Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles

7.0
Good

Gameplay	6.0	"Definitely one for the fans, albeit repetitive."
Graphics	7.0
Sound	7.0
Value	7.0

By Morgan Bates

Naruto may not be the greatest anime ever but even critics have to agree that it has potential for some innovative fighting games - with moves that rival Midway’s Mortal Kombat franchise in originality. This latest addition to the franchise, Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles is an RPG/Beat-‘em-up with some stylish moves but repetitious gameplay.

The game kicks off in Leaf Village - home of Naruto’s Leaf Ninja Clan - where Orochimaru has been trying to destabilize the peace that Leaf Village had been maintaining with a strong military force. Due to the weakening military, the Leaf Village leaders decide to give some of the Genin - the younger Ninjas who are usually assigned to easier missions - more difficult tasks such as escort missions to supplement their stretched forces.

You take control of Naruto and play through a short tutorial which shows you the basic moves and special techniques. Upon completion, it’s back to Hokage’s Room to take on the first missions. Initially the only selectable missions are Shop Assistant - where you save and unlock the store by throwing fliers around after random battles around the world map; and The Missing Tamasaburo - in which you need to get the ingredients for the Tamasaburo candy, which had been unreachable due to bandits.

This is where the team forming begins as Choji Akimichi joins Naruto out of a need for the candy. Later in the mission, he will fight you for the Tamasaburo. After that you have a decent selection of missions that offer extra items; should you fail a mission you may want to hold off on saving, as you can’t retry them without rebooting the PlayStation 2. Each mission comes with its own little story. For instance, in the Shop Assistant mission Naruto is helping a young girl save her shop after her dad passed away. This girl has a gloomy demeanor and scared Naruto half to death at first glance.

Once you set out the world map screen appears. Locations relevant to your current mission are highlighted in red. As you move around the map, you will encounter random battles. On average, you will run into two or three battles depending on how far you have to travel to your mission location. It may not seem like a lot but they are especially annoying in escort missions as it only takes two or three battles to ruin your cargo.

Then there are missions you need to pass to progress in the game. These missions are essentially boss battles, such as a sparring session where you control Naruto and Sashimaru, against Sasuke and Choji. This battle is difficult as you’re up against two opponents who can to fight together, while you have to switch between Naruto and Sashimaru and string together attacks.

Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles is definitely one for the fans, with characters from the series showing up to join Naruto on his quests. Anyone looking for a good RPG should look elsewhere as the missions become repetitive.

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