Naruto: Shinobi Retsuden [import] review

Ninjas haven't been good since Big Trouble In Little China

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

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    Simplified controls

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    3D graphics

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    Reasonably easy to pick up and play

Cons

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    Game is boring

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    Musically equivalent to rusty drills

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    Does far less than other Naruto fighters

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Those crazy ninja adventurers are back from their foray into RPGs, and have returned to Street Fighter-esque beat 'em-ups once more. It's one of the very, very few one-on-one fighting games available for the DS, but sadly it's not filling any needs.

If you're unlucky enough to speak to a Virtua Fighter aficionado, you'll hear them talk about how they mastered the back-back-forward-up-down-A-A-up-pick-your-nose-A-down-up-left combo to perfection. Naruto: SR asks that you press A. It's not quite the same. There are some combos to find, but they're generally like "AAAAB," or similarly uninspired.

The game's Story Mode is a shockingly short seven fights, easily won the first time through without using a single "Continue." This unlocks a couple more of the 14 total characters available for the Single Battle or Arcade Mode. It's here that you can at least play through with each ninja without the boring Japanese-text story. However, the variation between fighters is so minimal that it doesn't add a great deal.

More info

GenreFighting
DescriptionNinjas will be crashing through both screens of your DS in the latest fighting game based on the popular Naruto series.
Franchise nameNaruto
UK franchise nameNaruto
Platform"DS"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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