Game Boy Advance

Naruto: Ninja Council

If you need to have your Naruto to go, Ninja Council is a nice little taste. If you crave, a nostalgic trip down 2D side-view memory lane, this is the action/adventure equivalent of fast food. The adrenaline meter, however, hovers at medium until you reach the boss battles, and there's little replay value unless you're someone who can never get his fill of Naruto ninjutsu.

Naruto: Ninja Council is, in all respects, a run-of-the-mill "good" game. While there's nothing technically amazing going on, everything in the production is as solid as it needs to be to deliver an entertaining few hours of play. As a contribution to the Naruto franchise, the presentation hits its mark as well, offering cutscenes for characters, tons of voice acting and even a few bits of comedy thrown in for good measure. While Naruto: Ninja Council is a little short on the amount of levels, there's a good chunk of game to explore in various ways.

In the end, you'd be best served playing this game if you were a fan of the show, but the game is pretty solid even if you aren't. The platforming elements and easy-to-learn combay in this 2D beat-em-up are indeed welcoming and make the game fun to play. That doesn't go without saying the game has its problems with the graphics, sound, and its overall length, and they do bring the game's value down down tremendously. The game can be beaten in one sitting if you're that kind of player, but is that enough to warrant a purchase at full price? Not really, but it surely is worth playing.

Honestly, for a licensed game, Naruto: Ninja Council is surprisingly fun and playable and certainly will give fans of the series – of any age – a decent fix that's more fun than Clash of Ninjas for the larger consoles. It manages to fit some of the series' feel into one of the most generic genres ever. Unfortunately, severe play issues limit its playability, and very few gamers of any age will get to enjoy some of the extras that Tomy took the time to add in. Fans of the series will eat it up, and others might want to give it a try if they have a copy handy just to appreciate a reasonably decent licensed game and a quick fix of platforming action.

This game was fun for a couple hours, lasted only a few, and left me wanting to go back to watching the anime series.

In all Naruto: Ninja Council is a decent amount of fun, but it is way too short and requires little thought or skill. Certainly not a title you should spend thirty bucks on.

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.