Naruto: Ninja Council

"This game is severely underrated."

I have been a Naruto Otaku (Otaku means someone who is obsessed with something.) for some time. It's the coolest anime ever, followed closely by Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. I saw an ad for Clash of the Ninja, which is awesome, but they also showed Ninja Council. I had to get it. I'm glad I did.

Graphics 8/10
Pretty cool for the GBA. The sprites of the characters are pretty accurate, but I was a little surprised that when you unlock Kakashi, he's the same height of Naruto and Sasuke. Not a big deal, though. They detail some pretty small things (I.E. the scroll pockets on Kakashi's vest), but not everything. Although, you can't expect perfection on the GBA. They did really well with what they had.

Sound 6/10
Errr... not that good. It's not ear-splitting, like some games, but there's no catchy tunes or anything. Though, when you fire up a jutsu, or select a character, they are voiced by the show's actors. But this is counteracted by the fact that with the GBA, though it's one of my absolute favorite systems, it's pretty limited, so it may be hard to tell what exactly they're saying.

Story ?/10
Um, well, there's not much OF a story. But then, this isn't an RPG. It's a side-scrolling button masher, so who cares? The focus is on beating the crud out of enemies, right?

Gameplay 10/10
Ahh... very nice. A lot of people say that this game is too repetitive. It's a button masher, so if you want variety, go play an FF game. I'm not saying that this is boring, because it's not. The 3 jutsus you start with, and the fourth ones you can unlock are really awesome. You get a cool little cinematic when you start them, and every boss has their special jutsu you see in the show. It's a lot of fun to explore the lands surrounding Konohagakure (The Village Hidden in the Leaves for you non-Japanese speakers) and taking out hordes of enemy ninja, along with those special few from the show.

Buy or Rent?
As I say with all of the other games I've reviewed, BUY IT. Although, if you don't like Naruto, skip it. For all you others out there like me, you'll love it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/18/06