Naruto: Clash of Ninja

"A solid game that only fans will appreciate"

Naruto is a fighting game based off of a popular Japanese manga. The basic premise is that there are many different ninja villages in the world, some of which are at war. A village relies on the strength of its ninjas in order to survive in the troubled land.

Naruto is very easy to pick up and play. The action is fast-paced with a lot of subtle intricacies. Pulling off long combos or using a counter-attack is very simple even for a novice. It'll make you feel like a seasoned player even if you're not quite sure about yourself. Pulling off your characters super move is as simple as pressing X. The simplicity of it all may turn off hard-core fighting fans. The roster is fairly well balanced if a tad small (seven starting characters with one hidden). People who like to dabble with fighting games will find Naruto enjoyable, but a lack of a deep combat system will leave fighting veterans longing for more.

The story is about as much as you would expect out of a fighting game. The story mode briefly skims over the plot of the manga but doesn't dwell for very long. Chances are, if you're importing a fighting game, you already know the story or don't care.

The characters in the game are all cel-shaded to look like their anime counterparts. They are all very vibrant and colorful. The arenas and backgrounds are traditional 3D rendered. The animation is very fluid and clean. I never experienced any slowdown or witnessed any ''jaggies''. I never particularly took notice of the music. It's fine but nothing special. The sound effects, however, are good and loud. When you dropkick someone or throw a shuriken at their back, you're going to hear it. All of the characters have voice actors, but being a fighting game, you won't hear too much out of them.

Naruto can be breezed through on normal by any fair player. The difficulty can be adjusted in the options menu and the gameplay will be noticeably different. Like most fighting games, Naruto will be as hard as you want it to. Sadly, there isn't much reason to go back and play the game after the first few days. Unless you've got a friend to challenge you, you'll likely leave Naruto sitting on it's own for a while.

If you're a fan of the series or just looking for a decent, fast-paced fighter Naruto will do you just fine. If you're looking for a deep combat system that will bring you back into single player mode time and again, Naruto probably won't do it for you. Naruto is a solid fighting game that's lots of fun, but the limited roster and single player mode leave you wanting more.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/03