Naruto: Ninja Destiny Preview

NARUTO: Ninja Destiny brings 3D NARUTO fighting to the Nintendo DS™ for the very first time. Featuring scenes, characters, and storylines from up to the 140th episode of VIZ Media’s hit TV series SHONEN JUMP™ NARUTO, the game improves upon the Japanese original version with additional characters, content, and a much-improved frame rate. Aspiring ninjas can unleash powerful jutsu and take advantage of items to brawl their way to victory against 16 different characters. Dual-screen combat will allow fierce battles to unfold on the top screen while special power ups can be strategically unleashed by using the touch screen for fast, frenetic action. Easy to pick-up and hard to master, players can endeavor to become a proficient ninja master by chaining together longer and longer strings of deadly combos. NARUTO: Ninja Destiny offers an intense single-player story and versus mode, along with multiplayer combat in wireless battles.

In a conference call with the folks from the game’s publisher, Tomy, NintendoSpin was able to gather some in-depth details:

For those worried about the framerate, Tomy assured us that it would be “markedly improved” over the Japanese version.

The 3 new characters not found on the Japanese version are: Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru

The face buttons on the DS contain a heavy attack, a light attack, a jump button, and a special attack. The touch screen contains 6 additional buttons for powerups.

7 characters are available from the start, the rest are unlockable. There are 8 different environments to fight in.

The combo system is similar to Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.

There will be voice acting during combat

Story mode is different (and better) compared to the Japanese version.

No online play (Nintendo Wi-Fi connection), and each player will need their own cartridge.

Creating 3D on the DS is not very difficult thanks to pre-existing libraries that developers can tap into. They didn’t run into any problems doing 3D on the DS.

More Details

• Most advanced 3D fighter for the Nintendo DS – Players can play as their favorite ninja and compete in head-to-head battles to deplete opponents’ health with kicks, punches and combinations.
• 16 Characters – Game characters include Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi Hatake, Gaara, Neji, Rock, Might Guy, Shikamaru, Itachi, and Nine-Tailed Naruto.
• Unique power-up system – Power-ups are thumbed using the DS’ touch capabilities to replenish health or chakra, keeping the enemy from performing jutsu, or increasing attack power.
• Multiple game modes – Players can play in story mode, multi-player or battle a friend in versus mode.
• Wireless two-player action – Wireless multiplayer allows two players in close vicinity to compete against one another.