Naruto: Ninja Council

"Fans of the series will probably like it...other people? Not so much."

On its own, Naruto Ninja Council is a merely sub-par title, with plenty of flaws. Jazzed up with the characters, storyline and sound-effects from the Naruto series however, makes it at least a decent game that fans of the show should play. Everyone else? I'd say "pass". You're not missing much of anything, as Naruto Ninja Council doesn't really have anything new or all that spectacular to offer. Here's my breakdown :

Graphics : 8/10
They're not bad. Vibrant, with great close-ups and minor cut-scenes for your character's special moves. However, the game's levels are a bit boring to plod through due to the fact that the levels themselves are extremely bland looking in a lot of spots. By Gameboy Advance standards, the graphics are more than decent.

Sound/Music : 7/10
There would have been a higher rating here, except for the fact that the music is extremely forgettable for the majority of the game. That's a shame really, considering the superb music that is scattered throughout the Naruto T.V. series. However, the sound effects themselves aren't half bad, and the voice-clips in the game are pretty cool to hear. Speech on a GBA cart is always a plus, and the clips are fairly crisp and audible.

Story : 6/10
They could have done a better job here for sure, since Naruto is far from lacking in story. Naruto Ninja Council boils it down to basics, and what they call "Story Mode" is basically a sham. Occassionally, someone will say something vague that ties into the Naruto series storyline...and that's about it. If you want to learn a thing or two about the Naruto series, then this isn't the game to turn to, although it could help you establish some familiarity with staple characters. However, if you're just looking to play the game and don't watch Naruto, then you're going to be pretty unmotivated and unmoved as far as the happenings of the game.

Gameplay : 5/10
The gameplay is the biggest flaw in this otherwise decent game. Uninspired fighting against generic enemies is what you'll be doing the majority of the time, therefore making the levels more of a minor annoyance than anything. The boss fights are the reason you'll keep playing -- at the end of every level, you'll face off against a character from the show, and while these fights still are plagued with somewhat crummy controls, they're still fun to play through, if for no other reason but to see the boss' specials, some of which are extremely humorous while others are just plain cool to watch/attempt to evade.

Replayability : 3/10
Uh...yeah. I doubt you'll want to replay this once you're done with it, unless you REALLY loved the boss battles. Since the levels are so straightforward and short anyway, there's nothing to do that you couldn't have done your first time through the game. This will most likely be one of those games that you'll end up returning/trading-in pretty fast, unless you love the show.

As a whole, Naruto Ninja Council is a game that didn't really need to be made, and offers almost nothing to fans of the series or gamers in general. Mind-numbing hitting, kicking and jumping is the main meat of the game, the music is a bore, and there's absolutely no true replayability to be found. If you're a fan of Naruto consider picking it up (preferably by renting or borrowing), but don't expect anything more than the minor enjoyable novelty that comes with seeing your favorite characters on the Gameboy screen.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/06