It seems like the US is
getting more and more into anime cartoons. First it was Dragon Ball Z and now it
is a fairly new cartoon entitled Naruto. It seems like you see various
commercials for this cartoon on TV as well as seeing merchandise on every corner
for it. Since this is the case, it was only a matter of time before games based
on the series were going to be released. Sow how does Naruto: Clash of Ninja
stack up? Read on to find out!
If you are unfamiliar with
the series, it is about a young boy who dreams of one day becoming the leader of
the village that he lives in. He has had a very hard childhood and is known for
acting out just to get attention from the village residents. From the
information I was able to gather, it appears that this game takes place between
the first 30 or so episodes of the anime series, due to the characters and moves
that are available to use in the various battles.
There are a few different
modes of play that players will be able to entertain themselves for sometime,
they are story, training, time attack, survival, and verses. The Story mode will
take players through the shoes of Naruto Uzumaki as he just gradates from the
Ninja Academy and is presented with various trails from his new teacher Kakashi
Hatake. Training mode allows players to get accustom to the game controls, and
learn how to do various characters modes. Time attach is a one player mode where
you must defeat eight various characters and how long it takes to do this.
Survival is just like any game where you see how long many consecutive wins you
can have against the computer. In two player mode, players will be able to fight
against a friend to see who the best Ninja is.
The thing that really gets
this game down is that the gameplay is really overly simple which is not bad if
it had some sort of depth, which it lacks. The “A” button is the general attack
button, while the “B” button is for more special attacks, “X” is for special
attacks, “Y” is for throws, and “R and L” triggers are used for evade/dodge
moves. While this setup isn’t bad it is the fact that you can’t really string a
long combination of these elements together to create some really devastating
moves. This is a disappointment because the lack of this makes the game feel
really old and tedious after a while.
The characters that you
can select from are straight out of the anime and look really good in their
three dimension forms. What is nice about the characters is that they act just
like their anime counterparts while fighting. Naruto makes big and extravagant
moves, while Kakashi moves are really powerful and seemly lack any weak points.
Another good thing about this game is that each character has their trademark
moves from Naruto’s “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu” to Haku’s “Crystal Ice Mirrors”, so
if you are a fan of the show you will be able to perform some of your favorite
moves in this game.
The graphics
for Naruto: Clash of Ninja are pretty well done. The game uses some cell-shading
technology that brings it to life while looking the same as the TV show. As you
play the game you will see that the developers managed to get a lot of details
from the show included here, such as the whiskers on Naruto’s face, and various
other things that the characters are known for. It is good to see all of the
moves shown in 3D from the hand lighting to the Sexy Jutsu, it is an accurate
representation of what the show looks like.
If you have ever seen the
dubbed version of the TV series on Cartoon Network then you will be happy to
know that the developers got the same voice actors to reprise their roles for
this game. The characters will have their known trademark phrases when various
actions are going on such as Naruto’s “Believe it!” phrase. What I really liked
about the game is that before you fight each other, the characters will say
something that is unique to each other. An example of this is Naruto talking to
one of his teachers asking him to buy some Ramen after the fight is over. It
makes the game feel a little more like the TV series. Just like the voice
actors, the music is taken directly from the show as well, which is a great
thing because this makes it feel even more like the show.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja is
rated Teen for cartoon violence. It will take up to 2 blocks on your memory card
for game saves.
|
Review Scoring Details for Naruto: Clash of Ninja |
Gameplay: 6.5
This is where the game falls short. The overly simplistic nature is
fine, if you can give some depth to the controls, which it did not provide. You
can learn everything there is to know about this game in a couple of hours.
After that there is nothing new to do after you beat the game and unlock
everything.
Graphics: 8.1
The visuals for Naruto: Clash of Ninja are really good. The developers
did a good job of mimicking the TV show really well.
Sound: 7.2
The dialog is taken straight from the dubbed show, which is a good
thing because people will be able to recognize it immediately. The quality of
the voices on the other hand is not that good.
Difficulty: Easy
The game is really easy, you can beat it in no time flat.
Concept: 7.1
The best thing that the developers put in this game is the
dodge/counter system as it makes the fights go by a lot quicker, since you can
turn the pace of a battle by one little button press.
Multiplayer: 6.5
The multiplayer for this game is average, it just doesn’t add anything
new that players haven’t seen in a fighting game already.
Overall: 6.9
Naruto: Clash of Ninja is a pretty fun game that would have been a lot
better with more depth in the fighting controls. The game is obviously marketed
towards younger gamers because it is just too easy and it lacks depth that a
game like this deservers. Fans of the series will want to eat this game up, but
if you are not a fan of this series then this game will offer you very little
that many other games currently out can offer you.
