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Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword - Nintendo DS


Romier S

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Interesting, it looks like the DS is held vertically, so I wonder how much the D-Pad is used, and how much is simply touchscreen controlled.

 

According to Itagaki, the game will be fully controlled with the touch screen:

 

1UP: The game uses the stylus for sword slashing. Historically speaking, the Ninja Gaiden games have been typically fast action games. How will you handle movement in a 3D space? Will you use the stylus for that as well?

 

TI: Let me tell you something that will surprise you. The Ryu Hayabusa present in Ninja Gaiden DS is the speediest of all the Ninja Gaiden games in existence. And when I say "in existence," go ahead and assume I also mean projects currently in development. When I say "speedy," I don't just mean fast in a cheaply implemented way. Anyone can simply speed up the animations. This is speed as it pertains to those elements that are so dear to me -- interactivity and responsiveness. I don't know how many times you would want to scratch across the screen of the DS in the space of a second, but rest assured that Hayabusa will constantly and flawlessly keep up with your every input. That's the kind of game it is.

 

Let me logically explain how a game such as this is possible. Games made for existing gaming consoles (with the superb exception of the Wii) interpret, process, and execute the player's input using a procedural paradigm. At the very least, the games that you all love (thanks!), Ninja Gaiden and DOA, are made in this way. On the other hand, my newest Ninja Gaiden DS game interprets, processes, and executes player input using an object-oriented paradigm. These terms are used in information processing and therefore you may not be very familiar with them; if this aspect of my design philosophy interests you, please look up these terms.

 

Personally, I'm very excited to see how this one turns out. I think it's no secret that I'm a huge for of Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox, so of course this is going to interest me. I just hope that Team Ninja gets the controls just right with the touch screen. It could be one of the most unique titles on the DS if they do.

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So you slash where you want to hit & it stores a list of targets instead of following the controller (because of the different input systems). Wow. Revolutionary.

 

Brian, forgive me, but I can't tell from just reading your post... Are you actually impressed with what they're trying to do with this game, or are you just being sarcastic? Thanks.

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Brian, forgive me, but I can't tell from just reading your post... Are you actually impressed with what they're trying to do with this game, or are you just being sarcastic? Thanks.
Wait a second, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic with this question. :P

 

But no, Itagaki's pretty much talking total nonsense towards the end of that answer. He seems to be conflating programming paradigms with input methods. A better way of saying it would be that traditional console game controllers allow you to input a sequence of button presses, while a touchscreen/Wiimote allows you to input arbitrary 2D coordinates. I would guess he calls this "object-oriented" because it allows you to quickly pick an "object" on the screen, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the OO paradigm.

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  • 1 month later...

IGN had some hands on time with Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and have posted their thoughts on it. Here's what they had to so say about the controls:

 

On the right side, the touch screen side, that's where the magic happens. All movement and all attacks happen. Tap and hold the stylus on the screen to make Ryu move to that location in the room. Double tap to make him jump...it doesn't matter where you double tap. Even though it feels natural to do it on the character, the tap-tap motion can be done anywhere on the screen, and in some rooms like a narrow well, continuing to double tap will get Ryu to wall jump all the way to the top. Shurikans can be thrown with a single, quick, staccato "tap" on the screen, and Ryu will throw that star where the screen was tapped - it makes for very precise aiming, absolutely. Attacking is simply a matter of swiping the stylus over enemies - Ryu will automatically begin his slash from wherever he's standing and whisk towards the enemy. Obviously one slash isn't enough, so you'll have to swipe again and again to take out the stronger enemies. Of course, now that you're too close for comfort to the enemy, you'll need some defense - pressing any button on the system, including any direction on the D-pad, will initiate a block. Simple as that.

 

I do wish that they would have said whether or not the controls added to the experience or made the game more difficult to play. Oh well...

 

At any rate, it sounds like the graphics are a mix of 3D characters against 2D backgrounds ala Resident Evil. They say it looks pretty good and from the screenshots I've seen, it definitely looks to be the case. Also, they said that the difficulty is hard to judge because invisibility mode was turned on in the demo they played. I hope the game's a challenge like the Xbox game, but gives you a level or two to get used to the controls.

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  • 9 months later...

Started Playing Dragon Sword this morning and it is damn good fun. The stylus works really well and you use any button to block. The stylus controls everything, jumping, moving, atacking, throwing stars and is easy to pick up. Holding the game book style, ala Brain Age or Puzzle League, also gives the game nice vertical depth. The graphics are pretty good for DS, but where they really shine is Boss Battles. The boss battles are in 3d and look phenomenal. Between this and GOW for the PSP, handhelds are getting some nice loving in the Action game department. If you are a NG fan, you should be playing this ASAP.

 

-Dean-

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  • 2 weeks later...

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