Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
- May 18, 2007 13:40 PM PST
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Can the graphical powerhouse action series make its way to the DS? We got some time with the game-- and Team Ninja's leader, Tomonobu Itagaki.
Check out our exclusive interview with Team Ninja's founder, Tomonobu Itagaki, as he chats candidly about the Ninja Gaiden series and Team Ninja's expansion to new consoles.
While Ninja Gaiden/Black/Sigma may be one of the greatest action games of all time, forgive us if we say the series has grown a little long in the tooth. Sure, Ninja Gaiden Sigma is gorgeous, and could be one of the PS3's best, but it's more of a refinement than a reinvention. For those who hope to teach an old Ninja Dog some new tricks, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword may be the answer to your adrenaline-fueled prayers.
Strong Ninja Visuals
Team Ninja is known for getting the most out of a console, and for as long as they've been around, it's been a graphical effort. This time around, the team is tweaking the DS for all its worth in terms of visuals and gameplay. According to Team Ninja's founder, Tomonobu Itagaki, the vertical orientation of the screen allows Dragon Sword to take full advantage of the DS, saying "From the gameplay perspective, it decreases the amount of space your hand covers the screen. Also, its easier to show realistic depth to the 3D graphics when it's vertical. Since [Ryu] Hayabusa is a character that jumps and does a lot of vertical movement it's easier to show his movement using a vertical screen." Not only is Ninja Gaiden one of the best looking DS games we've ever seen, it may be one of the best playing, too.
Slick Ninja Moves
The DS doesn't seem a likely fit for the Ninja Gaiden series, which required lighting fast button presses and analog stick movement on the Xbox. It's even more perplexing when you hear that Dragon Sword uses none of the buttons and just one direction on the control pad. Surprisingly, Itagaki and co. have managed to ably pack Ryu's repertoire into a series of simple stylus strokes. Tap the screen, and he'll throw a star where you directed. Slash horizontally or vertically, and he'll do the same. Drag the stylus in a direction and he'll run. Tap Ryu, and he'll jump. If anything, there's a lot to learn, and you'll likely mix a few motions up in the beginning, but it's something you'll get the hang of rather quickly... mostly because it's a game that's extremely hard to put down. Team Ninja's also added quite a few little extra applications of the stylus, like directing spells and spelling out Sanskrit symbols to unleash them. A normal developer would have made those the primary use of the stylus, but Team Ninja is anything but normal. This could be the DS' sleeper hit of 2007.
