Girl Gamer

Now unsurprisingly Ninja Council 4 is very similar to previous Ninja Council games only with more features and, of course, based on the Shippuden series of the ongoing anime franchise. This is so true that I can say with confidence now that if you enjoyed Ninja Council 3, you can stop reading and go buy the game –you’ll like it. Your favorite playable Naruto characters have all returned, and like before the touch screen serves as both a map and a jutsu (specialize ability) selector. The controls are also so similar that you’ll know almost exactly how to play the second you start up the game.

But like most sequels the developers decided to kick it up a notch. First, there’s a change in the playable character department. In this edition there are seventeen playable characters: Naruto, Sakura, Rock Lee, Kakashi, Neiji, Gaara, TenTen, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Guy, Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, and Deidara. An easy to overlook but noticeable change here is that each of the returning characters have been revamped to look more like they do in the Shippuden manga and anime. While you do get some of the characters just by progressing through the game, other characters have to be unlocked through other means such as earning enough points with your already unlocked playable characters.

You’ll also notice more versatility in the game from previous editions. This edition is more focused on progressing through stages rather than having player versus player combat, which is now limited to the linked up multiplayer function. But they have made a noticeable change. Unlike before, some of the stages allow you to pick a team of three instead of just one character. Don’t jump the gun here; you won’t exactly be able to play all three at once. Instead, the first character you select will be the one you control in the stage; meanwhile, your subsequent picks will form your support team. Each support character will be displayed on the touch screen with a chakra bar. When one of their chakra bars is full, you’ll be able to select them with the stylus at which point they will show up on the main screen and aid your primary character with an attack or mini-jutsu. By doing so, you drain that characters chakra and the cycle starts all over again. Each character does something slightly different. Naruto uses a single-direction rasengan attack; while, Rock Lee does a leaf rising wind attack against everything on the screen. Picking your support team carefully will maximize what you can do.

Characters in Ninja Council 4 also get more jutsu attacks than in previous versions. All characters come with at least one, but most of them need to be unlocked by buying them with enough points. Naruto, for instance, gets uzumaki barrage for free, but his rasengan attack must be unlocked with 1000 points –the same goes with his giant rasengan attack which costs 3000 points. Each jutsu is unique to the character based on their abilities on the show, but Aspect has also made a point to require your characters to have and use certain specific jutsu attacks in order to maximize your gaming experience. Throughout the various stages, you’ll inevitably come across certain onscreen objects like boxes with paw prints on them that require you to be playing the right character using the right ability in order to get access to these Easter eggs. If you’re familiar with the characters, you should be able to figure out who you need for what relatively easily.

There’s also an extra incentive to use these jutsu attacks: they look incredible. In fact, visually the jutsus are the best part of the game. Yes, the stages and character models look cleaner than they did in Ninja Council 3, the scripted portions of the game use familiar drawings from the anime, and the maps and similar features look pleasant enough but the jutsus are the real treat –and Aspect knows it. When a primary character has stored up enough chakra (they have longer chakra bars than supporting characters), you can use the stylus to select a jutsu the character attempts to use. When this happens, the main game puts itself on hold as both screens turn into a mini-game that determines whether or not you successfully complete your jutsu. The mini-games are timed, so if you fail you waste chakra and nothing happens. If you succeed, the game then goes on using both screens to display an amazing power from straight out of the Shippuden series.

Ninja Council 4 does have its fair share of positives, but it would be unfair to let the negatives get a free pass. The biggest complaint you’re likely to have is the controls. As mentioned before, the controls are very similar to what they were for Ninja Council 3 –but that’s not exactly a good thing. Many players complained about the Ninja Council 3 control setup but those complaints were left unheard. To explain, Y attacks (fine), A jumps (ok), and B runs (that’s a problem). Putting those three buttons in that sequence makes it difficult for you to run and jump and then attack without having to hold the DS in an awkward way. This is especially frustrating when you’re trying to jump from one wall to the next to climb up a stage. The jutsu (again the main visual appeal of this game) are also more difficult to do than they could be. To activate a jutsu, you have to touch the ability box on the screen with the stylus, but this makes attacking and then using the jutsu more difficult since at some point one of your hands needs to use that stylus. For me, this resulted in getting hurt by enemies many times trying to get close enough to attempt a jutsu attack. Perhaps next time they can add a tutorial for you to practice with first or allow you to change the controls to your liking.

More experienced and more hardcore gamers might also have an issue with the simplicity of the game. Compared to some of the other Naruto games for other systems, Ninja Council 4 is likely to come off unchallenging and underdeveloped. The stages are very basic, and there are less enemies to fight in a single stage than even some classic Nintendo games like Super Mario. But while the stages are simplistic, they do provide enough game experience without being overly difficult so that you can enjoy the more versatile boss battles. The highlights of the Naruto series have always been the one-on-one battles between the heroes and the villains, and while the stages feel like they lack enough minions to fight, they do provide just enough game play to sharpen your abilities before the actual boss battles begin. In a way, this accents just how epic the battles with a boss will be such that when you defeat a boss you feel a somewhat nostalgic sense of accomplishment.

To be fair, the Ninja Council series is intended for a younger audience, so while it may not appeal to hardcore gamers, young gamers should be able to enjoy this game, which has been created with their skill level in mind. That being said, there are other Naruto games that younger players are likely to enjoy more.