Though anime seems to be an easy transition to killer videogame, efforts to make the leap typically result in disappointment. Everyone's favorite ramen-loving ninja makes his first leap onto the Xbox 360, thankfully with far better than normal results. Although the story will only take you eight to ten hours to complete, the game does a fantastic job of weaving a compelling tale. The game begins with Naruto failing one of his ninja tests, and the entire town despising him to boot. The storyline takes gamers on Naruto's quest to become a ninja, while also changing town's mind about him by helping out citizens in need. The game's main quests come in the form of 'ninja quests', and usually result in several fights before they are over.
The gameplay is a slick combination of RPG, fighter, and platformer elements. Battles happen in a deceptively simplistic fighting system, similar to games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. The fighting engine here is streamlined, allowing most combos to be pulled off using just the 'X' and 'Y' buttons. The 3D character models in the 2D fighting arenas loose some of their charm, but the high-octane pace makes up for it. Like most of the gameplay elements, the fighting system is introduced pieces at a time. What initially looks like a lame button-mashing system gradually evolves into an impressively deep system with easy-to-learn controls. While those that master every fighting game's combos within an hour will find the game's combo system diminutive, the rest of the gaming world will find it a happy medium between simple and complex. The combos are generally made of some array of two buttons and a direction. Naruto starts with only a combo or two at his disposal, relying more on blocking attacks and quick reactions for victory. As the game goes on, Naruto can stop back at his Sensei's locations and purchase more combos with training points earned during missions. The aforementioned fighting genre experts will appreciate the Naruto's 'jutsus'.
Jutsus are special moves that Naruto learns, which eat up his blue chakra bar. Both in-battle and out, pulling the left trigger opens your jutsu entry screen. Each of Naruto's eventual three jutsus requires specific directions of both analog sticks pressed in the right order. All of Naruto's jutsus require two movements, with both sticks in the same direction for two moves. Upon successful completion of the jutsu entry, the game displays a rapidly growing circle and a bar for each level of rank you attained in the particular jutsu. Releasing the left trigger while the circle is within the level's bar will complete the jutsu with the appropriate effectiveness.
Releasing the trigger outside the bar range has much different, and potentially hilarious, results. While in-battle, your mistakes are not so funny, as it typically results in a whooping from your enemy. While out of battle, incorrectly pulling off a 'Sexy Jutsu' for a lovelorn villager in the hopes of cheering them up results in your transforming into a plump and unattractive woman to everyone's dismay. The incorrectly performed jutsus are almost too hilarious to resist, and at least entertain you while you get the hang of releasing the trigger at the right time.
In battle, your 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' is your best friend. Pulling it off correctly results in a swarm of cloned Narutos diving at your enemy. Before they fly screaming towards them, you enter a series of buttons to correspond with your attacks. As your cloned friends reach your enemy, the game briefly pauses and flashes the button of your attack; with one per attack. If you hit the button before the enemy can (typically within half a second for most computer baddies), your attack is successful. If not, your enemy thwarts your attack and remains unscathed. Get all the attacks correct in a 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' against an enemy, and you are well on your way to victory.
Finding time to perform jutsus mid-battle is a problem, as your enemies are extremely quick and unforgiving. Your best bet is to perform a 'killer combo', landing your enemy on his back, and then attempting to pull your jutsu off before they can get back on their feet. Still, fighting tougher enemies will frequently result in your defeat until you get a solid grasp on blocking and counter-attacking. To keep things fair, Naruto's boss fights also allow the enemy the chance to pull of jutsu attacks. Since each character has their own jutsus, each launches into a unique minigame for Naruto to attempt to evade their attacks. You will see the attack about to start with the same graphical bars and swelling circle as you have in front of them. Attacking them or throwing one of your handy throwing knives will stop the attack, so long as you do it before they release the trigger to start the attack. Fortunately, defeat does not necessarily equal death in the world of Naruto. At various points in the story, Naruto will earn a 'memoclip' from the experience. Should you face defeat at the hands of an enemy, and have one available, you will jump to a screen with Naruto on the ground and your available memoclips surrounding you. Selecting one starts a timer (based on how long the memory is) where you can tap 'A' to regain health and chakra. Thankfully, your enemy's health remains right where you left it, making most enemies disposable in one memoclip. Once used, the memoclip is gone until you either refresh it with cash or die three times in a row, at which point the game mercifully allows you to refresh all of them.
