Metareview -- Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS)

During last year's Tokyo Game Show, outspoken game designer Tomonobu Itagaki issued us a bit of a challenge. "If there's a game out there that is more beautiful, more interactive, faster and has better action than this game," he said, "please let me know." Well, it looks like such a title may still be absent from the DS catalog, as reviewers have had some awfully nice things to say about the short-but-sweet Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.

Honestly, we should have seen this coming, what with a fairly obvious clue buried in the game's title. Cross some things out, tilt your head to the left and ... voila!

~~Ninja Gaiden~~ :D ~~ragon Sword~~

Gametrailers (88/100): "Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword proves to have a sharp edge with good tech and smooth pacing. It also manages to turn the stylus into an effective ninja weapon, making it play like no other game on Nintendo's little dual screen."
IGN (86/100): "Very few developers outside of Nintendo are truly willing to take the risk of experimenting a brand new way of playing an established franchise, but Tecmo's Team Ninja did just that with its DS-exclusive design. The risk worked: Ninja Gaiden on the Nintendo DS is a really great game that offers a fresh, unique take on action games, and gives the touch-screen handheld gamers something that they'll never see on any other platform."
Game Informer Online (78/100): "Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is a commendable attempt at making a straight-up action game on the DS. I like the combat and the mechanics, and even though the battles get repetitive, it's frantic and fun enough to occasionally make you forget that fact."

Reader Comments (42)

This will be the Ninja Gaiden title of the year. Forget the 360 title, this is where it's at. *rinse and repeat.

This game does look really good, though. For the DS, the way the touchscreen is utilised, it's even got speech, it's a real achievement. I can't wait till my order gets shipped.

Originality, yes.

I find NG to be too much like DMC, just without the over the top flying stunts and crap.

Eh, I think there's room for both NG and DMC in my collection.

Every man for themselves ey :P

I tend to prefer games with more tactics, rather then memorising a button and repeating it as a combo, only stopping to use a potion or what not.

Especially if you continue that process from point A, the beginning, to point B, the end.

This however looks worth picking up, its more titles like this that I like on my DS.

Ninja Gaiden is somewhat like DMC except there are no emo overly feminie characters. Ninja Gaiden is harder and less mash while DMC is more fun to watch and always has fantastic voice acting and CG cutscenes, though I don't typically like the voices of said actors they do a great job.

I would love to buy this for the DS and have a sexy black ninja runnin around on my sexy black DS Lite but honestly I rarely ever play any games unless I'm in a doctors office. I don't take long trips every weekend like I use to when I was younger so my PSP and DS are generally dusty except when the occasional Loco Roco or Mario Bros. games come out. There are no decent console platformers anymore (cept Naruto Rise of the Ninja and the hopeful LittleBigPlanet).

What, like the likes of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro...sigh...spyro...good days.

Sadly, the overstuffed good-release set for the two Nintendo platforms boxes this out for me, I already have Mario Kart for April, Okami for may, and FFTA2 for June

(_8^(|)

d'oh

Though I was waiting for a MGS game on it; this is now my reason to get a DS... despite my dislike for Itagaki. :]

I totally got a katana stylus when I pre-ordered this game. It's the only thing I've pre-ordered from Gamestop in that last year or so. I suppose I would pre-order more if they offered spiffs on a regular basis...

that's not a smiley face, its actually a shuriken flying at you with 2 splotches of blood trailing behind it.

DUCK!

I hate all the DS titles trying to be clever and have the abbreviation be DS. Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow, Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Guilty Gear Dust Strikers etc.

Seriously, what's next? Trauma Center 3: Death Station? Barbie and Friends: Dick Suckers? A game featuring KayRazy/Killjebus and Curmeo with the subtitle Dumb Shits? When will the insanity end?!

Dick Suckers sounds cool, is that an 18+ rated barbie game?

Oh dear

Well you took that somewhere I hadn't planned on.

Lol, well, I'm not suprised, nobody here knew Barbie was that kind of girl. I'm shocked.

That game is called Sexy Beach 3 Barbie and friends

Issues?

Barbie is in sexy beach 3? They actually got permission to put that on DS :S Here was me thining it couldn't get worse. lol

Sexy Beach 3 Barbie and Friends: Dick Suckers is one long ass title.

Tell me about it, lol

But wait...there's more

Let me know when Barbie shows up in Battle Raper 3: Dildo Sluts.

Oh well, for the time being, we can just keep hoping that Ash gives up collecting pokemon, and actually looses his virginity ¬_¬

Use the microphone to blow on Barbie's nipples!

Now THAT, is originality :)

Damn you Barbie: Volleyball Extreme... Dick Suckers.

Boy, it's too bad that years of xbox fanboy rants has really turned me of the series.

Been playing it for an hour, and it's pretty good.

The only exception was some stupid part where you had to wake up some old man by yelling into the microphone, while the only clue that was supposed to lead you to it was so unclear, that i had to search gamefaq's NGDS board for it.

The microphone is gay sometimes, speaking to a mate, yes, talking to a game....on public transport... on a busy day...and you can't complete the level until you make a complete prat of yourself....a full no no

....

Then you could, and I may just be crazy, play it at home.

Yeah, sure, you could yell into it in the privacy of your own home. But does it really add anything to the game? No. It's stupid. When everyone on DSFanboy can agree gimmicky uses of the mic are stupid, you know it's stupid!

I had that issue with Phantom Hourglass when you had to yell at the Cubus sisters when you were escorting them around the Ship

Just sitting there in a room full of people with the game on mute, I suddenly yell "hey!"

Such embarrassment

Vegeta, thats just the point, handhelds aren't really for playing at home are they ¬_¬

Dunno bout you, but I like to play my psp when I'm out, not at home. Thats the entire point, but if it means loosing my dignity, then yeah, maybe DS is for playing at home, dunno, maybe you use your mobile only at home too :)

Guys you know you can just blow into the mic to wake him up right?

*crickets chirping*

just blowing in the mic? next you would tell me to take off my ninja cosplay costume too while playing it

Metareview -- Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS)

Reader Comments (42)

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:09AM Nigeria said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:22AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:24AM baby sea tuna said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:02AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:03AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:28AM Anticrawl said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:30AM Anticrawl said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:32AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 4:22PM Mr Khan said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:17AM Zamzoph said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:59AM MrHashbrown said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:21AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 12:22PM foxhound said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:26AM foxhound said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:38AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:40AM embassy said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 9:53AM McWeen said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:07AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:11AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:15AM McWeen said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:21AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:22AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:26AM SoulBlade said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:28AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:33AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:35AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

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Posted: Mar 27th 2008 11:22AM samfish said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 11:31AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

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Posted: Mar 27th 2008 11:49AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 3:02PM ThornedVenom said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:32AM mr nimblewick said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:33AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 10:37AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 12:29PM Vegeta has a ps3 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 12:44PM Jacksons said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 4:24PM Mr Khan said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 4:51PM Spunky Monkey 190906 said

Posted: Mar 27th 2008 12:52PM Supermanisdead said

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