Itagaki talks about Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword’s vertical screen orientation

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is certainly looking to be one of the Nintendo DS’ hottest upcoming video games to date, with unparalleled graphics as well as fast-and-furious gameplay. But do we really know why Tomonobu Itagaki, head of Team Ninja, went with the decision to make it to the DS, and why the open-book orientation? Itagaki reveals all in the first part of the Itagaki Agenda video interview series.

So why the vertical orientation? Itagaki gives three reasons for this: first, with the game’s action being frenetic and fast-paced, one needs a firm grip on the console, and makes sense for the Nintendo DS to sit on your palm instead of being held up. Second is that with the touchscreen on the side instead of on the bottom, your stylus hand covers less of the screen, thus you have more visibility. The third is that it ties in neatly with the Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword‘s manga-ish cutscenes and animations.

He also mentions a fourth reason – that with Hayabusa’s style involving a lot of vertical jumps and springs, it makes sense that the screen should be taller rather than wider. This makes Hayabusa visible on screen even at the peak of his jumps.

These reasons certainly make sense on paper, and in practice, they definitely look awesome. Updates as we get them, and enjoy the video!

Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is certainly looking to be one of the Nintendo DS’ hottest upcoming video games to date, with unparalleled graphics as well as fast-and-furious gameplay. But do we really know why Tomonobu Itagaki, head of Team Ninja, went with the decision to make it to the DS, and why the open-book orientation? Itagaki reveals all in the first part of the Itagaki Agenda video interview series.

So why the vertical orientation? Itagaki gives three reasons for this: first, with the game’s action being frenetic and fast-paced, one needs a firm grip on the console, and makes sense for the Nintendo DS to sit on your palm instead of being held up. Second is that with the touchscreen on the side instead of on the bottom, your stylus hand covers less of the screen, thus you have more visibility. The third is that it ties in neatly with the Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword‘s manga-ish cutscenes and animations.

He also mentions a fourth reason – that with Hayabusa’s style involving a lot of vertical jumps and springs, it makes sense that the screen should be taller rather than wider. This makes Hayabusa visible on screen even at the peak of his jumps.

These reasons certainly make sense on paper, and in practice, they definitely look awesome. Updates as we get them, and enjoy the video!