The series follows the exploits of ninja-to-be/slacker extraordinaire Naruto Uzumaki on his quest to be one of the greatest ninjas ever to walk the Earth. He's a rather unremarkable kid; that is to say, if you didn't know about him being the reincarnation of this nine-tailed fox that terrorized and killed the majority of the population. So, sure enough, this boy houses great power but has to overcome his own demons before he can rise to greatness.
Clash of Ninja does a hell of a job translating the visuals of the series onto the GameCube -- making a slick use of cel-shading, Naruto has crisp and clear character models and backgrounds that share the vibrant color schemes that are used throughout the series. No trace of jaggies or sloppy graphics can be found here. On top of that, the American cast lends their talents to the game, providing extra life to the characters that folks have grown so fond of over the years. It's not a revolutionary step, but it certainly does help.
Despite the aesthetic appeal of this title, the actual gameplay itself could definitely use some tuning up. The game modes include all the standards for the fighting genre. The story mode guides players through the world of Naruto, placing them in the shoes of the title character as he shows off his development as a ninja. Other modes include a single-player mode, which is more or less the arcade mode, where you just fight a string of characters; the two-player battle mode, where you can face against your pals in battle; the play against computer mode, which pits you against an opponent of your choosing in a single bout; and rounding out the modes are survival, time attack, and training.
The combat at its core is pretty solid -- a combo system is in place and a solid counter system certainly surprised me the first time I experienced it -- it just doesn't eschew to be anything other than standard. The fighting system is really rather simplistic -- the basic attack button is assigned to B, and jutsu attacks assigned to the A button. The Y and X buttons are respectively assigned to throws and super-finishing moves. The throws actually come in handy when in a pinch, but it's the super finishing moves that really shine. The moves are straight out of the series and are both devastating and such blatant eye candy, it's something that both fans of the series and the uninitiated can both enjoy. However good the game looks, the battle system is incredibly shallow -- someone could easily win a match just by mashing B for the duration.
There were some issues with the game that are hopefully fixed by the final build. After recovering from a knockdown, or even delivering some insane attack, your character doesn't automatically face the opponent. "It's not a big deal" you say, "just tap the controller to face the right direction" you suggest. While it isn't a big deal, for one reason or another, manually facing the right direction isn't as easy as one would expect. It takes a few seconds and can leave you open to an onslaught of hurt and can easily turn the tide of an entire match.
The Naruto series holds a special place in anime fans' hearts around the world. Since its induction to Cartoon Network's Saturday night lineup, a US fan base has increased by a large margin and Clash of Ninja should prove to be a measuring stick of how well it can be translated to the video game medium. The flaws that the game has at this point can hopefully be remedied by the time of its release early in 2006.
