Dragon Sword

Lore & Background

Set after Ninja Gaiden (2004)/Sigma, Ryu Hayabusa has rebuilt the Hayabusa Village. When fellow villager and kunoichi Momiji is kidnapped by the Black Spider Ninja Clan, Ryu is forced to find her while uncovering the secrets behind the mysterious Dark Dragonstones and their relation to the Dragon Lineage. The plot begins after a training session with Momiji, who is then kidnapped on orders from the Black Spider leader Obaba, who hopes to obtain the Eye of the Dragon for the ancient Fiend Ishtaros. Ryu pursues the Black Spider Clan through Hayabusa Village, their fortress, and eventually the Underworld. After finding a peculiar object, master swordsmith Muramasa informs him it is a Dark Dragonstone, containing the will and essence of a Dark Dragon. If all eight stones were gathered, they would unleash a power comparable to the Dark Dragon Blade. Ryu seeks out the remaining stones, eventually finding seven and heading to the Black Spider's hideout, where he defeats a transformed Obaba. The stones reveal a portal to the Underworld, where Ishtaros awaits with an unconscious Momiji. Ishtaros steals the seven stones, revealing the eighth is in her crown. The Eye of the Dragon draws out Momiji's own spirit, and together they release the Eye of the Dragon, which fuses with the Dragon Sword to become the True Dragon Sword. Ryu defeats Ishtaros, but her twin sister Nicchae takes Ishtaros and the stones deeper into Hell to resurrect the Holy Vigoor Emperor. The will of the Dark Dragon destroys the Emperor before full resurrection and encases Ishtaros in a cocoon. Nicchae engages Ryu, who mortally wounds her, and a Dark Dragon bursts from the cocoon. Ryu slays the beast, and Momiji appears unharmed. They return to the Hayabusa Village, where Momiji visits Kureha's grave, promising to become stronger, and joins Ryu to continue her training.

In Their Own Story

Six months after the Dark Dragon Blade Incident, Ryu Hayabusa has rebuilt the Hayabusa Village. After a training session with the up-and-coming kunoichi Momiji, she is kidnapped by members of the Black Spider Ninja Clan on orders from their leader Obaba, who hopes to obtain the Eye of the Dragon for the ancient Fiend Ishtaros. As Ryu desperately searches for her, he is suddenly transported back to the monastery in Tairon, capital city of the Holy Vigoor Empire, where he faces hordes of Fiends. After finding a peculiar object, he returns to his village, where master swordsmith Muramasa informs him it is a Dark Dragonstone, containing the will and essence of a Dark Dragon. If all eight stones were gathered, they would unleash a power much greater than the Dark Dragon Blade. Muramasa feels confident Ryu will manage to find all eight, so the young ninja heads to seek out the rest of the stones. Once Ryu finds seven Dark Dragonstones, the stones lead him to the Black Spider's hideout. There, he finds Obaba, now transformed into a Fiend, and defeats her. The stones reveal a portal down to the Underworld, where Ishtaros awaits the ninja at the Gates of Hell, with an unconscious Momiji as her hostage. The Fiend steals the seven Dragonstones and the eighth is revealed to be in Ishtaros' possession: the jewel embedded into her crown. Ishtaros goes on the offensive, stating since she has control of all eight stones and the Dragon Sword's power is nothing without the Eye of the Dragon, Ryu cannot defeat her. Suddenly, the spirit of the deceased shrine maiden Kureha appears and draws out Momiji's spirit. Together, they release the Eye of the Dragon, which fuses with the Dragon Sword, becoming the True Dragon Sword for a second time. Ryu easily defeats Ishtaros, until Nicchae, her twin sister, appears and takes Ishtaros' body and the stones deeper into Hell, to resurrect the Holy Vigoor Emperor. Unfortunately, the will of the Dark Dragon embedded in the stones is too strong for the Fiends to handle, thus destroying the symbolic Emperor before it can fully resurrect, and encases Ishtaros in a cocoon. Resigned to her fate that a Dark Dragon will rise again, Nicchae engages Ryu. He mortally wounds her, and as the cocoon absorbs Nicchae, a Dark Dragon bursts out of the shell. Ryu is forced to slay the beast and bring an end to the destruction it could bring. The battle over, Momiji mysteriously appears at Ryu's feet and is unharmed. They return to the Hayabusa Village and after Momiji visits Kureha's grave, promising she will become stronger to better protect herself and the Eye of the Dragon, joins Ryu to continue her training.

Reader's Guide

The game's system heavily depends on the stylus, similar to The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. By tapping the screen, Ryu will use his currently selected projectile. By tapping and holding, Ryu will run to the desired location. By drawing a horizontal or vertical line on an enemy, Ryu will do a horizontal or vertical slash with his sword. By sliding up on the screen, Ryu will jump. Use of Ryu's Ninpo will be activated by tapping an icon on the touch screen, bringing up the outline of a Sanskrit letter to be traced with the stylus. Like Ninja Gaiden, Ryu can also block attacks by pressing any of the buttons or the directional pad. Evasive rolls can be performed by entering into a blocking stance and tapping the stylus. Although he does not have a multitude of weapons like before, he can still perform his signature Izuna Drop and absorb nearby essences, given off by slain enemies, to unleash powerful attacks known as Ultimate Techniques. This can be done by sliding the stylus back and forth on Ryu. A playable demo of the game is downloadable from the DS Download Station Volume 7 and was previously available from the Wii's Nintendo Channel.

Did You Know?

• Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is the first portable video game title in the series to be developed by Team Ninja and the first game developed by this company to be released for a Nintendo system.
• The game is set after Ninja Gaiden (2004)/Sigma.
• When played, the Nintendo DS is held sideways, as in Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!.
• The drawn symbols traced to perform ninpo magic are based on Sanskrit (Siddham) script, not kanji; they were never kanji in any version of the game.

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