Ninja Gaiden (DS) Dragon Sword Review

From the Vault — originally published April 2, 2008. Some links, videos or prices may be out of date.

I finally got some time to really play dragon sword this past weekend during a road trip out of state. Ill just sum up my thoughts on the game in a good, bad, and ugly format. Above is a video showing Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword gameplay. it should give you a good idea of how the controls work and how the game plays and looks.

Pros:

– Some of the best graphics I have seen on the DS.

– The best DS game I have played since Castlevania Portrait of Ruin.

– The vertical orientation actually works well from a graphic/display point of view.

– I actually want to finish the game. Thats always a good sign since I don’t have the urge to finish most games since my time is limited.

– The controls actually work after getting used to them.

– The comic book style of the cut scenes are nice

– The music and sound effects are great.

– If you can get past the controls the game is fun.

Cons:

– It takes a while to get used to the controls. When you do you realize that its inaccurate.

– Scrubbing the DS screen to perform moves feels imprecise.

– The games difficulty is kind of easy. Probably because the controls are imprecise. You will take hits because an intended move did not come out like you intended.

– Gliding the stylus to move your character just does not seem as good as using a D-Pad. If it aint broke…

Ugly:

-Scrubbing the DS screen to do moves and blowing or screaming into the mic looks very gay.

Bottom line:

I do recommend this game. Its fun once you get a handle of the controls. I spent the whole first chapter and half of the second thinking about how wack scrubbing the DS screen was and by the third chapter I was just playing and having fun. At that point it felt like a mini or portable Ninja Gaiden Black/Sigma. The music in Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword and the game itself has a similar feel which makes it great.