Naruto: Rise of a Ninja: - The License is Finally Done Right

It's no secret - most games based off of popular anime series/movies are not all that great. Developers know that the game is going to sell to fans of the intellectual property of choice no matter what, so why even try to make a worthwhile game? Naruto is an anime series that is becoming heinous in the amount of games released based upon it, and it's also one where I haven't enjoyed a single one of the titles. Until now. Naruto Rise of a Ninja, from Ubisoft, is easily one of the most fitting and fun games based on an anime license, ever. It's surprising that it took a western developer to handle a Japanese anime license right.

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

Naruto tells the story of a loudmouth ninja brat of the same name. Though he spends most of his days causing trouble for others living in his village, this little guy has dreams of one day receiving the prestigious title of 'Hokage' which refers to the strongest ninja in his hometown. The main problem with this is that the little guy has a strong demon sealed within him, and this has caused the villagers to all hate and loathe him. All except for his teacher and mentor, that is.

He's hit a rather obnoxious speed bump in his quest though - he can't even pass the entrance exam to become a ninja. That's not enough to stop our fiery hero as he eventually decides to make off with a scroll of secret jutsu in order to improve his abilities. Little does he know that he has not only been set up, but he's also being used. The game takes you through the story of the first 80 episodes of the anime series - all the way through the chuunin exam.

The game goes to extra lengths to tell the player the story so that those who have little experience with the anime/manga won't feel left out. With that said, the storytelling isn't completely accurate. The game is based on the English dub, and while I have no major problems with that I know many who do. Furthermore, the game skips out on several semi-major story revelations, and adds in a few of it's own that just don't sit right. Several sequences in the storyline are told through clips plucked straight from the anime series but some of these feel really out of place because they are, at times, out of context. This is a game made mostly for Naruto fans though so I won't dock it too much for this.

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja works so well because it doesn't belong to a single genre. As Naruto you explore Konoha and it's surrounding areas much like you would in a standard platformer. It's here that you run from one mission to the next - many of which will actually force you to explore the terrain seeking out either people or items. Furthermore, Konoha as a hub world gives you the option of doing side quests, upgrading your skills, or you can simply engage in a friendly sparring match with one of Naruto's buddies. You are rewarded quite handsomely for exploring this area, and once you gain additional skills you'll be able to see and do even more here.

A rather interesting (and very fitting) aspect of this game involves the villagers' attitudes toward Naruto. Indicated by either a mad or happy face, each villager either likes or dislikes the little guy. Naruto starts out with basically no friends within the village, but as you accomplish things in the main story, complete side quests, and even just perform the 'sexy jutsu' to some of the more perverse NPCs they will come to accept and like our ninja protagonist. This is a cool and interactive way of noting your progress in the game.

The real focus here is the combat system. Whilst wandering around in areas outside of Konoha Naruto will encounter enemies - some randomly while others are in place with the storyline. Upon doing so a battle will break out, and from here the game switches over to it's fighting engine. During these sequences Naruto: Rise of a Ninja plays just like a fighting game - you have special move and combos, and your goal is to reduce your opponents life to zero. That's good, but almost all other Naruto titles are already fighting games. What could Rise of a Ninja do that the others haven't already? A lot, actually.

Although you've got your standard punches, jumps, kicks, etc. the game makes use of a rather intricate combo system. Naruto starts out the game with just a few combination attacks, but you can easily acquire new ones by purchasing them in Konoha. These are rather simple to perform and usually require only a few button presses. The real highlight is in the jutsus. Rather than relying on a simple input of buttons, the game actually requires you to do hand seals instead. These are performed by holding down the left trigger while pushing directions on the two analog sticks. In order to successfully perform a jutsu you must press the right directions, and release the left trigger at precisely the right time which depends on how much you've upgraded the jutsu in question.

This adds a huge all new layer of strategy to the game. Jutsus take a decent amount of time to perform, and while doing so your character is extremely vulnerable to attack. This forces you to greatly mind the amount of space between your character and the opponent. If there's no buffer zone then it is usually a bad idea to try a jutsu, but if the opponent is clear across the screen you can try using a powered up version of it. Another concern is that your opponent might throw a kunai and if it makes contact your jutsu will be cancelled. Using your most powerful moves will require quite a bit of strategy.

For the most part successfully performing a jutsu requires more than just timing and the correct hand seals. Some of the more powerful physical attack jutsus will also require you to participate in a little mini-game of sorts. Naruto's shadow clone jutsu in particular requires timed button presses to score maximum damage. Others require you to aim a reticule at the screen and chase an opponent who's trying to dodge. This adds a bit more interactivity to the game and is a nice touch, even though it's easy to get flustered and completely botch these sequences.

On top of the fairly lush single player mode the game also sports a really well done multiplayer aspect. The game is strictly a one-on-one fighter when you play with your friends, but even as this it's still more in depth than any other Naruto game I've played before. The characters all handle very differently, and while each only has two to three jutsus the hand symbols required for them are all different. It takes a very short amount of time to become proficient with each fighter, but mastering all their combos and jutsu will keep you busy for quite a while. Ubi went the extra mile by including such a decent multiplayer mode. Rise of a Ninja also contains an online mode, but I haven't had too much experience with it so I can't really comment at this time.

Graphically Naruto is extremely impressive. The cel-shaded style, paired with the vast amount of detail and smooth animation make the game match the anime series very nicely. With that said a few things look out of place. The water for example is done in ultra realistic style and this clashes a bit with the cartooney design. Furthermore the animated sequences from the show really don't look all that great, especially next to the beautiful cel-shaded vibrant style of the in-game graphics. Overall the game looks really nice and the presentation represents one of the best uses of cel-shading thus far.

Maybe it's because I was once a big fan of the show, but I find the soundtrack here to be really catchy. Almost all of the music from this game was pulled directly from the Naruto Original Soundtrack and this is definitely a good thing, though it would have been nice to hear some more original pieces here and there. The sound effects are also borrowed mostly from the show and they are very high quality and fit very well. The voice overs need some work though - the game is based on the not so great English dub and so the acting isn't quite up to par. Pair that with some annoying sounding voice actors and you may find yourself turning down the volume.

Controls work surprisingly well. Naruto moves around pretty flawlessly, though the camera can cause some problems (just like in most platformer games). Using hand symbols can take some time to get used to but it's a really fitting method for pulling off special moves. One thing I did have a hard time with was remembering the exact combination for several of the jutsus, especially the ones used mostly outside of battle. Thankfully you can look these up (along with your character's combination attacks) at any time by pressing start. Overall that controls are pretty darn good.

Final Recommendation
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja is the quintessential Naruto game. It's obvious that the people behind this title knew exactly what made the anime series so memorable, and they were able to put many of these elements straight into the game. Rise of a Ninja may not be the most intricate fighter, or platformer, but all of it's playstyles put together make for a very memorable experience. I recommend it.