Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

What is it?

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is a portable episode in the classic Ninja Gaiden franchise which appeared most notably on the NES and Xbox platforms, with remakes and lesser-known appearances on other platforms. Dragon Sword is an action game that tells the story of series mainstay Ryu Hayabusa’s quest to defend his village from a malevolent plan by a group of monsters who call themselves fiends, who are collaborating with a group of ninja called the Black Spider Clan.

This is an action game, very heavy on combat, with significant RPG elements and unlockable elements.

How does it play?

Dragon Sword is controlled almost entirely with the stylus, holding the DS sideways with the touch screen on the right. With the exception of the start and select buttons, both of which pause the game and open your status and inventory screen, every other button initiates a block. The R-trigger, operated with your left thumb (if you’re right-handed) is probably the best option.

Sword attacks are executed by moving the stylus over your enemies in exactly the way you wish to attack. The game generates smooth, realistic combination attacks on the fly based on what you do. For example, repeatedly move left to right and you’ll attack just like that. Stroking upward executes a jump, and combinations of up and down execute other moves, such as the fun Izuna Drop, which lets you grab an enemy, leap off the screen with them, and slam back into the ground with them beneath you. It’s done incredibly well, and it’s clear a lot of time was invested in refining the controls. This refinement sometimes feels just over the line however, and early on it sometimes feels like the game is playing itself.

Missile attacks, such as shuriken, are done by tapping on the target. Ultimate Techniques, a kind of charged attack, are done by rubbing on the spot where you’re standing until you’ve charged up, and then letting go. These can be especially tricky to execute, particularly when you’re under siege by waves of enemies.

This is the Nintendo DS, and what game would be complete without some shallow use of the microphone? Periodically in the game you’ll encounter puzzles, and maybe half of them simply require you to blow into the microphone. At first I was bothered by these, as they felt unnecessary, but I later realized they serve as a brief diversion from the frantic swordplay that will literally leave you breathless at times, and could do permanent damage to your touch screen if you’re not using a screen protector.

The Ninpo spell system is similar to the seal system in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, but far more forgiving. You’re given a large sanskrit letter, which you basically color in with the stylus. There is no penalty for just scribbling it on, but it’s more fun to do it elegantly. Once you’ve done so within a generous time limit, the spell is cast, and as appropriate depending on the spell, you may direct it with the stylus. Like the microphone parts of the game, it’s largely a diversion, but it works well and feels good.

How does it look and sound?

Tecmo’s Team Ninja created most of the environments as static images, upon which the detailed 3D characters interact in violent ways. The result is a level of visual presentation that looks impossible for the platform and generally speaking, excellent performance even in many of the most intense scenes. Some points in the game, most notably the boss battles, take place in fully 3D environments, but most of it takes place on the beautifully detailed static backdrops.

The cutscenes are in a manga style, and nicely done with an appropriate level of style.

Where the detail in the characters impresses, the animation astounds. The amount of energy that must have gone into tuning the visuals in this game is hard to imagine. It really is excellent from start to finish, and is probably the best looking game on the platform.

The music is atmospheric and beautiful, appropriate to the environments and battles, and the sound effects are balanced and satisfying as well. There are segments of Japanese dialog in the game, though naturally the whole story is communicated in English text.

How is the replay value?

Surprisingly, a good portion of the game’s unlockables are inaccessible until you’ve completed the game. A collection of secret items you’ll find hidden throughout the game seem to have no purpose, but it turns out they each unlock a different piece of bonus content in the main menu of the game, such as cutscenes and character profiles.

Beyond this, for every difficulty level you complete, the next higher is unlocked, revealing not only greater challenge but additional bosses. An online ranking system is also available through Nintendo WiFi Connection, which gives you a sense of how poorly you stack up against other players who clearly have far more time to play this game than you do.

Is it worth it?

Absolutely, yes. If you are a fan of intense action games or simply want a game that will show off some serious technical chops on your DS, this is the game for you. It’s perhaps the best action game the platform has seen to date. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword gets 4.5 out of 5.