Raenius Recommends II:Hey! Is That A Ninja Up There?

This week's recommendation:
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for Nintendo DS

Published by: Temco
Developed by: Team Ninja
Released: March 25, 2008
MSRP: $39.99
ESRB: Teen
Download Play: No
WiFi Enabled: Leaderboards



It's sure been a long time since Nintendo fans got a chance to have an adventure as Ryu Hayabusa. We sure missed him. This is Nintendo's first Ninja Gaiden title since the original trilogy for NES (and the later compilation on SNES) as well as the first hand held version. Thankfully, Tecmo had Team Ninja (who made the console versions) develop this one too. The story is relevant to the series as it takes place six months after the infamously hard comeback XBOX game. As in typical video game fashion, Ryu must battle through 13 stages to save the female ninja Momiji who was kidnapped by the Black Spider Ninja Clan while collecting powerful Dark Dragonstones along the way. Let's see if Hayabusa-san still has what it takes.

The first thing you'll notice about this game is that you hold the DS sideways (like the Brain Age series or Hotel Dusk). The left side is used for a map and the right side displays the main gameplay. Don't worry all you southpaws out there, you can adjust the settings for left-handed controls. Almost all of the controls are done with the stylus for the exception of blocking. What's nice about this is that the controls are exactly what you think they are. Slash the screen to slash your sword. Make a vertical line up and make Ryu jump. Moving is done exactly in the same fashion as The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass as in you press and hold where you want to go. Advanced controls are explained pretty well on the map screen as you progress through the game. Movements are, of course, not perfect. The DS will interpret your taps and slashes wrong occasionaly, but it's not too much of a big deal in the heat of a chaotic battle.

The next thing you'll notice is how good this game looks. It's unfair to compare this to the console but, as far as pushing the DS to it's limits, Team Ninja sure did a good job. I only wish it had FMV cut scenes and better voice acting instead of still images and text. I'm not sure if it was due to DS cart size restraints or maybe it was the style they were going for. I probably would've gotten into the story more if it had them. What really draws your attention is Nicchae, the scantily clad female trying to stop you (and also helped this title get its Teen ESRB rating). Along with impressive graphics, it also has an amazing soundtrack. Definitely use headphones with this one! Some classic Ninja Gaiden sounds are a treat and will bring back some (bad) nostalgic memories.

Even with 13 chapters, the game isn't too long. Along the way you will uncover many different skills and Ninpo (ninja magic). But, it only took me under six hours to finish the game in Normal Mode. The reasoning behind this is very linear levels. There's not too much else to do other than the main quest. A few well placed side-quests would have been a nice touch. Another reason is easy bosses. There were only a couple bosses that really gave me a challenge. Most of them were pretty repetitive and didn't have too much in the AI department. Speaking of enemies, the game unfortunately reuses enemies from previous levels with different coloring. This is a old tactic that tons of games are guilty of and needs to be abolished!

Even with a few flaws, replay value is pretty high. I will definitely be taking Ryu and Momji out for a second or third time. There's harder modes as well as collectible prizes (unique to the level of difficulty you play) to be found including stories, artwork, character profiles and diaries. Leaderboards are a bit tacked on and pretty useless for this type of game. There's also a way to play the entire game as Momiji instead of Ryu. I won't tell you how, figure it out on your own!


Time to break it down!

Presentation: Clean and easy to navigate menus. Three save slots for multiple users. Good story structure that will hopefully be continued in it's next gen sequel.

Visuals: Near PlayStation quality graphics. Beautiful environments and effects but a lack of character models and no FMV cut scenes.

Audio: Voice acting limited to grunts, moans and groans distracting you from an amazing soundtrack going on in the background.

Gameplay: Pick up and play control scheme that sometimes will have a mind of it's own.

Multiplayer: None. Probably for the better.

Wi-Fi Functionality: You can tell the leaderboards were an afterthought, but it's nice to see 3rd parties adding Nintendo's WFC functions.

Replay: You'll come back for a second dose for sure. After that it depends how much of a completest you are.

Overall: Call it "Ninja Gaiden Lite" if you wish. This game looks great and takes all the fun elements of the console version to make a more casual and enjoyable experience on a hand held.

-mwb-

A World of 8-Bit Agony or... The Top 10 Hardest NES Games

The year was 1988 and all I wanted for Christmas was a Nintendo Entertainment System. I must have been a good boy, because I got one! Looking back on the games, I think it's safe to say they were harder. Long gone are the days of limited continues and game overs. As a child I took my frustration out as only I knew how: throw the controller across the room. I don't think todays controller would be able to handle such punishment. So, in honor of the games that with put me in therapy when I'm 50, here is my personal list of the hardest NES games ever (without using cheats). With so many NES games made, I doubt two people's list would be the exact same. So don't worry if you don't see the bane of your childhood existence of my list.

#10 IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II -I don't remember too much from this game except for two things. 1) Fabio was on the cover and 2) All you do in this game is jump around and get lost. This game almost didn't make the list. But the level of frustration is what got it on here. The enemies aren't even that hard, but you have to try and find a bazillion keys or you can't go anywhere. If this game wasn't so boring I might have tried to figure out what to do.

#9 Shadowgate - Definitely original in terms of most games around at the time. This one was a PC-like first person puzzle game which actually translated well for the NES. It was kind of like Zak & Wiki. Do this, then that, but not before you do this with that. You die in the game... a lot! It was a pretty long game, too. It would most likely be easier now than when I was a kid, though.

#8 Caveman Games - Definitely an original idea. A very humorous game. Unfortunately the controls are awful and there's a huge learning curve. You're pretty much on your own to figure out how to do each event. Once you figure everything out, this makes a great two player game.

#7 Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - It lulls you into a false sense of security. Once you figure out all your opponents patterns and realize how easy King Hippo really is... then... BAM! Out comes Mr. Sandman, Super Macho Man and Mike Tyson (or Mr. Dream depending on what version you have) and cleans your clock. The first two are a brutal challenge. Then Tyson comes out swinging for the first few minutes and you can't even hit him! I don't think I ever beat old Mikey. Now that's it on Virtual Console maybe I can redeem myself.

#6 Bart Simpson vs. The Space Mutants - This game would be so much easier if they had fixed the controls. Did they even play this before they released it? You can't even do a running jump because the run and jump button are the same! Along with doing mundane tasks and collecting items there's not much else to this game.

#5 Mega Man - Along with having the worst boxart ever and an awesome soundtrack, this was the first and hardest of the series. There's no password system so if you can't finish in one sitting you're screwed. Luckily it's not as long as the rest of the series, but it's still pretty frustrating. The charge shot was also a few games away. As hard as it was, it paved the way for many great Mega Man games and franchises for the future. We can only hope the blue bomber is in the next Smash Bros.

#4 Contra - I'm sure you saw this one coming. If you don't use the Konami Code, this one is close to impossible. One hit and you die. Tons upon tons of enemy troopers and turrets. There's plenty of power ups (just depends how long you can hold on to them) One of the first great side-scrolling shooters. Play with a friend on this one.

#3 Ninja Gaiden Series - All three of these titles are hard. In the first one you couldn't even wall climb. In addition to long levels and time limits, regenerating enemies are a royal pain the the arse. Just touching an enemy can send you flying. Thankfully there was some awesome music for this one.

#2 Battletoads - I have a love/hate relationship with this game. It's so fun to play until you reach the level where you have to dodge and weave blinking walls with your flying scooter. I can't tell you how many times I died on that level. Also, if you play co-op you can damage your teammate. On a positive note, this game has some of the best NES music during the game and even on the pause screen.

#1 Ghosts ‘N Goblins - The great granddaddy of frustration. Not much too say about this one. Do you know anyone that has beat this game? You can only get hit twice! One. Two. You're DEAD! No continues. No mercy. No chance!


Honorable Mentions: Blaster Master, Bionic Commando, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Castlevania Series, Metroid, Castlequest

Did I miss any? I'm sure I did. What games made you want to pull your hair out?

-mwb-