Mugen Game: Naruto the Way of the Ninja

The word Naruto can make a child's eyes light up instantly. Or, it can strike fear into the hearts of those who fear bad catchphrases. Seriously, "Believe it!" is the worst catchphrase of all time. I don't care how much you love Naruto, it is indisputable.

Naruto: the Way of the Ninja is a full Mugen game that compiles many of the shows characters. Most anime fans would be sold on the idea alone, proceeding to download without haste. If you want an unbiased opinion than please read on. Otherwise, go on and download this Naruto fan game.

There are over 35 characters in this game. Characters come in standard and chibi. The chibi sprites come from Gameboy Advance Naruto games. The standard sprites are merely sprite edits. So instead of 30 + different fighters, you see a lot of alternate versions.

Don't bother playing with the full sized characters. While they may look okay at first glace, they have very awkward animation. Even basic fighting game moves like a jumping kick look downright odd. Good effort on the artists part, but very poor execution overall.

There seems to be no balance what so ever. Some of the characters have very calm A.I., while others attack with extreme pregidous! I know this is just some game a guy threw together after finding other peoples characters, but still he could have tweaked them a bit.

Stages are taken from various Capcom and SNK fighting games. While there are a few original Naruto themed backgrounds present, they aren't much to look at. It looks like somebody drew them up in MS paint, then proceeded to place Naruto game sprites on them.

There is some very nice music you can fight to. I'm not sure if any of it is taken from the show(I don't watch that often). It really builds good atmosphere and suits the source material well. You can barely hear it over the yelling from characters, but that's adjustable via options.

If not for sub par sprite edits with bad animation, this would be a great play everience. The redundant roster is what hurts this Naruto game. Fans will rejoice because it is a free game that features the characters and attacks they love. Non fans may find some enjoyment from it as well.