via cvg

Itagaki has told CVG that Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword will feature "similarities" with the top-secret Xbox 360 game, Ninja Gaiden 2.

The back end of March saw Tecmo reveal a Ninja Gaiden game for Nintendo's DS, cleverly subtitled Dragon Sword. Do you see what they did there? By holding the DS vertical you then use the stylus to control Ryu and get up to all sorts of crazy ninja mischief. Frankly, it's looks awesome and should plug the gap until the true Xbox 360 sequel for Ninja Gaiden: Black makes an appearance.

During a recent interview, Ninja Gaiden head guy Tomonobu Itagaki revealed a lot about the DS version to CVG. You'll be able to check out the full interview later on today, but let us tease you with the following nugget of info.

When asked if the DS version will tie in with what we might see in Ninja Gaiden 2, Itagaki replied, "Well... I am personally overseeing the development of everything from the story through to the gameplay elements for both games, so if you're observant you may be able to extrapolate some similarities between the two, yes, and not just in the area of story."

Check back this afternoon for the full interview, where Itagaki discusses the game's story, how the fast-paced action game works on the DS and whether or not all that action give your hand cramp.