This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.
The Naruto anime features a cast of characters beating the
snot out of each other in tournament-style competitions. Sounds like another
particular uber-popular anime, doesn’t it? Many fans have come to see Naruto as
sort of a Dragonball 2.0, but aiming to be like DBZ isn’t such a bad idea
considering how well the Budokai series has done on consoles as of late. And
now we have another Naruto offering (Clash of the Ninja for the GameCube was
released earlier this year) that sort of emulates the frantic battles of those
said DBZ games, but with a flair and style of its own. Not many games based on
anime or television shows do well, but Naruto: Ultimate Ninja may just surprise
some.
The art style won’t really surprise anyone considering that
many other anime-based games have used cel-shading. Even though the novelty of
cel-shading has run its course, here it was a good decision because it does an
excellent job of copying the show’s look. What makes it more impressive is that
the stages aren’t static two-dimensional backdrops. You can switch back and
forth freely between the foreground and background, like the older Japanese DBZ
games, so even though Ultimate Ninja sports a 2D look, it’s technically 3D
played on planes.
The fighting system employed in Ultimate Ninja doesn’t
reinvent the wheel, but it’s different enough from other titles of the like to
make it distinct. It seems simple at first, but then the realization that
there’s so much more than beating down on the opponent will start to become
apparent after you’ve settled into a few bouts. Attacks and combos are
initiated with circle, jumps and double jumps with X, special attacks with
triangle, and item usage with square.
Attacks and combos are done using different combination of
circle and a direction. They’ve even included a Soul Calibur-like move list to
help in case a particular move has escaped your mind. Then there are the
stronger special attacks unique to each character. The use of special attacks
is dependent on the chakra level. The chakra meter can be built up a number of
ways - up to a max of three. Higher leveled meters open up more specials that
can rip off more damage. If the initial hit of the special connects, then you
can upgrade the attack up to three times, depending on the character and type
of special. Upgrading involves hitting a specific button combination within a
very small window of time, getting progressively harder after each upgrade. A
successful upgrade means almost a guaranteed critical. If someone is on the
receiving end of one of these attacks, they too will be given a button
combination prompt. If they’re successful, then they’ll reduce the damage done,
but failure means absorbing the brunt of a full blow and sometimes more. These
special attacks are a blast to watch since they cut away from the standard
fighting screen to show the move done in its entirety, which is a double-edged
sword. I’ll get to that later.
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