Ever since the passing of controversial anti-Ninja legislation, importing Japan's deadliest natural resource into the States is a near-impossible process. Luckily, the Federal Trade Commission has recognized that Ninja Gaiden II is not an actual ninja, but instead, a circular platter of polycarbonate encapsulated in a decorated box and an irritating plastic sheath. They also noted that the ninja on the cover is an illustrated ninja, who poses little to no risk of flipping out and killing you in your sleep.

Thus, Ninja Gaiden II was cleared to launch in North America just in time for its June 3 release date -- though it took Team Ninja much longer to convince the FTC that the game's demo was not some sort of digital assassin, sent to kill the internets. Luckily, that bit of confusion was resolved today, and the Ninja Gaiden II demo is now available on Xbox Live. Conveniently enough, we can think of no better way of venting our anger over the demo's North American delay than to dismember some minions with frightening bladed weaponry.

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!

• 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."

Ever since the announcement of Ninja Gaiden II's June 3rd release, we've become increasingly annoyed with the months of April and May. As is the case with those insolent, slow-moving people who bunch up in front of you at the supermarket, we really just want to ram them out of the way so that we may fill our cart to the brim with candy as quickly as possible. Having turned around and spotted our menacing glares, May has at least shown some decency by offering us a sampler -- a Ninja Gaiden II demo to be precise (and free of rambling allegories).

According to Microsoft's Ninja Gaiden II website, those eager to decapitate demons, mangle monsters and otherwise alliteratively assault archfiends can expect to download a demon-stration from Xbox Live Marketplace in May. The page also advises to look for "exclusive" content from April 15th, no doubt referring to things like gamerpics, themes and videos pretending to be demos. Wait, we're not falling for that one again, are we?

Remember that blip on the Xbox Live this week that said a Ninja Gaiden 2 Demo was coming soon? The "demo" has now gone live, and we hate to break it to you, folks, but it turns out that demo really means "video of someone playing the demo." Yep, we're disappointed, too, and a bit angry at the misleading title -- by convention, demo in the gaming world tends to be interactive. (Unless, of course, the game really is just us watching someone else play the game.) Creator Tomonobu Itagaki did assure that a demo is coming "at some point." Ninja Gaiden 2 is out for blood June 3.

With all eyes turned to San Francisco's Moscone Center this week, we half expected the Wii's Virtual Console to take a breather. What we got, as it turns out, is two extremely competent releases playing to two of our greatest loves, namely ninjas and, well, genetically engineered chicks with claws, giving those of us manning the Joystiq bunker something to fawn over while the team prepares to burn the midnight oil.

• Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points): We'd be more inclined to watch daytime television if network soap operas took a page from Tecmo and filled their stories with ninjas, demons, and trans-dimensional clones. While Ryu Hayabusa's 8-bit escapades may be lacking the over-the-top gore found in the series' more contemporary offerings, we doubt even the upcoming Ninja Gaiden II will have a 'ship of doom.'
• Phantasy Star II (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): While Phantasy Star is better known now for its multiplayer shenanigans and a story thin enough to be named Top Model, the franchise's single player roots continue to be home to some of our most fondly-remembered role-playing from days when pixels were king. It's true that some could argue that Phantasy Star IV tops out its brothers as the series' best bet, but we'll always have a special place in our hearts for Phantasy Star II and Nei's cosmetically-challenged ears.

Savior of stingy spenders and bane of box art, the budget lineup, is set to incorporate several PlayStation 3 titles in Japan next month. IGN reports that the official "PlayStation 3 the Best" branding will highlight familiar titles at friendlier prices, with Resistance: Fall of Man, FolksSoul (aka Folklore), Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Gundam: Target in Sight, and Ridge Racer 7 pinching the first pennies -- or, uh, yanking the first yen. The "Best" games will sell for ¥3,800 ($36), which represents a saving of roughly ¥2,200 ($21) for Sony-published games and ¥3,200 ($30) for third-party titles.

On the other side of the ocean, Sony told GamesIndustry.biz that a similar "Platinum" range of budget games would likely arrive in Europe. "We have introduced a Platinum range of best-selling titles for all of our platforms to date, and it is likely that we will do so in the future for PS3," said a spokesman, noting that the timing and lineup had yet to be finalized.

We'll let you know what Sony America has to say about a budget lineup as soon as they accept our collect call.

Read -- "PlayStation 3 the Best" for Japan
Read -- "Platinum" for Europe

Nintendo's latest release schedule has cut through the fog of ambiguity and pinned the arrival of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword to the pleasingly specific date of March 25th. We only had "March 2008" to go on before and have thus avoided wasting 24 days of the month scouring shelves and phoning overly smug store clerks.

Though Tecmo has told us that the shipping date may change if the final code isn't approved in time, it's the one they're currently targeting like... whatever ham-fisted Ninja metaphor we could work into this sentence. For more information on Ryu Hayabusa's DS debut, check out our hands-on with the game and interview with Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki.

If you think about it, a ninja's life is just one big, long string of achievements. Waking up, killing like 50 guys, slamming 5 gallons of OJ, winning an eBay auction for a fist hardener, a ninja has like 20 achievements before he even leaves for work. But what achievements are worthy of putting a name and attaching points to? For one ninja named Ryu, that's a decision that you can help make.

Currently, Gamerscore Blog is taking suggestions for an achievement of your own creation that they will in turn pass along to Team Ninja for consideration in Ninja Gaiden II. We'd like to suggest an achievement for beheading people and then making a lame joke about it. ... Oops, looks like we've been beaten to it.

Gamerscore Blog recently afforded our buddies over at X3F the opportunity to ask Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki one question about the upcoming Ninja Gaiden II on the 360. They chose to ask about the sequel's adjustments to the original's infamous difficulty, specifically the addition of a automatically-regenerating health system, seemingly added to widen the game's appeal to less-hardcore players.

Not to disappoint the fans, Itagaki coolly (oh so coolly) explains that the health regenerating system was added to keep players immersed in the game, rather than having to constantly access the game's menus to use potions.

Of course, Itagaki assures the hardcore audience that the game will still appeal to their masochistic sides, but that they hope to increase the audience in the sequel with more adjustability in the difficulty levels. Good news for everyone?

When Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki tells you Ninja Gaiden II is the greatest action game ever made, he doesn't expect you to take his word for it. No, in today's wondrous online world, he expects you to download the demo and reach that conclusion on your own. Failure to do so, of course, will result in the world's deadliest mammals hurling shurikens through your window and slicing up your special edition copy of Devil May Cry 4.

In a video interview with IGN (embedded after the break), the outspoken designer notes that non-believers can look forward to a demo of Ninja Gaiden II at "some point," though we suspect it might be after the game's Spring 2008 release if the tardy Dead or Alive 4 demo is any indication. Not that we need much convincing, mind you -- the interview's talk of mutilated enemies exclaiming "It's only a flesh wound!" before wrapping themselves around your legs and committing C4 seppuku has us convinced.

Itching to see how well Ninja Gaiden holds up on the Nintendo DS? Anxious fans of the series can take the portable title for a spin by heading to a local retailer. Gay Gamer reports that DS Download Stations are now beaming demos of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Bringing your DS to a participating retail location should allow you to capture the demo, which controls like a more "extreme" version of Phantom Hourglass.

We're happy that Nintendo continues to make use of retail-based DS Download Stations, but we're still anxiously awaiting the release of the Wii's "Everybody's Nintendo" channel, which will allow Wii owners to beam demos to their DS via their Wii, from the comfort of their own homes. Here's hoping that following the release of the "Check Mii Out" channel, DS downloads are just around the corner.

Some shaky cam footage of the Dragon Sword demo in action after the break.

Today's new pronunciation video from MTV Multiplayer is a threefer, with Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki explaining (in Japanese no less) how you pronounce his name, "Ninja Gaiden" and "Helena" from Dead or Alive 4.

What's wonderful is that these are all phrases that you could have the chance to use in your everyday life, such as "2008's game of the year award goes to Ninja Gaiden 2," or "Come on up and get your award Tomonobu Itagaki!" or "Excuse me, Helena, but your breasts are obscuring my view of the acceptance speech."

It's not too long into our interview with Tomonobu Itagaki before he issues us with an impromptu challenge. "If there's a game out there that is more beautiful, more interactive, faster and has better action than this game, please let me know." The Team Ninja boss has a train of thought that truly exemplifies the bluntest characteristics of that phrase. It's an unstoppable machine barreling down a track without diversion and without apologies -- because it's a train.

We conducted (oh dear) an interview with the outspoken developer at the Team Ninja offices shortly after the Tokyo Game Show, focusing on the aforementioned title, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. After the break, you'll find Itagaki's concise thoughts on Dragon Sequels, dual-screen slashing, how the competition stacks up and why multiplayer Ninja Gaiden might just piss you off.

Today's additions to the PlayStation Store may not incite frenzy, but with the entire video game world talking about a certain spartan, maybe Sony thought it was to retain their big guns for another week where they could garner more press.

For US PS3 owners, in addition to an assortment of free trailers, we have demos for Clive Barker's Jericho (which also came out today on the Xbox 360 and PC) and NBA 2K8, a new vehicle for Motorstorm dubbed the Castro Capitano ($0.99) and Speed Master feature for Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

European gamers today got some Warhawk and Heavenly Sword wallpaper, a quartet of new Motorstorm vehicles (£1.49 for each pair), the Ninja Gaiden SIgma Speed Master pack a demos for Sega Rally and Folklore (this is a different demo than the one previously released).

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Team Ninja's long-awaited, not-a-remake sequel to Ninja Gaiden has already garnered attention for its gratuitous and unyielding violence, with early screenshots depicting massive arterial blood sprays, decapitations and all manner of lopped and lobbed limbs. It's further exacerbated when seen in motion, as enemies clutch bloody stumps and roll about in agony when separated from their legs. If you didn't consider series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa to be a murdering machine before, Ninja Gaiden 2 should provide enough visual evidence to convince you otherwise.