GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	Tomy
	PUBLISHER
	D3
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	Yes
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Ever since Cartoon Network dropped Naruto into their anime rotation, American fans have been getting schooled in a series that’s been a monster hit in Japan for years. Across the Pacific, Naruto is a massive economic force that includes a thriving manga comic, a pile of videogames and a mountain of licensed merchandise. Publisher D3 is looking to bring a piece of the pie over to the US and wants to guage how well Naruto will fare in a tough game market. Ninja Council is the first game they chose, even though it was released in Japan back in 2003. If the game does well, plenty of other Naruto titles lie in wait for localization, poised for an all-out Jutsu attack on the US market.

visuals

When a manga series is converted into a videogame, the expectation is huge for the visuals to do the original property justice. Ninja Council really shines on this front, considering the limitations of the GBA hardware. Character sprites are fairly large, and the ninja action is smoothly animated. All of the detailed level backgrounds boast multiple layers to give them a more organic look. Whenever one of the characters is talking, a close-up rendering of his or her face appears next to the text. These look great and capture the feel of the cartoon. Most of the popular characters from the series make an appearance, filling up the GBA screen nicely.

audio

Ninja Council's soundtrack, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. Each song is upbeat, which is important in an action game, but the melodies emitted by the GBA’s tiny speaker are utterly forgettable. The music isn’t so bad that it will have players scrambling to mute the sound, but it won’t have them humming the tunes later. Sound effects are standard handheld fare, though the main characters do occasionally shout their catch phrases from the show, which is a nice touch. “Believe it!”

gameplay

Gameplay is the aspect of Ninja Council that really stumbles. Combat is simplistic, offering only two types of attack: melee and projectile. Projectiles are shuriken-type weapons that do little damage to enemies. As a result, the best attack strategy is to run up next to a baddie and melee attack the B button until their life bar is depleted. This makes for a game that’s short on substance, leaving one wishing for a combo or two.

Naruto and Sasuke are the selectable main characters, and they share similar controls, though with slightly tweaked attributes. The biggest difference between them is their arsenal of special moves, which are called Jutsus. Holding the B button charges these attacks, and the result is a flashy maneuver that causes big damage to any enemy in its path.

Ninja Council’s main focus is Story Mode, though the name is kind of a misnomer, because no real narrative carries the game. Almost all of the game’s dialogue occurs before or after a boss battle, with conversations never lasting more than a few sentences. Dialogue is usually to the effect of, “Prepare to be defeated, you’ll never get past me!” No real explanation is given as to why the main character is progressing from level to level. Considering how interesting the cartoon’s story is, Ninja Council’s bare-bones plot looks vapid by comparison.

Even by handheld standards, Ninja Council is a laughably short game. Players who take their sweet time will be watching the credits roll in just three hours—-and that’s a generous estimate. With fourteen stages in all, each one can be cleared in a matter of minutes. Boss battles are a bit more difficult, but the game offers unlimited continues, so even the worst player won't be hung up for long. Ninja Council features a handful of unlockables for anyone with the patience to slog through the game multiple times, but chances are a single time through is going to be enough for anyone who doesn't have a high tolerance for boredom.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

In the end, Ninja Council is a yawn-inducing game that even fans of the series will want to steer clear of. It looks nice enough, but the story is a joke, and the gameplay is as stale as month-old bread. The game simply isn’t going to hold anyone’s interest long enough to warrant a purchase. Fans frothing for a digital Naruto fix will be better off checking out the recent Gamecube version, or waiting for D3 to bring one of the inevitable GBA sequels over from Japan. Here’s hoping they’ll be more entertaining than this one.

4/10