TGS '07: Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword Hands-On
Tecmo let Tokyo Game Show attendees get their hands on an updated version of its upcoming Nintendo DS Ninja Gaiden game and, unsurprisingly, it was a blast. The playable demo on display in Tecmo's TGS Booth is a short but sweet run through a few areas to a boss fight. The demo offers a good showcase for Ryu Hayabusa's promising DS outing, which takes a whole new angle on how to play an action game on the DS.
The demo opened up with Ryu Hayabusa making his way through a courtyard and taking out enemies as they appeared. There was a tutorial feel to the action, given that onscreen prompts appeared to offer hints on how to use the stylus to deal with enemies. The demo had the same structure we've seen in our previous sessions with the game, and it required Ryu to enter areas, clear them of enemies, and move on. After we went through a few sections, a huge red dragon dropped in, like they tend to do, and menaced Ryu. The battle was straightforward and not terribly long thanks to a mix of dodging, blocking, and stabbing. The game's control still continues to impress us with how tight and responsive it feels. We'd still like to put the scheme to the test in a longer play session with the game, one that has a broader variety of enemies that will force us to mix offensive and defensive play. Nevertheless, so far the game handles admirably.
The visuals in the game were outstanding. It sported a solid amount of detail and fluid animation, all of which helped give the game an impressive sense of speed. Ryu's actions were slick and complemented by flourishes such as sparks and wind lines during his more powerful attacks. We're also digging the sense of scale in the game, which is enhanced by holding the DS sideways. The added room allows bosses, such as the dragon, to tower over Ryu.
The audio in the game offered a good complement to the hectic action, with effects that framed everything nicely. The clashing of swords and the general stabbing of people sounded good and crisp on the DS, as did the voice samples from Hayabusa and his foes. The dragon's roar didn't have quite as much kick as we'd like, but it was still pretty menacing. The soundtrack in the demo was unobtrusive but perked up doing combat and boss battles.
Based on the too-brief demo, which should be appearing in download kiosks in Japan at some point in the future, we're anxious to get more time with Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. The game is fun and the control has a really good feel to it. Anyone looking for an action game on the DS needs to keep an eye out for Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. The game is a promising and welcome entry in the DS software library, which is notoriously thin on ninja content. Look for more on the game in the coming months.
Latest Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword Videos
From TGS 2007 comes this gameplay footage of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS.
Take a look at this clip of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS from 2007.
Vital Stats
Rank on DS: 12 of 1,309
TGS 2007 News
Japan's premier gaming event opens its doors to frenzied hordes of booth babes, cosplayers, game fans, and media.
Latest Images
Latest Videos
From TGS 2007 comes this gameplay footage of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS.
Take a look at this clip of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS from 2007.
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88 Comments
this game gonna be a buyer!
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This one impressed me.
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Ninja's are always good - especially the portable ones. I'll be watching this one.
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I'm intrigued. What IS the control scheme in specifics, if it's so fluid? I might finally get in to Ninja Gaiden.
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looks good. Hopefuuly ninja gaiden 2 can match it
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"We slash evil on the DS in Team Ninja's awesome portable Ninja Gaiden adventure"
Hm this can actually turn out to be a good game, concidering the word "awesome" from gamespot.
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this game looks pretty fluid, judging from the hands-on vid. perhaps i'll give it a look when it comes out.
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thunderbone, I noticed that in the latest build of No More Heroes, enemies explode into a shower of pixels, whereas earlier movies showed enemies gushing enormous, comical geysers of blood. Makes you go "Hmmm".
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this game looks pretty sweet
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I can't wait for this!!!
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I'm rather disappointed. I've noticed a trend with Nintendo's portables. Many games' console counterparts are rated M with blood and gore, but usually end up with a T rating with no blood once the game makes it to a Nintendo portable. It happened back when Metal Slug Advance came out for the GBA (although the blood-filled games were rated T), and again when BiA came to DS. The over-the-top violence is one of the things that made the MS series appealing to me. And although the console version of BiA wasn't all that bloody, it at least had enough to give a sense you'd done your mission.
No, I'm not some young kid who is trying to rebel. The novelty of blood and gore has never worn off for me since back to the MK days. It was something that I had never experienced previously, and was always something that caught my attention. (And was one of the biggest things that drew me into the XBox NG games.)
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Awesome. I'm definently going to have to check this out at some point. Because everyone loves ninjas.
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Sweet.
More Ninja action on the DS (and Wii) FTW.
Think about it, assassinating dudes with the Wiimote & nunchuk. Priceless.
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ninja gaiden on ds is gonna be amazing!!! at first when it was announced all i was thinking was, how the hell is ng gonna look good and play well on the ds? but tecmo has some amazing people developing and they seem to always deliever AAA material, excluding beach volleyball lol
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this game is gonna be so epic!!!
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Mustah- Yeah! Like Canvas Curse. That game was sick.
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Ninja Gaiden, really want it, gonna be awesome.
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i like this game.but price for iran very expensiv.
baba kheli gerone harbazi 80 $
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Ninja Gaiden 1 was so good that I have no choice but to buy every future Ninja Gaiden game.
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Great! A game with no buttons!
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