Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

"Anothr Naruto game with mediorcity ?or mabey not ??"

It's not easy being a ninja, and it's even harder being a teenage ninja who comes off as a complete failure but has immense untapped potential. This is the crux of the story behind Naruto: Rise of a Ninja--which is based on the immensely popular Naruto manga and cartoon--and while it may not be the most original of themes, it makes it much easier to identify with the dozens of characters competing to become the next great ninja if you're not already familiar with the series. Those of you who are already familiar with Naruto will take immense joy in seeing a finely crafted 3D representation of Leaf Village and other well-known landmarks that you can roam around freely when not engaged in various ninja-related activities.

Think of it as a Grand Theft Auto-style game set in the Naruto universe--except instead of running errands for the mob or having rousing conversations with women who have followed a questionable career path, you're completing tasks that bring you closer to being a full-fledged ninja, which apparently includes looking for money in garbage cans. As you can imagine, there isn't anything particularly exciting about scrounging around for money like some neon jump-suited hobo, and unfortunately, a large portion of the early stages of the game revolves around this and other similarly bland fetch quests.

The pace really doesn't quicken until Naruto (the name of the young ninja you're playing as) learns a few basic fighting combinations and special ninja moves called jutsus. At this point, you can actually fight other ninjas, whether it's for training purposes or venturing outside the city walls where bandits and other rogue ninjas almost always jump out of nowhere to attack. These battles are somewhat similar to those found in other Naruto games in that they're essentially modeled after traditional fighting games, but the mechanics are far more accessible thanks to straightforward combinations and attacks that don't require some ridiculous amount of finger dexterity. But as you progress further into the game and learn more skills, Naruto has access to slightly more complicated moves that are necessary for taking out some of the enemies that appear later.

Leaf Village, as seen on TV.

Jutsus can be difficult to use in a fight, but the payoff is worth it.

Engaging in these fights every now and then is fun, particularly when they're used to dress up the drudgery of finding a lost item in the forest for the hundredth time, but even one-on-one ninja battles to the death can get a little tedious. Nothing is worse than defeating another ninja in a really hard battle, only to find that you have to essentially fight that same character all over again. What makes it even more annoying is if you've run out of memo clips (the items that let you revive yourself and continue a battle if you've been beaten) and have to do these types of back-to-back battles--because you almost have no chance of winning unless you're relatively skilled or still have a few memo clips left. It may be what happens in the actual cartoon, but it certainly makes for a frustrating experience in the game.

Also, you can lose valuable health before even entering a fight by running into traps or other sorts of obstacles in your way, including spikes, swinging logs, and swinging logs with spikes. Sadly, collisions with these things happens quite often because of some sketchy controls, or more specifically, a less-than-ideal jumping mechanic that makes it feel like there's a slight delay between when you push the button and when Naruto actually jumps. That's not a good thing when a majority of the adventure elements in the game revolve around precise jumps, but it's one of those things that you get used to after spending an hour or so with the game.

Even with all these hiccups, there's still a solid combination of adventuring and fighting to be found here. And the sense of progression--going from a lowly no-skilled friendless ninja to a super awesome friendless ninja--is handled well in terms of what powers you get and when you get them. In fact, it's hard not to just mess around with one of your new ninja powers in Leaf Town for a little while before even seeking out the next mission, because you can get to areas that were previously unreachable with your old skills. On top of all that, the game integrates the Naruto story (both in the form of cutscenes from the show and in-game dialogue between characters) very well, which should please Naruto fans of any sort.

Pros: Amazingly detailed world; fighting engine is fun and easy to get into; great integration of story elements from the show.
Cons: Lots and lots of fetch quests; controls are a little spotty; sexy jutsu is a little weird.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/08

Game Release: Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (EU, 11/02/07)