Naruto has been a very popular anime ever since its debut on
tv both on English and Japanese speaking language. Don’t know anything about
Spanish or any other regions. I know they show them on TV I just don’t know if
they are really popular. Anyway Naruto has also had some Video game adaptations
that go with the Naruto Story line. Most of these games are mainly fighting
games and because Naruto is all about fighting it fits the Genre.
Each
and every single Naruto title ever made has a different fighting style on each
console. All Naruto games are very popular but so far the most interesting and
best fighting Naruto games is on the PS2 with Ultimate Ninja. Ultimate Ninja
features a toned down version on the PSP than on the PS2 but can deliver a
punch to Naruto Fans.
The
story line follows the same one as all the other Naruto Games as well as the
Anime. While in Japan the Series is already in the 2nd run with the
first run finishing at over 200+ episodes it seems that it is going to take
years before all other version can catch up. Until then every single Naruto
game will always have the same story line from the first 100+ episodes over and
over again. The only thing different on each game version is maybe a little
extra content like new characters and stages.
Like
stated before the game handles like its PS2 predecessors however because of the
lack of buttons not many combos can be pulled off. The player attacks with O,
powers up the /\, Throws starts with Square and Jumps with X. All these
commands are similar to the PS2 version of the game however when powering up with
/\ the player can only execute one attack combo where as the PS2 version a
player can execute multiple attacks with just one power up but would need to
collect 3 levels of chackra in order to execute the most powerful move
available for each character. There are some moves available on the PSP version
of the game that are not available (from what I know and seen) on the PS2
version. One move is Naruto’s Fox power where he summons the power of the Nine
tail fox to attack his opponents. Although some moves are available on the PS2
version of the game these moves are available on the PSP version as regular
move for some characters. Before the match starts you can use moves before the
match actually starts. These moves can lower your opponents’ health, Speed, Attack
and defense. While this may be sort of cheating it actually comes in handy when
fighting difficult opponents such as Gara who always blocks and attacks when
you least expect it. He also doesn’t even give you a chance to get back up to
your feet and defend yourself.
In
order to unlock everything in the game you need to play throughout the entire
story mode however if it gets boring there are other options available. The
player can challenge any Character in the story via 1st player VS
CPU. Battle against friends wirelessly and of course update your profile and
change a few options around such as put all the CPU’s on easy if you suck at
fighting games. What the game does not feature is online play which is
something that everyone really wants. Who knows maybe it will be added on the
second game of the series of the PSP if they ever make one.
No one
can really complain about the graphics except that they are there. The game
features environments found on the PS2 version of the game and from the looks
of it they are similar and are a little more detailed and clean because of the
small HD screen of the PSP. Every time I play on the PS2 the graphics look all
washed up and pixilated on my HD TV and up to today I still have no idea on how
to turn on the progressive scan on the PS2. Characters are also a shrink down
versions and while nothing has changed I can say that the graphics on the PSP
are better than the PS2 graphics but that’s only because I’m playing a game
that does not support HD on TV. The voice acting is done by the original cast
of Naruto as well as the songs and sound effects of the game. The sound comes
in clear without any distortion or enhancements needed but that is really
expected of game developers since the PSP has been out for over 2 years now.
Each stage has its distinct music and changes as you change levels.
While
Naruto offers fans of the series what they want it really does not appeal to
people who don’t watch Naruto. For fans of the series they will play this game
more than once and challenge friends to battle every time they meet up however
for players who aren’t fans they probably will not bother playing the game. It
offers no description of characters and what their special attacks are and all
they will see the game as is just a button smasher since they probably won’t
take the time to learn all the combos. At most the game will offer maybe 3
hours of game play with no reason to come back to it unless you like to battle
with your friends or have tournaments which will require the player to practice
until the cows come home.
Closing Comments:
Every
Naruto game features the same story line with nothing new added. The only game
system where the story progresses from game to game is the Gamecube and now Wii
versions but Ultimate Ninja Heroes still features the same story as early
episodes. If you’ve played Ultimate Ninja for the PS2 then you’re really not
missing much by getting this game unless you want to play with your friends on
the Go.
