Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword

[Nester the Lark]

According to IGN, it looks like Ninja Gaiden is returning to a Nintendo system, and by the title alone, you can guess which one.

It's being developed by Tomonobu Itagaki and Team Ninja, so it'll probably be extremely violent and sexist. In fact, not too much is known at this point, but we already know one way in which it is sexist.

Itagaki also revealed that Ninja Gaiden DS will feature an all new character, a mysterious female ninja whose name is currently unknown. You'll first take control of her during the game's tutorial sequence. Itagaki and crew felt that the game needed a tutorial due to its unique control scheme, but that it wouldn't be right to have a super ninja like Hayabusa fumbling about. Instead, Hayabusa shows you how to perform all the moves, and you follow as the girl.

The game is entirely stylus driven, and you actually hold the DS sideways, as with Brain Age. Interesting...

[Dances in Undergarments]

I saw this announced but didn't pick up on the Dragon Sword part until your post.

Sounds pretty crap, actually.

[Fryguy64]

Can't say I'm the world's greatest Tecmo fan. It'd be interesting to see how this pans out. Ninja-fying it up on the Wii would be preferable

[Nester the Lark]

IGN has a bunch of screen shots. I have to say, the game doesn't look half bad.

I don't suppose they would bring back 2D cutscenes, like the kind that were used in the original NES games.

...Nah!

[Fryguy64]

Hey, doesn't look half bad for a DS game, I'll give it that. Prettification.

[Nester the Lark]

WARNING: Old thread revival! ;D

Sorry 'bout that. I've just been getting increasingly more interested in this game (as I indicated in the Phantom Hourglass discussion). I thought I'd point out a couple of interesting interviews from GameTrailers with Tomonobu Itagaki.

This first one from early August is fairly standard, but I like the part where Itagaki says that "just because there hasn't been a game of this caliber on DS, it doesn't mean that there shouldn't be."

The second one, posted just a few days ago, is apparently the first in a series. In it, Itagaki explains why he chose the vertical orientation for the DS. He also talks about how the DS game is more offensive than the other versions. --Er, that is, it doesn't rely as much on defensive maneuvers. Heh-heh.

And hey, whadaya know? It does have 2D, comic book-style cutscenes! Very cool!

[Nester the Lark]

Just thought I'd go ahead an post parts two, three and four of the interview with Itagaki. He's done a ton of interviews in the past few weeks, but they all pretty much cover the same ground.

Also, here's some really cool gameplay footage. Keep in mind, it's entirely stylus driven, even tho it doesn't look like it. Itagaki thought it was really intuitive to be able to control your character directly by touching rather than thru the abstraction of pushing buttons.

[Nester the Lark]

According to Kotaku, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword will be released in the US in March.

Now I know what I'm going to follow up Smash Bros with. ...Sorry "No More Heroes."

I can't believe no one else is showing interest in this game.

[thores]

Actually, a demo of the game has recently been made available at those downloadable DS kiosks in some gaming stores. I played it and although the demo was really, REALLY short (5 minutes long, tops), it was also pretty neat. The control scheme worked great, and has a lot of potential to make for an excellent game. Not to mention that the game looked spectacular. I'm not completely sold yet, but if it gets generally positive reviews I think I'll actually pick it up.

Apollo Justice and No More Heroes both take priority over this game, though, and I'm buying them first. I owe my support to both games more than I do to the Ninja Gaiden series, and of course I'm getting them because they'll be fun games.

[Fryguy64]

It's not that I'm not showing interest - it's by a third party publisher who puts out a very mixed bag of games in terms of quality. So I'm waiting for play tests and the like before I make any snap judgements on whether it tickles my pickle or not.

It's been in development long enough, though, to make me think they are taking this one quite seriously.

[Nester the Lark]

^ Fair enough.

I guess I'm just disappointed that no one wants to talk about the games that I'm interested in.

For instance, Contra 4 has been out in the US for over a month. It's gotten good reviews, and it's considered one of the best DS games of the year. I rave about it every chance I get, and yet the deafening silence I get in return is startling.

However, you guy are perfectly happy talking about Japan-only DS card battle games and non-existent Kirby games.

I had no idea my tastes were so...anomalous.

[TV Eye]

I respect your tastes Nester. I have no interest in Japan only games that we will never play (which I am also surprised others do). But I have never had any interests in games like Contra, it was always too hard for me.

Anyways, I have never played a Ninja Gaiden game, because Team Ninja made it an XBOX exclusive, and then PS3 exclusive.

The same thing applies to NiGHTS, it was a SEGA Saturn exclusive, which was an ill fated system that lots of people had no interest in buying. Therefore, lots of people probably won't try the new one.

That's the problem with third parties.

I'm probably not going to ever play Contra 4, or Ninja Gaiden, because I'm not willing to spend money on something I have little faith in.

[Nester the Lark]

^ For me, it's the opposite. I never played the original NiGHTS or Ninja Gaiden on the X-Box/360/PS3 (altho, I have played the original NES games), so when new iterations of these games come out on a system I actually own, I'm more interested.

Why pass up a game like Resident Evil 4 just because the series started on the PlayStation; or Skies of Arcadia because it was originally a Dreamcast game? I don't think it's right to have less interest in a series just because it didn't start on a console you owned.

I probably won't buy NiGHTS, not because I haven't played the original, but because reviews are a little mixed. (But it might still be worth a rental.)

[Fryguy64]

Well, I really want to jump on the ol' Contra bandwagon, as a more recent devotee of the original NES games (Probotector just never took off in the same way).

But I have that age-old problem... living in Europe. It's simply not out here yet. When it comes out will it be Probotectorfied? God I hope not.

[Nester the Lark]

admin said:

When it comes out will it be Probotectorfied? God I hope not.

I doubt it. Contra hasn't been Probotectorfied since Contra: Hard Corps in 1994.

Altho, Contra 4 does have that Probotector sprite ready to go, and his one line of dialog ("Probotect and serve!") is spoken with a British accent. (I love those subtle touches they added!)