 Review By: Siou Choy |
Developer: | Eighting / TOMY |
| Publisher: | D3Publisher of America | |
| Genre: | Fighting | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1-2 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Memory Card | |
| Buy Now: |   |
The doubtlessly innumerable fans of Shonen Jump’s Naruto should be glad to hear that the manga and anime have made a further leap into the world of videogaming. That being duly noted, those same fans may find themselves a bit disappointed upon actually purchasing or renting the game in question. From what I understand, the game encompasses a poor representation of the first 20 episodes, carelessly and haphazardly thrown together in fighting game format.
First off, allow me to make a public confession. I have never personally seen the show in question. I have, however, browsed the manga in preparation for this article. And having played the game, I find little desire to expose myself to the anime or the manga it derives from any further.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja only offers eight playable characters, with few "hidden" characters or extras to unlock. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but somehow the ability to unlock the "Sound Test" option doesn’t seem to rank high on the average gamer’s list of priorities. This unusually limited number of characters and extras serves to make any putative replay value nearly nonexistent. The bottom line in plain English? After playing this sub-mediocre fighter through a few times, you’ll find yourself wanting to move onto something more fun and challenging (which would be just about any other fighter on the market, outside perhaps Bloody Roar).
Anyone who has ever, in their entire life, played even one single fighting game should be able to pick up Naruto’s simplistic controls rather easily. The game is very much a button-masher and requires (to be generous) very little skill to complete. The "Story Mode", such as it is, can be beaten in less than half an hour! This is, of course, understandable considering that there are so few characters to play with in the first place. While most of the fighting consists of the usual kick/punch/block/duck format, there are also a few "special moves" that can be performed when your "Chakra Gauge" is filled. Most of the time, however, use of these results in your missing your opponent entirely or, more likely, winding up knocked out by your opponent during "the big setup." While this proves somewhat annoying, it still doesn’t really affect the outcome of the fight, since the game is so damn easy to beat. Bottom line here? There is very little to challenge even the most inexperienced of gamers in Naruto.
Cutscenes between fights defy the very definition of "animation." Said cutscenes consist entirely of some very cheap looking still frames of the characters in half-frame above a dialogue box, while one of the most hair-pullingly annoying pseudo-hip hop tracks I’ve ever had the misfortune to experience plays over and over in an interminable tape loop. The character frames switch to match the dialogue, occasionally bouncing up and down to give the impression that they’ve been animated (just like the much maligned "Marvel Superheroes" cartoon of the 60’s, where budget animation firm Grantray cut actual panels from comics and shook or turned them occasionally to simulate actual animation!), but the several second delays where you wind up staring at the same damn motionless drawing don’t exactly fool you with the illusion of motion. I found myself flashing back on those horrible no-budget animation Popeye cartoons of the 60’s, where you’d find yourself staring at a still frame of Bluto’s fist for 10 seconds at a time. I mean, cutting corners is one thing, but come on, guys - this is completely unacceptable.
Outside of the reasonably traumatic cutscene experience described above, the graphics may be one of the only things that can be considered "good" about Naruto. Well, actually, that is to say that the backgrounds are beautifully rendered, and more or less on par with such contemporaries as Soulcalibur and Dead or Alive. The foreground animation is severely marred by cel-shading, which regardless of one’s feelings on that subject does not mesh well with the standard 3D animation of the backgrounds. Much like the (over)use of CGI in live action movies, each of these two disparate elements makes the other stand out in sharp contrast, visibly and jarringly detracting from the overall setting and feel to the marked detriment of the whole.
Now on to the intangibles. The voice acting is a real turn-off, to say the least. Given that there are anime fans out there who actually like the horrible English dub actors the genre has been plagued with since its big revival in the mid-90’s, I’ll try to be diplomatic and not come right out and say that they totally and embarrassingly blow, but you get the picture. The voice acting here is in fact so bad that the casual gamer picking up what looks like a new anime-based fighting game should find themselves praying they never have to actually experience the series it derives from - "believe it!"
Just judging from the game, Naruto seems to be a nearly plotless Dragonball knockoff revolving around the extremely annoying title character and his fish-out-of-water antics at a "ninja training academy". While he is easily the stupidest and most arrogant of all the characters involved, he is somehow supposed to possess the greatest innate talent and therefore progresses through the ranks quickly despite the distaste of his peers and/or instructors. For the generally uninformed, this is most likely a veiled reference to the "ugly American" stereotype as perceived in the world arena, and therefore the character’s appeal to a certain type of low-end American persona (the type that drunkenly chants "USA" at the top of their lungs throughout the entire Olympics, embarrassing sober viewers worldwide). As such, I found the whole thing rather distasteful, and given the generally low level of intellectual acumen displayed in the game, I can’t imagine Naruto appealing to any non-male (period) or any male over the age of 12 – but I’ve been unpleasantly surprised before.
Overall, here’s the score. Fans of the series, whomever and wherever they may be (as long as they’re not near me!) will be the only ones picking up Naruto: Clash of Ninja. This sort of thing is geared towards and panders to a fairly limited audience, and given the less-than-stellar job here in evidence, appeal to any potential market outside the already-converted has been severely hampered thereof.
Even hardcore fans of the series might want to hold off and wait for the sequel, already scheduled to be released later this year (wahoo – can’t wait). One can only hold out the vain hope that by some miracle, the developers will acquit themselves better the second time around.
Bottom Line:
Naruto: Clash of Ninja is a very shallow game, lacking the merest perception of depth or any substance whatsoever. This speaks volumes, considering that we’re discussing a game that falls inside of a genre not exactly renowned for its profundity. Fans of the series may enjoy the game for the obvious reasons ("yeah! I can play as Naruto and say "believe it" every few seconds!"), but even the hardline fanbase should come out of the Naruto experience disappointed in its gameplay aspects, as it can easily be beaten in less than an hour, with very few extras to be unlocked. This is also not to mention the extremely low number of playable characters, or the apparent stupidity of the anime itself. To sum it all up, Naruto is a game that can easily be passed on, particularly given its high price tag - although even at a bargain price, most gamers would still feel ripped off. "Believe it!"
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 4.5 |
Posted: 2006-04-18 18:32:32 PST