S&S Review: Naruto: Powerful Shippuden
Format: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Developer: Inti Creates, CyberConnect2
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: E
Naruto: Powerful Shippuden is a side scrolling spin off of Naruto Shippuden, as well as Rock Lee and his Ninja Pals. Controlling either Rock Lee or Naruto, you get to go on ninja missions directly from their own storylines. It's not your typical Naruto title, but that doesn't mean it's a bad game.
Like I previously said, this isn't your typical Naruto game. Usually, previous games' storylines have been directly pulled from either Naruto Shippuden, or the original Naruto anime series. Powerful Shippuden stars the bushy-eyebrowed Rock Lee instead of the hot-headed Naruto. If you've been tuning into Rock and Lee and his Ninja Pals, the narrative will be pretty familiar to you. Since I've only watched a couple episodes from the spin-off, the story was pretty fresh too me. Luckily, there's still a lot of source material from Naruto Shippuden, which I'm pretty familiar with. The game puts it's emphasis on the humorous side of things, and thanks to the super deformed heads, the art style makes the comedic affect that much better. I love the arty style, and on the 3DS' small screens, the huge heads really pop out of the screen. The over exaggerated expressions that we've all come to love from many different anime's, not just Naruto, are really apparent. The music in the game is just as high octane as the shows'. It also features Japanese voice acting, and with no English voice option, a lot of hardcore anime fans will welcome this. Although, I always preferred the english voice track for Naruto, and I wish they would've included some english acting in the game.
The gameplay is pretty simple, at it's core, its a side scrolling beat em up. Although the two different fighters' narratives aren't too different, their fighting styles are. Naruto mostly uses his Ninjutsu, while Rock Lee utilizes his Taijutsu. The two styles are pretty different, but you won't have to spend an extended period of time learning each style. No matter which character you're playing as, the only thing that matters is finishing off every enemy you come across, and the brawling is completely satisfying. The more you play, the more special abilities, and combos you'll learn. The game might not appear to be deep if you're looking from afar, but the combat system is surprisingly deep. It isn't overwhelming though, and I love that. The combat can get repetitive at times, which is always a possibility with every beat em up style game, but the game throws in different scenarios and abilities to help break up the tedium. Abilities like switching over to Naruto's Nine tails form will definitely help break things up a bit, it's also a ton of fun. One of the more pleasant surprises is the addition of RPG elements. I didn't expect this at all. You can gain experience points, which can level up your two main characters, as well as your supporting allies. The option to dump all of your XP and reinvest it into a completely different field, allows you to experiment freely, allowing you to find the right play style for you. Before each mission, you can also set goals for yourself. If you achieve those goals, you'll be granted with an XP multiplier, so it's just another feature I didn't expect.
I went in thinking that Naruto: Powerful Shippuden was just going to be a simple side scrolling beat em up, but it features a bevy of features that help separate the game from others in the genre. The wacky animations with the blown up faces make for a winning combination in the presentation department, and the gameplay is a lot of fun. What more could any Naruto fan ask for?
S&S Rating: 8/10
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