

Not only that, but the 100 plus playable characters all play differently enough that you’ll find yourself discovering new play-styles all the time. The real depth in this system comes from the gear you can equip to your character that boost his or her abilities, and items that can be used in battle that are assigned to a corresponding D-pad button.


The fighting mechanics themselves are fairly simplistic since every character only has about two melee combos, a special move, an ultimate move, a grab and projectiles in the form of shuriken and kunai.

Drive type is the most useful type, especially in online play, as it allows for teammates to step in and take damage or continue a combo for large amounts of damage. Ultimate Jutsu type gives the player immediate access to ultimate moves awakening type gives the player a second form in battle once their health is low enough that boosts their abilities drive type grants the player more assists from teammates than usual. Each one grants the player different abilities in battle. Every character also has three different attacking types to choose from: ultimate Jutsu type, awakening type, and drive type. The battles themselves also feel very varied since the game features a roster so massive you’ll hardly ever face the same characters more than once, even in the story mode. The arenas are large stages, which provide some strategic moments in battle where you have to figure out the best way to close the gap and get the jump on an opponent. Players are given a large area to fight in as they please, and the camera is placed behind the player similar to a third-person action game. The gameplay in Naruto isn’t what you would normally expect from a fighting game.
