Anime is becoming an increasingly popular form of entertainment to us mere westerners. Seen by some as childish, many fail to see past the animated exterior into the extremely adult themes portrayed within the effervescent coating. Not many games have encapsulated the spirit of anime yet, with Final Fantasy VII probably being the pinnacle of this psuedo-genre.

The anime revolves around a young group of ninja, who have recently graduated from the Ninja Academy, and are assigned to different missions. In terms of plot, Naruto Gekitou Ninjataisen (the game's full title) only scrapes the surface of the world depicted in the anime Naruto. This is arguably the game's only downfall, as only a handful of characters are included from the anime. With such a rich source of deep characters, it truly is a shame to only see eight characters playable, which includes one unlockable character.

Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution has recently raised the bar in terms of fighting games, with its incredibly complex fighting system, and players constantly discussing ways to increase the speed of execution of moves, and methods of chaining combinations together. Such a fighting system is rewarding to the dedicated fighting fan, and frustrating to the less enthusiastic fighting fan. This is where Naruto Gekitou Ninjataisen neatly steps in…

Featuring a combat system that uses a minimal number of buttons, this title oozes simplicity, which is the game’s ace up its sleeve. Buttons are limited to attack, weapon, special, and throw, with the triggers given the task of dodging, and the innovative Kawarimi, described later.

The ethos of the ninja is thus: learning the moves will not win you fights; learning how to use them properly is the key to victory. This is emphasised in the anime and also represented in the play mechanics. Projectile attacks are performed with a simple jab of the A button, and no quarter circles/half circles need to be performed on the GameCube analog stick while playing Naruto. Performing the moves is simply a case of pushing a direction on the stick, and pressing a button. However, one similarity with the Virtua Fighter series is the technique of juggling, which is a case of attacking the enemy while reeling in such a manner as to keep them airborne, giving a chance to deal as much damage as possible to a defenceless opponent. Given that the majority of combos lead the enemy skywards, juggling is actively encouraged, and incredibly satisfying.

The Dead or Alive series of games have been shunned by more dedicated fighting game enthusiasts because of their simplistic counterattack system, whereby a simple button press can deflect a blow, which is considered skill-less by more austere gamers. However, Naruto includes the Kawarimi – a technique whereby before an impact from an opponent’s blow, the character creates a diversion object, and surprises the enemy from behind. However, this move is only usable when the player has built up enough ‘chakra’, the equivalent of mana in western games. Successfully landing or blocking an attack gains the player chakra, and provided the character has sufficient chakra, a player can escape mid-combo and retaliate with a counterattack.

Naturally, these counters can also be countered, which provides an impressive exchange of ninja skills. The chakra system also serves another (alternate) purpose, which is that of the special. When the chakra bar is full, pressing the X button depletes all of the chakra, and pulls off the character's special move, which is usually a predefined combo, or eccentric use of weapons. This provides an interesting choice when fighting: do you counterattack often and never reach the limit for the special, or are you conservative with your counters in the hope that you can plant a special on the enemy? Obtaining the harmonious balance between countering and using the special is a fantastic experience when done correctly. Yet another demonstration of how this relatively light-hearted fighter provides deep gameplay mechanics.

Each character also has a distraction move, usually activated by pressing away on the stick and the A button. By performing this, the character becomes ready for a counter. If attacked while in this pose, the player will unleash a savage counter-attack, which can usually only be avoided with liberal use of the Kawarimi. Some of these counter attacks are incredibly hilarious, with Naruto changing into a woman to temporarily distract, and Kakashi taking a break from the combat to read a book, and then countering with a vicious attack to the opponents rear end.

The characters are split into roughly three types. The standard characters, which are strong with their combos, require little-to-no knowledge to play with competently. Then there are the more sneaky characters, whose majority of moves place them behind the opponent. And finally, there are the stereotypical Zangief-type characters, whose attacks are slow to execute, yet take off a colossal amount of energy when the blows connect. Initially, these more guileful characters seem to be at a distinct disadvantage, with their weak attack strength, yet the game provides a clumsy method of turning around to face the opponent. If your rear faces the opponent, further attacks will keep your facing the wrong way, unlike many games that provide an automatic reversal. So, against a less experienced player, attacks from the rear provide an essential opening, and a single combo from the rear can turn around an intense match instantly. Learning to manoeuvre behind opponents takes some timing, but is incredibly worthwhile.

With such a rich source for inspiration, the characters are fantastically realised. Naruto is portrayed as the brash, immature headstrong character he is in the anime, while Kakashi and Sasuke move with a cocky confidence sorely lacking in most character design these days. Animation is fluid and emotive, with each character moving with purpose and feeling. The mid air combos are a sight to behold, with an eclectic mixture of punches, kicks, jutsus (ninja techniques) and Kawarimi. It also features a typically Japanese sense of humour, with characters transforming into naked women to distract, and Sakura's ‘inner self’ coming into play in her special move. However, the arenas are relatively spartan, with no interactive scenery, and bland backgrounds. And a sprite-based cheering crowd looks decidedly amateur compared to Virtua Fighter 4’s baying 3D crowd in one of the arenas.

One problem with the game is in its lack of unlockables. Only one extra character is playable, and a couple of extra skins are unlocked after obtaining 50 wins in survival mode, which is no mean feat. No more arenas or special modes are obtained, which dampens the spirit of the game somewhat. But with such a strong line up of characters, and such an enjoyable fighting system, the two-player mode is where the action is.

Fans of the anime can unlock a nice picture gallery, which is minor compensation for the sparse array of secrets. The game is also lacking a training system, but with a relatively simple move list, the inclusion of this feature would have been rather pointless, and training is by no means superior to practice against a human opponent. Another feature the game lacks is a replay feature. After a spectacular victory over an opponent, you are taken straight to the next round, with no replay of your accomplishment. Seems like a small point, yet some of the more outrageous moves demand to be seen again.

A certain amount of Japanese knowledge is needed to fully comprehend the game, since the in-game menus are written entirely in Katakana (although they are relatively easy to translate into English, see our Importers Guide to Japanese coming soon). The game's story mode will also be fruitless to players who cannot understand the lingo, being entirely in Japanese. Even the players names are unknown without learning elementary Japanese. Sadly, this game is very unlikely to receive a Western release, yet translations for the various game modes will invariably be released around the internet.

Power Stone catapulted the Dreamcast to a brief success, not with deep play mechanics, or its realistic graphics, but because sometimes in life the simple things overshadow the complex. With Nintendo’s recent stance on importing, it’s a shame less of us will get to experience this truly delightful fighter.