Naruto: Clash of Ninja

"Naruto: Clash of Ninja finally hits American shores and it is absolutely...mediocre?"

Naruto: Clash of Ninja makes it to American shores, to grace our gamecube consoles across the country and be disposed of within hours. Clash of Ninja is a good fighting game at its core, but simply too shallow and too short to be played months or years from now.

I do give the title the benefit of the doubt. there were three superiors to it in Japan currently, and this is a port of the first title in the series. naturally, the sequels updated the graphics, improved the gameplay mechanics, and added some much desired characters that were lacking from clash of Ninja.

But as a stand alone title, its good. the quick and furious fighting we come to expect from anime based fighters is all here and intact. each character has a single special move to be implemented, and they are all very clever and unique to the character. Each character differs very well, adding a new gameplay style once you switch to a different player. yet, the eight or so various characters are fairly unbalanced, most clearly seen when playing as the large equipped villian, Zabuza.

Which is the most disappointing aspect of Clash of Ninja. The character list is slim, offering only players from the first portion of the Naruto manga and anime, keeping up to the latest in the American anime. A 8-10 character list is weak, when compared to the vast and incredible casting seen in far superior titles such as Soul Calibur and Tekken.

But as the shining glory of the game, the graphics are amazing, offering stylish graphics and cel-shaded esque aura, keeping the game in top notch. the graphics are simply gorgeous, which is saying a lot for a title over four years old.

Overall, the game is a direct port. If you already went out of your way to import the other various Naruto games from Japan, I recommend skipping this title. The game is fairly shallow, with a story mode which can be beaten in a measly 20 minutes, and a single player mode which is simply time attack and survival. (a fighting game standard.)

with a depressing three unlockable characters, Naruto does little to please the non Naruto fans. If your a big fan, check out the title if you do not already own the other ones in the series. If your new to Naruto or just simply a fighting game fan, then a rent is all that is needed. Forty bucks retail is a little pricey for the moment, for a game that can be dominated in less than a few hours.

Naruto pleases the fans, but simply fails to recognize a new fanbase.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/06