Like in previous editions of Ninja Gaiden, you play as Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja from Hayabusa village. It seems a rival clan has kidnapped Momiji, one of Ryu pupils. The clan wants to use her to help awaken a demonic power. Ryu must find eight dragon stones to form the Dark Dragonblade. The Dragonblade is a sword that Ryu will be able to use to defeat the demonic powers. Ryu must defeat a different demon for each dragon stone.

This game really surprised me with its graphics. The story is presented in very stylish comic book style cut scenes. There is limited movement in them, but they have very bright colors and great details. In fact, I was not aware the DS was capable of such depth in colors and details. The in-game graphics also have good colors and style. However, the 3-D objects look expectedly blurry.

You can play through this game in about five to eight hours on the easier level. There is also a hard mode, and then harder modes that unlock as you beat the game on various levels. That is not the only reason why you might want to replay the game, though. After each mission, you are ranked. You can post your rankings to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection leaderboards. Unfortunately, I did not have time to check that part of the game out so I cannot speak on how well it works or what features it has. Improving rankings on each level and seeing if they can beat their friends will give players that are more competitive a reason to replay the game.

If you have a DS, you must check this game out. Even if you do not like the Ninja Gaiden series, you have to check out what they did with the DS controls. I hope that other develops will take some cues from this game and more games will take advantage of the DS's unique traits.

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB for Partial Nudity and Violence.