Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4

"My opinion on this game, a very brave attempt to re-awaken the franchise"

This is the sequel to Saikyo Ninja Daikeshuu 4 (Ninja Council 3) which was on the DS, and it also uses a few features from Saikyo Ninja Daikeshuu 3.

This game is a platformer for the most part, with boss battles and online wifi being more of a fighting style.

You have a basic 3-attack combo, low attack, mid air attack, strong attack and a running heavy attack. Also each character has their own specials. The supports only have 1 special each, but the main 5 characters have 3-4 specials.

Graphics 8/10: The graphics have improved since the last few games. Although they are still 2d. There are some very nice displays, such as when Kakashi uses his Mangekyo Sharingan special, and the character gets sucked into it. The characters look decent, and they dont just mirror image characters. When Kakashi turns to the other side, he gets a different spriteset, because one of his eyes is covered. Although its not 3D, everything looks the part, and the menus are nice too.

Gameplay 6/10: Although repetitive, the gameplay is somewhat adequate. Although not as deep as Bleach 2nd or Jump Ultimate Stars, the fighting has been somewhat tweaked to make it more balanced. Walking on walls and Wall Jumping is fairly easy, despite a few problem areas. The fighting mechanics are relatively simple, but solid.

The main part of the game is walking around on a platform arena, defeating enemies and moving on. After each level you'll fight a mini-boss and probably a boss at the end of it.

Sound 7/10: The music in this game is passable. Nothing too good, but nothing too bad either. Some of the music can get a bit annoying, but hey, thats what the volume control is for right? The voices are decent, if a little repetitive. The quality is much clearer then Naruto Shinobi Retsuden, and doesn't get cut off much. Overall the music and sounds fit in with the game, it's not like they randomly stuck in some Linkin Park... the music here is very oriental and fits the game like a glove.

Life Span 9/10: This game is a lot more replayable then the previous games. For starters, to unlock everything, you need a certain amount of experience points, and only one character has access to a certain ally and a certain character, For Example:

Neji has an experience shop. In that shop he can purchase Special Move 2 for 1000 exp, Special Move 3 for 3000 exp, Kankuro Online for 5000 exp, Kankuro Support for 5000 exp and once the player has beaten the game; Deidara for 8000 exp. You get about 1500-2000 exp in a mission, so theres a good chance that you'll have to play quite a bit to unlock all the characters.
Multiply that by five times, and you've got a bit of headway to make before you unlock every single character.

The game is longer then SND3 and SND4, and will probably take you on average about 6 to 8 hours, depending on the skill level. Wifi and Extra Characters extends this to a longer period. How long depends on the kind of person you are. If you like Naruto and are really into platformers this game will probably keep you entertained for a while.

Overall 7/10: Personally this is my favorite SND game yet, and features many new and improved characters and also pushes the SND franchise to the next level. With WiFi and additional characters, this game will probably push the envelope, and will improve the franchise's success in future.

Rent or Buy: I would advise you to rent this first. It will probably only take you 6 hours through the normal story mode, and if you don't like it, you can always return it. You might also want to try Online WiFi, because they are quite different styles of play.

It's not as good as Sonic Rush or Bleach 2nd, but it at least makes a decent attempt at getting the player interested.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/23/07