#Naruto rise of the ninja series#

#Naruto rise of the ninja series#

Cue predictable groaning from fans of the series a Japanese anime and manga franchise, being translated into a console game by a North American studio? A recipe for disaster, surely? If you can see it, you can go there - assuming the number of villagers who'll shout rude things at you on the way doesn't make you go off for a big emo sob session in the corner first. For the young ninja's first outing on a next-gen console, the rights were handed to Ubisoft, with the game being developed in Canada. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja is peculiar, though, because it wasn't developed in Japan at all. The series' extensive cast of teen ninja weirdos has been the subject of a large number of beat 'em up titles, several of which have even made it past Japan's rocky shores - but none of which really stuck their heads above the parapet as being particularly great games. This is not, of course, the first time that Naruto has had a console outing. That's fine, of course it just restricts the target audience to people who know about Naruto, and given that it's pretty much the most popular cultural export from Japan of the last five years, that's not a restriction anyone is likely to sweat too much about. Unless you're familiar with the spiky-blond youngster's shenanigans, you're going to spend most of this game wondering what in the name of all that's holy is going on. That's not the case with Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. Fans of the original media just get an extra layer of enjoyment, that's all. All licensed titles rely on knowledge of their source material to some extent, of course - but with many of them, you can enjoy the game without really knowing much about the media it's based on. In fact, the coin collection missions end up encouraging you to explore every corner of the village, constantly asking yourself, 'Can I reach that platform?'ДЄlthough the game is short, it manages to stay fresh thanks to the way new areas and moves are doled out.This would normally be the bit of the review where I explain what Naruto is - but frankly, if you don't already know, you're reading the wrong review. The village is an expansive well-designed sandbox-style playground for Naruto to run around in, and as you gain more skills (such as double jumps, wall-walking and water-walking), more and more of the enormous village is opened up to you, giving you an excellent sense of what it would feel like to use your elite ninja skills to leap tall buildings in a couple of bounds. Naruto spends the majority of his time flitting through Konoha village, the clear centrepiece of the game. It isn't until you get deep into the game and acquire new skills and missions that the game really opens up. The game does drag along initially, however, and some quirky control issues only compound the problem. You won't be too lost if you've never been exposed to the series but honestly, why would you buy this game if you weren't already into Naruto? There are also a handful of side missions included that bring some new tidbits to the table. While it is a lot of fun, the versus battles are only half the, well, story: Rise of the Ninja's story mode chronicles the first half of the Naruto series, up through the Chuunin exam, using short excerpts of animated scenes. Versus play extends online via Xbox Live as well, with no slowdown and tons of action. These jutsu sequences are also home to some of the most devastating moves and the most impressive graphical moments in the game. If you're successful, though chances are you probably won't be, you'll start a short series of button-presses or some other sequence to complete your attack while your opponent must block. However, the time it takes to move your right hand from the buttons to the analogue stick then stand motionless as your jutsu gauge charges is a nerve-fraying experience, and mimics the series' concept of executing hand seals in the heat of battle. In order to perform jutsu, you must flick the two analogue sticks in certain directions. Thankfully, the implementation of jutsu special moves offers an interesting twist to the gameplay and it should help separate the n00bs from the grand masters. Versus battles are one-on-one brawls with only a handful of combos and projectile weapons available, meaning button mashers will have a field day. Rise of a Ninja also features two compelling modes: story and versus battle. The graphics in Rise of the Ninja are by far the best found in any other Naruto game, and the great mix of adventure RPG and fighting game lends itself handily to the Naruto storyline.