i have to admit: i'm not as big a fan of naruto as alex is. i wrote it off as another dragon ball z or pokemon. i'm more into grown-up anime, like lupin the III, fooly cooly, cowboy bebop, and samurai champloo; but even i have to admit that i underestimated naruto. superb animation, cool characters, elaborate fighting, and a sharp artstyle have me caught up in the storm. i haven't started tuning in, but im looking forward to the games. they look better than most others on the same systems, and as long as i can import them (and i don't have to listen to naruto's american voice actor) i'm psyched.

when i saw the previews for clash of the ninja, it looked pretty sweet. it was a nicely cel-shaded gamecube fighter with fast and frantic gameplay. i watched a few videos, and added it to my gf queue. when it arrived yesterday, i popped it in and started as my favorite character, sasuke. i finished the game with each character, until i was done. skipping the credits would be nice, as the campaigns are short lived. there aren't that many moves, just basic melee, strong alternates, counters, and one special attack for each character. needless to say, this shit gets old fast. playing the game throughout doesn't even yield decent enough extras. i was disappointed to say the least.

verdict: 6.5/10; not enough to stave off your hunger for a good naruto fighting game. wait for the upcoming naruto uzumaki ninden and naruto: ultimate ninja games on ps2.