Naruto: Ninja Council 3
Score: 90% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: D3 Developer: Tomy Ltd. Media: Cartridge/1 Players: 1 - 4 (Multicard) Genre: Action/ Fighting/ Themed
Graphics & Sound: Naruto: Ninja Council 3 is the series' first stint onto the DS and it does a fair job of using the handheld's non-standard controls and graphical capabilities to make a fun game. Visually, Ninja Council 3 portrays each of the Naruto characters fairly well. It is easy to tell the difference between each of the characters. Unfortunately, there is no pallete swapping for the times that a character appears multiple times on the screen. This really only applies to fighting multiplayer matches though, and the player labels seem to do a fair job of differentiating between who is who. Locations have only a little variety and though there seem to be several different arenas, it doesn't take long to go through each of the arenas and start to feel like you've seen it all. The game's sound is okay, but nothing spectacular. The music and sound effects are effective and keep you in the action, but are ultimately forgettable after turning off the game.
Gameplay: Naruto: Ninja Council 3 doesn't fit into any plotline from the series. Instead, it gives you a look at the kinds of missions Naruto and the rest of the cast members of the show take part in on a more daily basis. Instead of taking you through the plot of the show, you are tasked with going on various missions that you select from the "Bingo Board." First, only D ranked missions are available, and once you complete all of those, the more difficult C ones become unlocked. As you complete more and more missions, you will not only unlock characters like Gaara, but also open harder and harder tasks. Missions range from protecting other characters to taking out a certain number of enemies to knocking down an opponent's HP to a certain percentage. Some of more interesting levels involve taking out four Naruto shadow clones or trying to land a Lion's Barrage attack on Rock Lee. There are several aspects of this game that are interesting, the least of which is the character selection screen. Most games like this would let you choose your character and just be done with it, but here you can also switch out his/her Jutsus (the more powerful attacks found in Naruto) with those of any other character you've unlocked. Now, if you were expecting to do something crazy like have Naruto perform Rock Lee's Primary Lotus, you might be disappointed, because when you activate another character's attack, when the move is performed, that character model jumps in and does the deed.
Difficulty: Naruto: Ninja Council 3 has an interesting dynamic to its difficulty. Like the series, missions come in one of five ranks: D, C, B, A and S. D rank missions tend to be "kill X amount of animals" while the higher ranked missions either decrease your time or have you taking on more difficult enemies. For instance, one C ranked mission forces you to protect several breakable pillars from an endless supply of strong ninjas. If you can get through the time limit with at least one rock pillar up, you succeed, but this isn't all that easy since the semi-constant flow of enemies keeps you really busy. Meanwhile, A and S ranked missions are nearly impossible to beat.
Game Mechanics: Naruto: Ninja Council 3 is your standard action/platformer style game. You will be jumping around an arena from platform to platform attacking enemies. Your standard moves include jumping with (A), attacking with (Y) and throwing weapons with (X). More skilled players will be able to teleport behind their immediate enemy with the (L) button, block with the (R) and throw enemies with the D-Pad and (X) button. As any Naruto fan would expect, you can also perform many of the show's signature attacks, Jutsus. To start a Jutsu, tap the name of the move with your thumb (they are listed on the touch screen) and then perform the action required to build up your chakra and execute the attack. These chakra building mini-games come in a couple of varieties. One involves drawing a circle real quick in a certain direction, while another involves tapping three specific symbols (to form hand signs), and some even require a secondary action like blowing into the microphone (Sasuke's Phoenix Flower Jutsu for instance). This frantic attempt to maximize your attack adds a nice element to the game and really helps show that Ninja Council 3 is more than just a port from its GBA prequels. Naruto fans should really look into this game. Though it doesn't actually follow any of the plots from the series, it definitely seems to fit in the overall feel of the show. If you aren't familiar with the show, but you are looking for a new action game -- Ninja Council 3 is still worth looking into.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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