Naruto vol. 46
The battle for Konohagakure rages on as the black-cloaked organization Akatsuki storms in after the nine-tailed fox inside Naruto. Can Sakura and the others hold off long enough to allow Naruto to come back and help?
Volume 46 of the shinobi-in-training’s adventures continues on bookshelves this October 6th.
The first Naruto: Shippuden DVD is set to be released on September 29th, 2009. The disc will have the first four episodes, similar to how previous DVDs were setup. There’s no word on any box sets yet, but those will probably appear in time for Christmas, if not soon after.
Naruto vol. 45
The ongoing quest to find out more about the mysterious organization known as Akatsuki continues, and Jiraiya manages to uncover something about their leader. As the orange-clad ninja works to break the coded message Jiraiya left behind, will Naruto be able to stand up to Akatsuki?
This was a pretty damn good weekend, minus the lines. Border, registration, dealers room, autographs, etc. Hooray for lines! Here’s Sakura-Con 2009.
Naruto vol. 38
The latest Naruto manga, volumes 38, 39 and 40, are now available on shelves. Viz has 41, 42 and 43 set to be released in the next few weeks.
My first Sakura-Con ever, filled with awesomeness, bad inside jokes and cosplay! Read the rest of this article…
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja cover
I picked up Naruto: Rise of a Ninja during my brief stay in Chicago for Reactor (only because no-one had it in Canada when it was released).
Graphics
Even though the visuals of the game are cel-shaded, they are amazingly well done. The graphics are bright, crisp and detailed. It’s almost as if the manga itself was coloured on the screen. Ubisoft outdid themselves in this and you can see a lot of detail and the animation is fluid. I can’t say anything bad about this. Video.
Sound
The music is crisp and clear and a lot of it is from the anime, while some is made just for the game. I was disappointed over the voice acting as a lot of it was stale and the characters would say the same thing over and over. For the fans who prefer the Japanese voice actors, there is a patch on XBOX Live that lets you download their voices and replace the English ones. However, I did notice that upon doing this, that sometimes the game would freeze.
Gameplay
The controls aren’t too bad. They are a little sensitive, so it’s easy to make a mistake and jump too far. It’s not a big deal, but it counts if you’re under a time limit or trying to pull off a perfect combo.
If you’re a button masher, you may have a little fun but struggle to remember how to pull off some of the killer moves. The killer moves are important as they give you that extra second to land the fatal blow on your opponent.
One thing I noticed, is that there is some lag at certain points. It’s a brief hit when you pick up a coin or other collectible item. If you run through the item, the game pauses for a split millisecond.
Pulling off the ninjutsu takes patience and practice. If you miss the timer (which can be a little frustrating in making the mark), Naruto will do something to show that you didn’t make it, such as a failed clone, or a fart. If you’re in a battle, this will cost you dearly and leaves you open to a serious attack.
Story
Basically, you’re following the young Naruto Uzumaki around as he yearns to become Konoha’s next hokage, or head ninja. In Story Mode, you take on missions to build up your skill, health and chakra to take on even bigger missions.
An added bonus is that the game includes clips from the anime to help explain what’s going on. However, it’s cut and pasted together, so you’ll see in-game graphics mixed with scenes from the animated series. Unfortunately, it looks like a poorly done clip-show at times.
Overall
There’s lots to do in this game, and I can’t put it down. You need patience and skill to take this game on, so be prepared to sit on your ass for a long time and just explore.
I need to renew my Xbox Live subscription, but there’s stuff you can download as well as online multiplayer matches. Overall, it’s pretty good and I do recommend it for any Naruto fan.
NOTE: Online play over XBOX Live was not mentioned due to the fact that I do not have an active XBOX Live Gold account.
I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it. Naruto is an anime and manga series conceived by Masashi Kishimoto focused around a young up and coming ninja struggling to be recognized. It’s a pretty cool series that has lots of potential.
Basically, Naruto follows an air-headed, energetic, loud-mouthed ninja-in-training. The series starts off with him graduating from the Ninja Academy in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The hyperactive blond is paired with the boy-obsessive Sakura and the secluded Sasuke under the watchful eye of the apathetic Kakashi as the newly formed Team Seven.
I’ll pick off the three main characters and give a brief explanation on them.
Naruto is dead set on showing everyone he can be the best ninja there is -even if there’s a prank or two involved. His yearning for attention stems from the fact that the villagers have shunned him from a young age. A violent nine-tailed fox demon is sealed deep inside Naruto making him an outcast amongst others. However, Naruto learns that others do put aside this stigma and work to teach him teamwork and friendship as he continues his journey.
Sasuke leads a mysterious life which is dictated by his past and lives only for revenge as a result. At first Sasuke was not interested in being teamed up with Naruto since he considered him a loser until orange jacketed ninja saved him from a potentially fatal fight. Sasuke is an exceptionally strong fighter, trained in his clan’s ability to use fire and is not to be underestimated in battle.
Sakura is a smart girl with excellent control and an insatiable thirst for Sasuke, even though he blows her off. Sakura is good at controlling her chakra, but demonstrates an understanding in basic ninja skills. Sakura is known for one of her physical traits: an over sized forehead which garners many jokes, even from her closest friends.
The artwork is outstanding. I love the details and designs used by Kishimoto. The story takes place in Japan, but features some modernistic styles along with contemporary Japanese architecture. Each character has their own unique look and feel. Naruto pretty much appears out of place because of his bright orange outfit. We’re all used to seeing ninjas as completely clad in black, silent and deadly, but Naruto and his teammates changes all that. Some of the designs are catchy such as Sasuke’s exam outfit (all black with white bandages) or Rock Lee’s green jumpsuit and 1970′s orange leg warmers. However, the classic ninja conception makes cameo appearances later on as the elite ANBU squad (sort of the CIA of the series).
I’ve been following Naruto since early 2005, a late start. Currently I’m watching the anime and reading the manga so it’s like a running parallel. There isn’t much deviation between the two, except that the anime has fillers. Lots of fillers, which is unfortunate since they were used to help keep new episodes from airing along with new chapter releases in Japan. All in all, it has room to grow and as the story expands, new situations arise and challenge Naruto.
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