Ninja-Gaiden-DS
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Ninja Gaiden DS and 360 "similarities"
Speaking to CVG, Team Ninja head honcho, Tomonobu Itagaki, revealed a teeny tiny little tidbit about the upcoming Ninja Gaiden 2. Those of you who venture outside the safe and comforting walls of X3F may have heard that Ninja Gaiden is making its way to the Nintendo DS. Cleverly titled Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (get it? Dragon Sword?), the game utilizes the stylus to pull off all of Ryu's sick ninja moves. When asked about possible similarities between Dragon Sword and Ninja Gaiden 2, Itagaki responded, "Well... I am personally overseeing the development of everything from the story through to the gameplay elements for both games, so if you're observant you may be able to extrapolate some similarities between the two, yes, and not just in the area of story." We're assuming that Ninja Gaiden 2 won't magically turn any HDTV into a touch screen, so it's likely that the two games will share some other gameplay related features. We have no idea what those would be, and Ninja Gaiden: DS doesn't arrive until the end of this year, so we'll have quite a while to guess. Any ideas?
Footage from the Ninja Gaiden press event
Remember that press event where Tecmo gave us our first glimpse of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword? Sure you do, wasn't so long ago, but we were only able to gawk at some stills from the event. Well, that is no more as the folks at Game Brink have uploaded video from the event, giving us all a better look at how fluid and graceful the end product is sure to be. As usual, check out the video past the post break.
Direct feed Ninja Gaiden screens
We found some non-scanned screenshots of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword on Tecmo's website, and we are officially convinced. It looks great. The DS isn't exactly the most powerful system for 3D, but this does a pretty good job of making things look like real things and not piles of jaggies. The graphics actually recall the look and color scheme of the Xbox Gaiden well enough for us to maybe give the stylus-based control scheme the benefit of the doubt for a while. Too bad the nice graphics are all for a game that will cause us to jam our stylus into the freaking screen and stab over and over again, if it's anything like the brutally difficult Xbox version. We loved Ninja Gaiden, but it sure didn't love us.
Itagaki demonstrates Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for DS
Revealed earlier this week, Team Ninja's Head Developer Corey Hart Tomonobu Itagaki took the stage today in Tokyo to demonstrate Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. With the controls consisting almost entirely within the touch screen, a live demonstration of this ambitious action title is exactly what we needed after the initial scans left us somewhat baffled. IGN, who was on-hand for the event, walked away fairly impressed with Hayabusa's moves as they say he "dart[ed] about the screen just like his Xbox and PS3 counterpart, performing all the expected moves, right down to leaping between walls to get to higher ground." A bold statement considering the pedigree the series has built on nigh perfect controlling action. With single taps for movements, double taps for jumps and slashes of the stylus for attacks, we're still somewhat skeptical of just how well this will work out, but if anyone can pull it of it's Itagaki and company.
The Dragon Sword deluge continues: screenshots
If you can't seem to get enough of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, then you're in luck -- because the good folks from Team Ninja are all about giving up the goods. May they never, ever stop. While we've seen a few of these in with the scans, it's nice to look at them all by their lonesome ... and envision how we'll be spending all our free time in the future. Check 'em out after the jump.
Tecmo gives us a first-hand look at Dragon Sword
In gathering up various press representatives in Tokyo today, Tecmo formally announced their upcoming DS entry in the Ninja Gaiden franchise in Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. The event confirms that the game is going to be primarily driven with the stylus, charging the player with performing just about every in-game action in this way. Itagaki was also on-hand at the event and unveiled the game through a brisk play through one of the game's levels, killing a few enemies and ending the level at a spider-like boss. Itagaki also explained that the focus of this DS title is not the usual demographic, as previous titles in the series were meant for men over the age of 18 and westerners, Itagaki is seeking for Dragon Sword to be more accessible to players of all ages and genders (even the Gelgameks?). And from these early looks, the game is going to do just that. We can't wait.
A better look at Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
The idea of playing a handheld adaptation of one of the most difficult games in recent memory is one so big and glorious our measly little shoulders can bearly hold it up. Thankfully the blurry phone camera picture represented in the previous post didn't provide us the most clear and crisp look, for we would've undoubtedly been crushed to death under the wonderful possibilities of this game. That time, however, is now, considering the crisp and clear scans of the Japanese magazine article available over at Go Nintendo. We've included them after the break.
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword unsheathed for DS
Captured in a blurry, poorly-framed celly shot are the first details of Ninja Gaiden DS -- er, "Dragon Sword." Rumor of this Team Ninja project has been lurking for years, last resurfacing during a 1UP interview with Itagaki this past October. Now Famitsu has the scoop. The blurb indicates that Dragon Sword will play out with the DS oriented like a book, Brain Age-style. Another game gone digital comic? Probably not. Itagaki has suggested that Dragon Sword will be an action title; though Famitsu reports the game is controlled on the touch screen (except for blocking). So much for a classic 2D Gaiden... (Perhaps the dual-nature of the touch screen -- simple, yet limitless -- provides Team Ninja with a better shot at perfection.) [Via DS Fanboy]
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword announced, will be really hard
Way back in October, we reported on a rumor that Team Ninja was at work on a DS game of some kind, and we hoped that it was a Ninja Gaiden game. Five months later, that rumor has graduated to a blurry cellphone picture of a page from a Japanese magazine! Blurry and definitive. The new game is called Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword-- another "DS" subtitle like so many other DS games. We can't tell much from the scan, except that it uses the sideways Brain Age-style orientation, and it is controlled with the stylus. Check after the break to see if you can decipher anything else from the image. This announcement is great news for anyone who thought Trauma Center was too easy! [Via NeoGAF]
Rumor: Team Ninja working on DS game
During an interview with 1UP, Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki implied that work on a DS action title is underway. He doesn't outright say that a Ninja Gaiden title is set to release on the platform, or a version of his incredible fighting franchise Dead or Alive is destined to be a part of DS gamers' lives (highly unlikely), but we'd like to believe that a Ninja Gaiden title is in the works. [Via DS-x2]
