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review :: naruto: rise of a ninja
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja
Reviewed on: Xbox 360Available on: Xbox 360
I'm a ninja. An overweight, slow and loud ninja, but a ninja nonetheless. Ask that old lady I beat up, she'll tell you the same thing.
Players: 1 - 2 Players
Genre:
Release: 2007-11-01
Genre:
Release: 2007-11-01
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Distributor: Ubisoft
Distributor: Ubisoft
Naruto doesn't look like an ordinary ninja. In fact, he doesn't look like a ninja at all. Where ordinary merchants of silent death would select a pitch-black shroud of darkness to remain invisible, Naruto seems to think a bright orange jumpsuit is the best attire to don while eliminating would-be opponents. He may not have the element of surprise, but he makes up for that by yelling an awful lot, and transforming into a sexy anime babe - which is never, ever, ever, a negative in any aspect of life.
To summarise, this game isn't about the rise of any ordinary ninja. Here we have yet another spin-off video game from an anime of the same name, and usually this means a little bit of drudgery and a lot of wacky characters. ROAN doesn't do much to escape this stereotype, but it's one of the better adaptations of yet another wildly popular anime.
I didn't even know it was wildly popular until a short time ago. I watched the first ten episodes literally a week before this game arrived in my mailbox, and it's no lie to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm a big fan of Dragonball and Pokemon, but I've never had the chance to truly follow any anime which spans beyond the strict 26 episode story arc - at least not since the demise of Cheez TV. I suppose I could "download" all these episodes on a "computer", but that's a whole other headache.
Me, me, me ... Me Too
So with only ten episodes of Naruto education to help me, was I completely lost on the premise of ROAN? Not at all. The game pretty much fills you in on the background story, and you actually play through the events of most key episodes, skipping out on the filler that usually accompanies any anime series of substantial length. The story is actually pretty interesting, but the intermittent cutscenes from the show aren't really a substitute for picking up some DVDs and enjoying a hearty Naruto marathon. Basically, you play as Naruto, a ninja-in-training, and jet off on missions with your team comprised of Sasuke, Sakura and the ninja master Kakashi Hatake.
The central mission hub is Leaf Village, a huge town filled with all manner of activities. You can explore the village at your leisure, but at the outset most of the townspeople pretty much hate your guts (which actually makes sense considering a critical story element). As a ninja, you can jump around on top of buildings and use the entire village as your playground, while also attempting side missions for money and respect. These include collecting coins, delivering ramen to hungry customers and helping various shop owners with small missions. It's all pretty fun, but never particularly deep.
The main aspects of the single player mission take place in the hills and areas surrounding the village, which Naruto must travel through on foot. These are usually pretty linear environments, not unlike the "run straight through" levels found way back in the old Crash Bandicoot games. The difference here is that combat isn't handled during real-time navigation sections, but instead with "random battles" which pop up and transport you to a one-on-one fighting battle.
These battles are fast, smooth and powerful showdowns between Naruto and either a nondescript bad guy (a bandit of some kind) or boss fight critical to the story. As far as fighting games go, this is a very competent in-game engine, which fits in well with the rest of the RPG gameplay and never feels tacked on. The techniques and combos are deep enough, with a whole bunch of different kicks, punches and jumping attacks, each with varying power levels depending on analogue stick control. The twist on the hands-on combat is the use of Jutsu, which are powerful one-use techniques involving timed button pressed and analogue stick movements. Naruto's ever-handy Shadow Clone Jutsu can be activated by holding L and moving both analogue stick up then outwards, which triggers a small cutscene. During this time you need to press two or more face buttons extremely quickly at different stages of the attack (which has Naruto multiplying himself ten-fold), and doing this correctly ensures maximum damage to take a solid chunk off the opponent's health bar.
While combat is fun, the use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu becomes rather cheap - not because it is easy to use, but because it is the single most powerful attack. This leads a lot of hopping around in battle, trying to fill up a Chakra gauge in order to execute a powerful stage of Shadow Clone. Then again, you can stick to good old fistfighting, but don't whinge and cry when your opponent whips up a massive Jutsu of their own.
Leaf Village is surrounded by a number of other areas, including the Land of Waves and the Forest of Death. You'll pick up a mission from a random person in the village, or visit one of your masters to advance the storyline. At worst, the missions involve simply running around a level picking up shiny collectibles, and at best, they involve a bit of cool platform-jumping interspersed with a fight or two. You'll never know exactly where on the map you are located, or details of specific mission objectives. The menu system is clumsy and poorly designed, but thanks to the relatively easy difficulty, there's no real point in accessing many character customisation options beyond occasionally powering up your Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Side quests including ramen delivery, hide-and-seek, ninja races and satisfying love-morn villagers can add a bit of longevity, and a nice boost to your wallet. You'll earn money and respect for completing missions, which can be used to buy various scrolls and items at stores, as well as getting assistance in missions when you are a bit lost. These mini-games are a good way to showcase the expanse of Leaf Village, which is nicely designed and extremely fun to use as a playground for ninja abilities.
Cel-shading is used for the graphical style, which is commonplace in anime games. It looks good, particularly in Leaf Village, but the surrounding areas and forests are so uninspired there's a clear need to improve basic level design. Naruto controls pretty sloppily, which is not cool considering the source material, but the levels never challenge your dexterity to any large extent. This means that while you are still managing to jump around successfully, Naruto looks like a bit of gimp doing it - clippin and hit detection is a big problem.
Meep Meep!
Online multiplayer is available, in which you can choose one of the many Naruto characters and duke it out. For some reason, the rabid Naruto fans really take this game seriously, as online opponents are extraordinarily tough, much more so than any other online fighter I've played. Maybe this is a testament to my ability to suck at games, but it's a fast and furious fighter that won't appeal to everyone. On the other hand, some players will truly be at odds when it comes to the mish-mash of gameplay; the fighting engine may be supremely appealing, or the more subtle RPG/adventuring aspect of the story mode might stand out as the most enjoyable aspect. I won't play favourites, as both are reasonably OK, and the fighting engine rarely interferes with the flow of gameplay.
Rise of a Ninja is decent, but not particularly worthy of a purchase. Big fans of Naruto will probably want to check it out, but newcomers (despite the introductory narrative) will definitely want to watch the show before making any big decisions for their money. As it stands, there are many quality games on the 360 to check out long before this one. Believe it.
To summarise, this game isn't about the rise of any ordinary ninja. Here we have yet another spin-off video game from an anime of the same name, and usually this means a little bit of drudgery and a lot of wacky characters. ROAN doesn't do much to escape this stereotype, but it's one of the better adaptations of yet another wildly popular anime.
I didn't even know it was wildly popular until a short time ago. I watched the first ten episodes literally a week before this game arrived in my mailbox, and it's no lie to say I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm a big fan of Dragonball and Pokemon, but I've never had the chance to truly follow any anime which spans beyond the strict 26 episode story arc - at least not since the demise of Cheez TV. I suppose I could "download" all these episodes on a "computer", but that's a whole other headache.
Me, me, me ... Me Too
So with only ten episodes of Naruto education to help me, was I completely lost on the premise of ROAN? Not at all. The game pretty much fills you in on the background story, and you actually play through the events of most key episodes, skipping out on the filler that usually accompanies any anime series of substantial length. The story is actually pretty interesting, but the intermittent cutscenes from the show aren't really a substitute for picking up some DVDs and enjoying a hearty Naruto marathon. Basically, you play as Naruto, a ninja-in-training, and jet off on missions with your team comprised of Sasuke, Sakura and the ninja master Kakashi Hatake.
The central mission hub is Leaf Village, a huge town filled with all manner of activities. You can explore the village at your leisure, but at the outset most of the townspeople pretty much hate your guts (which actually makes sense considering a critical story element). As a ninja, you can jump around on top of buildings and use the entire village as your playground, while also attempting side missions for money and respect. These include collecting coins, delivering ramen to hungry customers and helping various shop owners with small missions. It's all pretty fun, but never particularly deep.
The main aspects of the single player mission take place in the hills and areas surrounding the village, which Naruto must travel through on foot. These are usually pretty linear environments, not unlike the "run straight through" levels found way back in the old Crash Bandicoot games. The difference here is that combat isn't handled during real-time navigation sections, but instead with "random battles" which pop up and transport you to a one-on-one fighting battle.
These battles are fast, smooth and powerful showdowns between Naruto and either a nondescript bad guy (a bandit of some kind) or boss fight critical to the story. As far as fighting games go, this is a very competent in-game engine, which fits in well with the rest of the RPG gameplay and never feels tacked on. The techniques and combos are deep enough, with a whole bunch of different kicks, punches and jumping attacks, each with varying power levels depending on analogue stick control. The twist on the hands-on combat is the use of Jutsu, which are powerful one-use techniques involving timed button pressed and analogue stick movements. Naruto's ever-handy Shadow Clone Jutsu can be activated by holding L and moving both analogue stick up then outwards, which triggers a small cutscene. During this time you need to press two or more face buttons extremely quickly at different stages of the attack (which has Naruto multiplying himself ten-fold), and doing this correctly ensures maximum damage to take a solid chunk off the opponent's health bar.
While combat is fun, the use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu becomes rather cheap - not because it is easy to use, but because it is the single most powerful attack. This leads a lot of hopping around in battle, trying to fill up a Chakra gauge in order to execute a powerful stage of Shadow Clone. Then again, you can stick to good old fistfighting, but don't whinge and cry when your opponent whips up a massive Jutsu of their own.
Leaf Village is surrounded by a number of other areas, including the Land of Waves and the Forest of Death. You'll pick up a mission from a random person in the village, or visit one of your masters to advance the storyline. At worst, the missions involve simply running around a level picking up shiny collectibles, and at best, they involve a bit of cool platform-jumping interspersed with a fight or two. You'll never know exactly where on the map you are located, or details of specific mission objectives. The menu system is clumsy and poorly designed, but thanks to the relatively easy difficulty, there's no real point in accessing many character customisation options beyond occasionally powering up your Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Side quests including ramen delivery, hide-and-seek, ninja races and satisfying love-morn villagers can add a bit of longevity, and a nice boost to your wallet. You'll earn money and respect for completing missions, which can be used to buy various scrolls and items at stores, as well as getting assistance in missions when you are a bit lost. These mini-games are a good way to showcase the expanse of Leaf Village, which is nicely designed and extremely fun to use as a playground for ninja abilities.
Cel-shading is used for the graphical style, which is commonplace in anime games. It looks good, particularly in Leaf Village, but the surrounding areas and forests are so uninspired there's a clear need to improve basic level design. Naruto controls pretty sloppily, which is not cool considering the source material, but the levels never challenge your dexterity to any large extent. This means that while you are still managing to jump around successfully, Naruto looks like a bit of gimp doing it - clippin and hit detection is a big problem.
Meep Meep!
Online multiplayer is available, in which you can choose one of the many Naruto characters and duke it out. For some reason, the rabid Naruto fans really take this game seriously, as online opponents are extraordinarily tough, much more so than any other online fighter I've played. Maybe this is a testament to my ability to suck at games, but it's a fast and furious fighter that won't appeal to everyone. On the other hand, some players will truly be at odds when it comes to the mish-mash of gameplay; the fighting engine may be supremely appealing, or the more subtle RPG/adventuring aspect of the story mode might stand out as the most enjoyable aspect. I won't play favourites, as both are reasonably OK, and the fighting engine rarely interferes with the flow of gameplay.
Rise of a Ninja is decent, but not particularly worthy of a purchase. Big fans of Naruto will probably want to check it out, but newcomers (despite the introductory narrative) will definitely want to watch the show before making any big decisions for their money. As it stands, there are many quality games on the 360 to check out long before this one. Believe it.
Final Verdict
A good effort on all fronts, but it's never outstanding and most certainly not groundbreaking for anime-themed games.Pros
Good graphics, a solid fighting engine and a nice big village to explore and navigate - ninja-style.
Cons
Short length, erractic hit detection and controls, too many fetch quests.