Action finally finds a home on the DS.

It would have been easy for developer Team Ninja to take the easy route when planning on bringing the Ninja Gaiden series to the DS. After all, Ninja Gaiden's roots are pretty much set in Nintendo territory with its 2D outings on the NES, so perhaps the most logical move would have been to do something akin to Contra 4, by simply upgrading the graphics and using similar gameplay to bring the nostalgia nuts in for a bit of fun.

However, (and thankfully), Team Ninja decided to take a fresh approach to the series, and ended up crafting something truly unique to the Nintendo DS with Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, a hybrid 3D/2D action game with a heavy emphasis on touch screen controls, combos, and a large portion of the elements that made the Xbox titles so popular.

Dragon Sword is pretty much pure action, right from the start. Sure, there's an occasional puzzle and some townsfolk interaction mixed in with story and cut scenes, but the majority of the time that the game is in your DS you'll be swiping away at enemies, performing jumps and double jumps, stringing together waves of combos, launching projectiles, and performing elemental Ninpo magic attacks, just like the console games that came before this.

Nintendo's Zelda: Phantom Hourglass might have paved the wave for solid movement based stylus controls before Dragon Sword, but Ninja Gaiden manages to improve on what's was presented there, and the overall experience feels far more satisfying, especially for those that are looking for something a bit faster paced. Simply drag the stylus across the screen to make Gaiden's returning hero, Ryu Hayabusa, run in that direction. Swipe upwards once to perform a simple jump, twice for a double. When enemies appear on screen (often and in numerous amounts), slash the stylus across them to perform a basic attack, or swipe upwards to launch them into the air. Switching back and forth from enemy to enemy will allow you to string together huge combos, and keep your foes from pinning you down with attacks of their own. You can also tap any button on the DS, including the D-Pad, to perform a block. If you hold down block, you can also tap on the screen to roll out of harm's way, and that becomes an integral part of not only your defense but on making a series of fluid attacks against foes.

Ninpo magic makes an appearance here as well, and when your gauge is full you can simply tap an icon on screen that will cause the action to pause. At this point you'll be required to "draw" a certain symbol to perform your attack, and then you'll be asked to direct the motion of the magic. The entire system is well done, and you won't run into issues of the DS not picking up on your movements with the stylus here. Along with magic attacks, Ryu also has ranged attacks that simply require you to tap a location on screen to direct the projectiles.

The entire fighting system is so well done that you'll find yourself instantly absorbed into the action. The majority of the emphasis is in the actual combat, and while Dragon Sword does have some platforming style elements, they're pretty simple to pull off and don't represent the real challenge in the game. That's not to say that the combat is incredibly difficult either, in fact it's pretty intuitive and often times forgiving, something that Ninja Gaiden vets might not be used to. Because of that, the entire experience is a bit short, but unlocking a much harder difficulty at the end of the game will probably make those same vets feel at home.

Dragon Sword also manages to push the envelope when it comes to the visual department of the DS. The game uses pre-rendered 2D background environments, but doesn't skimp on the 3D action. Everything is fluid, and the framerate is incredibly solid considering the amount of enemies that can appear on screen at once, and also considering the massive size of each boss you'll encounter. The boss fights are easily the most impressive bit of tech in the game, they're a wonder to behold, even if they're not all that difficult to defeat.

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword does a fantastic job of capturing the overall feel of the Xbox/PS3 Ninja Gaiden titles, and even manages to use the DS' unique controls scheme in an inventive and incredibly satisfying manner. Combined with the fact that the DS isn't known as a platform for hardcore action titles, it's easy to see why Dragon Sword represents a landmark title for the handheld system. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, you'll not be disappointed.