Ninja Gaiden II/Controls

Basic Techniques

 * Escape: When an enemy grabs you, quickly press buttons and move  to escape. Some enemy grabs are not escapable.
 * Dash: While blocking, move to dash.
 * Using a Bow: Tap to fire an arrow quickly at the nearest enemy. Hold  and move  to aim a shot (release  to fire).
 * Hanging from a pole or ledge: Jump towards a pole or ledge to grab on and hang, or when standing on a ledge move  towards the edge to climb down and hang. Once hanging, use  to move left or right, press  to climb up a ledge, or  to drop down. You can also swing while hanging on a pole by pushing forward . If you time your release (press  to release), you can swing forward.
 * Wall Run: Jump toward a wall, then use  to run along it. While this is primarily used for navigating to certain areas, you can also use it in combat, pressing  or  to dive off of the wall at an enemy while attacking.
 * Flying Bird Flip: Run straight up a wall, then press to jump off the wall (executing the flying bird flip). You can string these together between close walls to climb upwards.
 * Swim: While floating in water, simply use to swim along the top of the water. To dive, press and hold, and to swim underwater hold  to move forward and use  to change direction.
 * Run on water: While floating on water, press repeatedly to run on the surface of the water. With some practice, you should be able to make the transition from running on land to running on water.

Advanced Techniques

 * Obliteration Technique: Press while standing near an enemy that has lost a limb to finish them off.
 * Counter Attack: Hold to block an enemy's attack. At the moment their attack bounces off your weapon, press  or  to execute a counter attack. This requires proper timing, but gives excellent results.
 * Ultimate Technique: Press and hold to charge your melee attack (or  to charge your projectile attack). When the glowing light surrounding Ryu turns red, release the button to execute your attack. You can release earlier and still release a powerful attack. While charging, you are vulnerable to attack, and you absorb nearby essence (at a lesser level than you would from normally gathering that essence) to speed the charging.