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Important Importables: Some of the best Naruto games
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Naruto has sadly succumbed to the same fate as Sailor Moon and Dragonball. It became a worldwide hit. That’s not the bad part though, the bad part is what happens after becoming a worldwide hit - the merchandising.
Companies decide that, since a series is so beloved, the franchise becomes this mystical money-tree. They have to quickly harvest as much fruit as possible before fans get smart/grow up and it all rots away.
Which often results in subpar games. Games so wretched that you wouldn’t buy them even if they were in a $5 discount bin at GameStop.
Every once in a while though, developers and publishers will get things right. A licensed property will produce a good game. Lucky for Naruto fans, this has happened quite a few times and for quite a few systems. So today Important Importables will look at some of the more successful games based on the series.
System: PSP
Genre: Fighting, with occasional mini-games and RPG elements
What makes it so good? It’s probably the best portable Naruto game available. It has a decent character roster of 33, 3-on-3 battles, an extra side adventure with Jiraya, and a single player mode which is very focused on an original story.
Now you’ll probably notice I mentioned 2 English Naruto games up there. That’s because the English versions (yes, versions) of this game are a bit precarious. The original Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes game was an edited version of Narutimett Portable, with some characters removed, moves edited, story changed, English voice acting and some other changes. Naruto: Ulimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress is reported to be a more faithful adaptation of the original Narutimett Portable. So, in a way, the three games are somewhat interchangeable - if you own one, you don’t really need the others.
Kunai rating: 4.5/5
System: PS2
Genre: Fighting and occasionally RPG
What makes it so good? Its almost like owning two games at once, because there is the standard fighting game, which can be played alone or with friends, and there’s a sort of RPG mode, where you control Naruto and explore Konoha village. It also manages to balance these aspects pretty well - both sides are good, and since neither excels over the other, you don’t get the feeling that the CyberConnect 2 alienated any aspect of the game.
It also adds some nice gameplay elements. You can add an assist character, who will be able to occasionally help out during battles. It also feels pretty realistic in terms of what the Naruto ninjas are capable of. You can interact a bit with the environment, do the walk on water up trees/buildings and throw shuriken and kunai.
Kunai rating: 4/5
System: GameCube
Genre: Fighting
What makes it so good? First of all, the character roster. It has a varied amount of over 39 Naruto characters. It may not sound impressive, but since this game is perfect for multiplayer matches, it is. It also features both 2-on-2 and four player free-for-all multiplayer fights. Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4 is the best GameCube Naruto fighter, and arguably the strong entry in the Gekitou Ninja Taisen (aka Clash of the Ninja) series.
The only quirk is the new unlocking mode. Rather than a shop where you can buy unlocked items, you must earn them by completing missions. If you’re a button smasher, this can end up being a huge turn-off, as many missions are quite challenging.
Kunai rating: 4/5
System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Platformer/fighter
What makes it so good? Its the first good Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu (aka Ninja Counsel) game. All the other Naruto Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu games failed for some reason or another, and with the fifth entry quite a few of the trouble areas were fixed.
First of all, the single-player platformer mode is finally challenging and fun. It has a coherent storyline (set during the Shippuuden arc). The means of unlocking characters, by playing levels as certain characters and buying them, also provides replay incentive. Finally, it uses the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for the fighting game portion. Four players can fight each other at once over Wi-Fi.
Kunai rating: 3/5
COMING NEXT WEEK: I’ve managed to crack my friend’s kung-fu grip on his copy of the new Taiko DS game, so next week Important Importables will review Taiko no Tatsujin: 7 Islands’ Adventure. If you don’t miss a single installment of Important Importables, or want to know right away when the next column is up, then sign up for the Gamertell Newsletter and RSS feed.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Last week Important Importables talked about the Kisekae Set System.
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