the sound test. Track 9 sounds like an alternative boss battle theme, which probably would have been used somewhere near the end of the game. Also, tracks 8 and 10 are identical, for some odd reason.

Hidden Level Select#

It is not accessible under normal conditions, but can be called from a reasonable place in the program and is functional. The Game Genie codes AZUGVSGZ+YLUGNSNY+KIUKESNN (for the US Version) or AZUKKSGZ+PLUKSSNY+KIUKVSNN (for the European version) will call the level select when beginning a new game after the Act number screen. A simple number is displayed on-screen to indicate the room you wish to visit. To change the number you must hold the A button while pressing Left or Right. Room $2F is the last valid room.

This code is still present in the Japanese version, but can't be restored so easily.

Disabled Invulnerability Cheat#

The Game Genie codes SXVTGXGZ+NUVTIXNN+PKVTTXNN+EEVTYXGZ+SEVVAXNY+NUVVPXNN (for the US version) or OKSVIXGK+AXSVTZNT+ESSVYZXT (for the European version) re-enables the invulnerability cheat. Pause the game, press Select to toggle the invulnerability on or off. This cheat can be restored only in western versions, but the invulnerability flag at RAM address $00BF still can be enabled by setting its value to $80 in the Japanese version.

Developer Credit#

At $BFD0, a hidden developer credit and date are present in the ROM as plain ASCII, formatted so that the text is centered when viewed in a hex editor at a width of 16 bytes. The credit itself is the same between all versions, but the date differs:

    NINJA-II    
CINEMA-DISP.PRG.
 HIDETAKE SATA  
  1989 SUMMER   

    NINJA-II    
CINEMA-DISP.PRG.
 HIDETAKE SATA  
  1989 AUTUMN   

    NINJA-II    
CINEMA-DISP.PRG.
 HIDETAKE SATA  
  1990 SPRING   

"Hidetake Sata" seems to be a (possibly intentional?) misspelling of Hidetaka Sato, a developer whose name appears in the credits of other Tecmo games. Further confirming this, "Nosuke", credited for cinema programming in the end credits of this game and the Japanese version of Ninja Gaiden Episode III, is credited as "H. Sato" in the English version of the latter.

Regional Differences#

To do: Several more gameplay differences. The Japanese version is significantly more difficult than the international versions.

Title Screen#

Japan	US	Europe

Introduction#

Japan	US	Europe

Act Names#

In the Japanese version, the eye catch when starting an act gives each one a unique title, as in the first game. These were removed in all other versions.

Hexagram#

The hexagram on Jaquio's chest was changed to a star.

Japan	International

Ending#

In the Japanese version, after the credits roll and you see the "THE END" screen, press Right + B + Select. Two extra ending frames will be displayed with final messages from Jaquio and Ashtar. However, the message lines are something like "Mwahaha... Hah.." with already used boss pictures. This Easter egg was completely removed from other versions.

Revisional Differences#

The game was re-released as a Console Archives title in 2026.

NES (US)	Console Archives

The licensed by Nintendo of America text was removed from the title screen.

References#