Let me start by saying that I had my doubts about this game coming to a handheld due to the complexity and great gameplay of the console versions, but I was pleasantly surprised by Ninja Gaiden on the Nintendo DS. It is innovative in many ways, the style in which the DS is held (sideways) and the character are controlled (100% stylus control) are unique and add to the gaming experience. Ryu Hyabusa never looked better on the go.
Presentation and Graphics: Mini Ryu Hyabusa looks great on the Nintendo DS. Cut scenes are done in very appealing anime style clips, much like reading a comic book. The hack and slash is done very well on the touch screen and the other screen serves as a map to guide you along your travels. 8.5 of 10
Sound and Music: The sound and the music of the game fit Ninja Gaiden very well, the music tends to change and get faster when you get into a more intense moment and then smooth out when you get to a cut scene. One cool feature in the game is that it tries to incorporate the gameplay aspect of using the built in microphone. The microphone is used to talk to certain characters or to make noise and reveal hidden enemies, pretty interesting indeed except if you’re in a public place and you start talking to your DS. 8 of 10
Gameplay: Let me say that there is no stutter in gameplay what so ever! This game runs smooth from start to finish and impresses me that it is on a handheld system. Once you get used to holding your DS sideways the fun is ready to begin.
The only buttons you will touch is the D-pad which is used to block, other than that everything you do from running, jumping, attacking and even interacting with NPC characters is controlled via your stylus. Here are all the controls in a nutshell: to walk around just click on where you want go, to jump you flick the stylus up, to attack you slash the stylus downward, to throw ninja stars you tap the enemy you want to throw them at and to interact with NPC’s you just click on them. Sounds very simple and it is, but it will take some mastering to rack of points. You still get health bubbles, ninpo bubbles and bubbles to purchase things based on the intensity of your attack, so the cooler and more stylish your kills the more you get.
Ninpo magic is also controlled via the stylus and you break it out by pressing on the symbol next to your health bar. A cutscene comes up and then you trace the corresponding symbol with the stylus. You then control the different ninpo magic on the screen by attacking the enemies on screen. Combos are kept track of and easy to rack up with the stylus, different combos can be achieved by mastering different movements using the stylus, i.e. down, then up and then down will break out the Hayabsa back breaker where Ryu pops enemies into the air and then performs a Guile-like back breaker on his enemies.
Moving around never felt awkward and picking up the game was very easy and fun to get into. The learning curve is not very long and the fun factor is very high. Only thing I was missing was the sword stylus to complete the great feel of the game. 8.5 of 10
Lasting Appeal: The game’s difficulty is scaled back from the consoles, so beating the game can be done in 10 hours or so. There isn’t really an on-line mode but you can upload your ranks via the Nintendo Wifi connection to see how you match up against other ninjas world wide. There is replay value in just hacking and slashing through the game, the game is fun enough that you will want to pick it up again and just cut up same enemies along with check out your new unlockables. 8 of 10
Final Word: One of the finest handheld games I have played in a long time. Non-stop ninja action from start to finish. Stylus works great and keeps you wanting to slash things even after the enemies are dead. A must have for any Ninja Gaiden fan or action fan, the difficulty of the game isn’t up to the console versions, but that can be a good thing.
Overall: 8.5 of 10
