Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for Nintendo DS

The Ninja Gaiden series has come a long way since its inception as a humble and yet promising arcade game back in the late 80’s.  It had first evolved and gained popularity when it was released for the NES console with its improved storylines and new staples that set the standards for the whole series, spawning a franchise that influenced more than a decade of platform conversions and revivals. Since then, the series has been resurrected with the wake of nostalgic vogue in the mid 2000’s starting with its release for the Xbox in 2004 and later on for the Playstation 3. This new installment, released for the Nintendo DS, with the title of Ninja Gaiden - Dragon Sword, promises a more exciting gameplay relative to the previous games.

Gameplay

Unlike most DS games, playing this one is like scribbling on a notebook, literally, the map being on the left side, and the action screen on the right side. The player also has the option to switch the action screen and the map screen to whichever, depending whether one is right handed or left handed. The game basically takes up about 5 or 7 hours worth of playing time during the first try for an average player. A novice player at the controls can quickly find out that it has almost zero learning curve. This means you’ll get the hang of it almost immediately after one level, which also means you’ll have to pay attention to the on screen tutorials that surface at the start of the game if you don’t want to have a hard time later on. The nigh-visceral control scheme is almost telepathic in its illusion.  You feel as though the stylus pen is actually a sword that your character wields. Ryu Hayabusa, the main character you control, seems to know exactly what it is you want from him. For instance, when you draw a line towards an enemy, Ryu instantly dashes and slashes towards the poor sucker. Drawing upwards on the screen makes the bad-ass little ninja jump, and if you happen to draw a horizontal line in either direction after that, while still holding down the stylus, you can execute a slashing move in mid-air and devastate the enemy.

Blocking enemy attacks is only a matter of holding the directional buttons. Tapping on the screen and holding down any of the buttons lets Ryu perform evasive maneuvers such as a roll to the left or to the right.

A very important aspect of the game is the ‘Essences’. The character manages to collect balls of light that differ in colors after slaying the bad guys. They explode from the dead baddies and are absorbed by Ryu right after. The Red Essence that the player collects is used for the Ninpo Magic, which brings up a screen with a Japanese Ninjutsu character/letter. Tracing the stylus on the letter allows the player to activate different types of magic. The Yellow Essence can be used as a sort of medium of exchange, allowing one to buy items from Muramasa’s shop. Lastly, the Blue Essence is for the health.

Hints

• Save frequently! This age-old tactic is by far the oldest and most revered since the dawn of the DOOM games as far as any gaming guru is concerned.  Not only does this serve as a back up to your progress in the game but it also serves to restore Ryu’s health and Ki. Do this as often as possible.

• Evasive maneuvers and good blocking always guarantee a lapse in the enemy’s defenses that will lead to a decisive victory in any form of battle. Remember this always.

• Increase Ryu’s lifemeter by buying from Muramasa, the Jewel of The Spirit Smith and Lives of The Thousand Gods. You need to collect a lot of the Yellow Essence in order to purchase them. These items also increase Ryu’s sword damage significantly.

Bonuses

• To unlock The Way of Kunoichi, select hard difficulty, fight and survive Ryu then kill the boss dragon. Start a new game to play it.    

• To unlock Muramasa’s Prize Shop, you need to finish the game on normal difficulty.

• To unlock Master Ninja Mode, you need to finish the game on hard difficulty.

Game Cheats Note

There doesn’t seem to be any real game cheats available for this game other than the fact that you have the external option of buying an R4 on the internet and download Nintendo DS roms modified for the game and ‘port’ them into the DS.