The first entry in the long running beat-'em-up series based on the popular anime and manga of the same name features a total of 12 playable characters, which at the time of the game's release in 2003 summed up to the majority of heroes and villains that had made an appearance in the animated show, most of these characters can be unlocked during the completion of story mode and with Naruto and Sasuke featuring transformation that can be done when specific conditions are met. The game also features many areas taken from the show and which are beautifully replicated.
During matches you are able to restore your character's Chakra which you will need in order to perform certain moves and to walk on water, you're also able to use the substitution jutso which will leave your enemy open to attacks, you can pick up weapons and items that will give some advantages over your opponent. The game also includes the presence of support characters that randomly appear to give your character weapons, chakra or health and additionally includes the ability to switch stages mid-combat, this is activated when a character is knocked down and has low health, if a character manages to switch to a different stage some of its health will be replenished this is a good strategy if you find yourself in a tight situation.
The cell shaded graphics make this game quite enjoyable and very beautiful, the character detail is pretty amazing and the use of visual sound effects like those seen in manga really adds into the fun factor of the title.
The game features over 2000 unlockable content, including action figures, music, videos, cards and much more.
One of the problems with the game is the limited amount of moves that the characters have which can make the game a bit repetitive because you will find yourself using the same combos many times during the course of the matches but this is compensated by a great Story Mode that is quite faithful to the original work, but the main part of the game is Mission Mode, you will find yourself spending many hours in this mode in order to earn money to buy items, it starts off with some easy missions like defeating your enemy in a certain amount of time and ends with hard missions like defeat your enemy without missing one hit, which you will have to play at least 20 times in order to complete.
The game also features a Practice Mode where you can train your moves and a Free Play Mode where you can either battle against the computer or against a friend.
The music used in the game is simply awesome it is faithful to the type of music used in the animated show while introducing something new, the sound effects are brilliantly used and the voice actors from the show return to provide voice work for the game.
SCORE: 8/10
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