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 Few developers can claim to push the boundaries of every platform they create for time-and-time again-- the good people at Team Ninja are one of those rare developers. In March, Tomonobu Itagaki and his team revealed Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS and promised to push the portable to limits unlike gamers have ever experienced. We had a chance to play the, unfortunately short, demo of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword and have a complete breakdown on how it looks, how it plays and if it will affect your holiday wish list for Nintendo's portable powerhouse.
Even though the Nintendo DS is an amazing and innovative machine, it's always had some awkward issues with 3D graphics. While there is a long laundry list of great looking titles, the 3D effects on the DS have -- mostly, been mediocre at best. Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, however, is a stunning reminder what is possible on the platform. Added to these 3D effects are beautifully drawn 2D backdrops that will be very familiar to Ninja Gaiden aficionados. Along with polished graphics, even at this early stage, the game animated its action very well; an important point for a fast-paced twitch title. The way you play Dragon Sword is a mash-up of mechanics from previous Ninja Gaiden titles, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Brain Age. Sounds terrible, but it's pretty ingenious. Firstly, you hold the DS much in the same way you did for Brain Age -- in book form. All the action occurs on the touch screen while the other DS screen displays your map and karma count. Secondly, controlling Ryu works similar to Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Tapping the stylus anywhere in the world sends Ryu in that direction. In battles sliding your stylus over the enemy will unleash Ryu's basic attack, while you later learn newer maneuvers throughout the game; sliding the stylus on an enemy downwards and then upwards twice unleashed the Izuna Drop for instance. Jumping is simple, tap anywhere on screen and slide the stylus upwards for a single jump and again in midair for a double. Tapping the stylus anywhere in the world will make Ryu hurl his shurikens, allowing for pinpoint accuracy missing from previous iterations of the game. Lastly, Ninpo (magic) makes its return using a more traditional DS mini-game. To use Ninpo you tap the icon on the left of your health bar which opens a menu with an outline of Sanskrit letter which you need to fill in by sliding your stylus over. Once it's filled, and you are being timed, your Ninpo attack begins. In the demo we played it was the traditional fireball, however, you are able to move the fireball manually around the world by guiding it with your stylus. The controls are accurate and responsive, leaving little room for error and are simply fun to use. We were able to play the training area which outlined these controls and let us unleash fury on a variety of enemies, including a large dragon boss. The Xbox and PS3 releases of Ninja Gaiden are famously difficult to complete, but our time with Dragon Sword has been the opposite. It's simple, easy and looks to be built for a more general audience in mind. The game is fun, fast and furiously addictive. Once we dispatched the boss the demo ended leaving us with an image of a shawdowy Ryu, done in the manga style the game will use for its cut-scenes, with the teaser: 2007 WINTER. After playing through the demo a few [hundred] times, we can easily say that Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword should be on near the top of your holiday wish list. [Ed. Note: From GayGamer.net - Select EB/GameStop locations will offer this demo for download very soon]     
[Thanks to Kahn] [Thanks to Siliconera for the images]
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