A quick trip down Ninja lane

Platform: Nintendo DS
ERSB: Teen
Genre: 3-D Fighting
Number of Players: 1-2 with Wireless Multi-card
Publisher: D3 Publisher
Release Date: 2/26/2008
Official Website: Naruto Ninja Destiny
Writer: Rachel

Rating : 6.5

A quick trip down Ninja lane

Right out of the gate I need to admit something: I’ve never been a big fan of the Naruto franchise. Not to say I don’t like it, I just wasn’t that familiar with it. So I looked upon the Naruto Ninja Destiny game for the Nintendo DS with fresh eyes. Overall, I enjoyed my experience with this game. While Ninja Destiny does not reinvent the genre, it does provide some fun game play that is easy to pick up.

The graphics in Ninja Destiny are on par for the Nintendo DS. The characters hold true to the series and I personally like the cell shading. Backgrounds tend to be sparse, and characters remain static during dialogue screens. On the whole, the graphics fit the fighting game style nicely even if a little sparse.

One area I hope will be improved in future games is the sound. When I first fired up the game, I liked the background music. After about twenty minutes of the same music repeating, my attitude towards it changed. A little bit of variety here and there would be a big plus. Otherwise, the sound effects are what you would expect from a fighting game.

Naruto Ninja Destiny has three modes: story, battle, and wireless battle. Story mode can be easily finished in an hour or less on the default difficulty setting. The button layout provides the standards: a weak/strong physical attack, jump, and block. You also get two additional moves: a substitution jutsu – basically a teleport maneuver – which places you behind your opponent, and a Jutsu – a special move distinct to each character which can do massive damage. Easy to pick up and play, remember where your buttons are and you will be good to go. The DS provides an additional element with Power-Ups. Using the touch screen, players can select from six random power-ups during battle, from double damage to full life recovery.

If anything, Ninja Destiny is almost too easy (at least on the default difficulty setting). If you’re new to the fighting genre, or just want something easy to play, this is a good place to start. Up the difficulty setting and you’re in for a bit more of a challenge. Completing various scenarios in story mode and battle mode allows you to unlock all 16 Naruto characters in the game. Wireless battle mode requires both players to have the game and is local only. I would have liked to utilize the Nintendo wi-fi connection to find other players to battle.

In addition to Naruto himself, there are fifteen other male and female characters from the Naruto franchise ready to battle it out and show their ninja moves. Fans of the series will no doubt want to pick this game up and see all of their favorite characters in action.

As for replay value, the story mode is extremely short but unlocking all of the characters will add some extra play time. If you have a friend with the game you can spend all the time you want battling it out with them, but as a single player you’re likely to do all you can in game in a few hours. Upping the difficulty level will stretch your play time a bit more as it will take extra skill to master.

All in all, I had fun playing Naruto Ninja Destiny and learning a bit about the Naruto story. It is an easy game to pick up and play, just be prepared for it to end quickly.

Rating: Halos: 6.5

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