Narut Ultimate Ninja Shinobi Fight

The conventional mechanics, more so than the mundane narrative, are where Narut Ultimate Ninja Shinobi Fight retains what charm it has.

The game looks, feels, sounds, and plays like a Super RPG you'd expect to have played in 1994,

but it's loaded with tons of characters from the modern cartoon.

The bright color palette and groovy multilayered MIDI tracks cement the game feel while also nailing the anime's vibe.

Naturally, tons of random enemy encounters occur as you wander the world.

You'll spend a lot of time in the combat screen trading kung-fu kicks with various ninja,

samurai, monsters, and pirates in a pretty standard fare of turn-based bouts.

You'll fill your team with three of 30 available characters,

each of whom have an array of unique attacks and skills to throw at baddies when you're not juicing your HP and mana-alike Chakra meters with items.

If you've ever come into contact with a Japanese RPG, you're well acquainted with this fighting philosophy, so don't expect any surprises.

Sure, tactically relocating your squadron of three fighters between a trio of planes adds strategy;

the closer you are to your foe, the more damage you will inflict, sacrificing some defence as a result.

Nevertheless, the turn-based action often boils down to you tapping the A button until each inanimate enemy sprite disappears.

Even JRPG fans will be bored by the monotony.

Character-specific ninja jutsu attacks that make use of the system's touch screen add some flavor to the humdrum fisticuffs.

Minigames that will be familiar to anyone who played the first Path of the Ninja will have you spinning, rubbing,

and tapping away at the bottom screen to boost your strength, agility, and defensive stats,

as well as pulling off megapowerful special attacks and healing spells.

Even with the help of jutsu skills, you'll often be frustrated by the infuriatingly cheap bosses.

Certain big baddies can and will wipe out your entire team with a single tremendously powerful assault,

thus booting you back to the main menu--it's heartbreaking if you haven't saved in some time.

The final boss encounter is the most notably agitating because you'll fight three consecutive,

progressively more powerful enemies that don't let you save Narut Ultimate Ninja Shinobi Fight or heal your characters between battles.

Nothing hurts more than laying down thousands of points of damage only to get suddenly smoked by a ludicrously overpowered elemental spell in the dying minutes of the finale.