Naruto assaults US PSP

By Robert Purchese Published 12 April, 2007

But is unconfirmed for Europe.

Namco Bandai has popped on its ninja outfit this afternoon and revealed the very first Naruto game for PSP.

Ultimate Ninja Heroes will launch America this summer, but a date for Europe is still unconfirmed.

The biggest new feature from developer CyberConnect 2 is the team-based wireless multiplayer mode. Here you and your friends will be able to assemble your ultimate dream team, using combination and team attacks to best your opponents.

You'll be able to pick from 20 different characters that can be levelled-up by tackling progressively more difficult missions, eventually displaying your ninja rank in your player profile. Skills and abilities will also be upgradeable, using power-up points earned from battle, and special hidden skills will lie in different groups awaiting your discovery.

A single-player campaign is here to get to grips with, and you'll still be able to take on a solo friend in head-to-head combat using one copy of Naruto to game share.

"We are thrilled to be bringing the unique Naruto style of fighting exclusively to the PSP system," said Makoto Iwai, big cheese at Namco Bandai America. "Fans of both the show and franchise will be able to create and play as their favorite ninja dream team, and we are excited about introducing the Naruto brand to a whole new batch of gamers."

Naruto is a manga by Masashi Kishimoto, which spawned a popular anime television series in Japan. It follows the loud and adolescent Naruto Uzumaki as he searches for approval in the ninja world and quests to become Hokage - the best fighter in the whole village.

Head over to our Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes gallery to take a look at the latest screenshots.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (6) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • jonsaan #1 5 years ago

    Couldn't make head or tail of the Jap version, maybe now I can see what all the fuss is about.

  • nickthegun #2 5 years ago

    I have the Japanese version and its absolutely gash at higher difficulty levels.

    The PSP literally reverses everything you do so matches just degenerate into reversal tennis. Imagine DOA4 on hard but more annoying.

  • phl0w #3 5 years ago

    So, this is a fighter right? Not another stupid Naruto J'n'R.
    Why don't they port the excellent 4-Player Naruto Fighter (name lost...) game from the Cube? I'm not that thrilled about the whole Franchise really, but this fighter played awesome.

  • Daryoon #4 5 years ago

    It'd be more awesome if:
    (a) the English version wasn't several years out of date
    (b) they based the games on the manga

    Then you'd be able to use some of the comically over-the-top "ninjas" who can survive decapitation or turn into giant three-headed spider things!

  • Adelpha #5 5 years ago

    Supposedly a new naruto game is meant to be coming out for the 360, and its being developed by PoP developers Ubisoft.

    "It turns out that Naruto for Xbox 360 is a role-playing game (you'll be free to wander around villages and talk to NPCs); part Prince of Persia (as a ninja, you can jump acrobatically from rooftop to rooftop); part fighting game (insane one-on-one brawl in a wide open grass pasture between you and an aggressive, stretchy-armed foe); and part Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (running straight up trees and leaping between branches). Couple this gameplay with mind-blowing cel-shading that look exactly like an episode of the anime, and you have a game that could buck the assumption that most licensed games are worth less than the discs they're stamped on. Ubisoft Montreal's Naruto isn't due out until 2008, but put it on your radar now!"

  • Fyzzu #6 5 years ago

    This looks suspiciously like the PS2 game, only ported to PSP. Any accuracy in that?

    GC game was called Gekitou Ninja Taisen in Japan, and Clash of Ninja in the West. So much more fun than any other Naruto game out there.

    Daryoon, the English version appears to be catching up, but I imagine they'll show all the filler which is a good hundred episodes of absolute crap. This is the reason why I import my Naruto games (well, that, and avoiding the absolutely atrocious voice acting...)