Much unlike its source material, Akatsuki Rising fails to be an engaging experience in any manner.
+ Plenty of playable characters
+ Numerous modes aside the story mode
Negative
- The combat is bland and unexciting
- Poor camera and lock-on add a lot of unneeded frustration
- Boring cutscenes
Akatsuki Rising is the supposed 'evolution' of PS2's Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles series. Although evolution isn't an appropriate word in this case because this bland beat-'em-up follows in the shoes of its predecessors, and takes a turn to the worse with extremely boring and unsatisfying action plagued with problems despite having a lot of familiar characters and villains.
The story of Akatsuki Rising follows the initial part of the Naruto Shippuden anime, from Naruto's Homecoming to Gaara's Retrieval arc. If you know the anime, or coincidently played Ultimate Ninja 4 on the PS2, you already know the story. Gaara, the Kazekage has been captured by two members of the Akatsuki and Naruto and his comrades will try to rescue him. That is a short summary. This is almost exactly the same story; a story which in the anime isn't a whole lot interesting and thanks to uninteresting cutscenes, progressing through the Scenario Mode is a drag. The story admirably sticks close to the source material but the story has been told before and Akatsuki Rising never makes it more interesting. Also to unlock the additional content and characters, you have to advance in this mode. At the start of each chapter in the Scenario, the game lets you choose a character and because certain section require a certain character, the game doesn't even bother to use that needed character even if you are using a different character which has nothing to do with that scene. You will use the character you are using, and that truly sucks which ruins certain moments.
The Naruto Uzumaki Chronicles series is a brawler, beat-'em-up. And that's the problem with Akatsuki Rising. The combat is simply too simple and lacks variety and diversity, which doesn't make a lot of characters fun to use. Unfortunately the shallowness of the combat dominates throughout the game and never evolves into something good. All characters have short-ranged attacks and special attacks which consume chakra (stamina). But the combat is so shallow that it all comes down to pressing the square button to perform punches and then maybe performing a special attack. Even the substitution jutsu has been watered down to just pressing an action button when attacked which is normally the square button, so it happens without you noticing an enemy just attacked. So this is now a button-masher at heart. To add, the hand-to-hand combat is too boring, and this is even more noticeable against the bosses. Bosses have a large health bar so it is almost too necessary to use the same strategy of using special attacks to beat them because a large portion of them are annoying.
As you make your way through to the next spot where the story takes place, the game offers a minor, very linear exploration. The word exploration is unfitting, since it is so linear and devoid of possible actions that you are bound to just run through the generic enemies that come in your way because it feels like unneeded fillers. Thankfully you will fight more than just arrogant bandits that don't know their place and strength. There are boars, giant worms, birds and a lot more to encounter. If the combat wasn't bland enough, with multiple enemies, the camera does a terrible job of keep the view of the locked-on enemy. And when you're mindlessly punching a dude and an enemy attacks, the lock-on switches to that enemy. That is truly infuriating when facing more than one enemy or in some cases more than one boss at a time. The camera is awful and this mostly happens when exploring, so that is another reason to skip the 'exploration'.
Luckily there some reward for fighting the uninteresting and repetitive enemies you encounter on your way to the next point. You might occasional find items, which the game doesn't pause when you need to use healing subsequently forces you to stay away from the enemy until you choose the item to heal yourself. Interestingly, Akatsuki Rising offers an RPG-like leveling system, where each character you use gains EXP and levels up. Problem is that only the character used gains EXP, while the others don't and the series insistently refuses you to have friends or AI allies to support you. It was ok in a 2002 game (looking at Dark Cloud 2) but it's completely inexcusable now feeling like it is lack of effort.
If you're looking for an alternative game mode to play, you can. The game offers numerous other modes, which you have to unlock by advancing in the story. This includes Mission Mode where you take on ranked side quests for extra EXP. This missions are rather average which involve the same running through constricted fields with enemies and arrive at the next point. Then collect whatever item needed or beat an enemy and go back. Some of these missions aren't 100% clear and there were times I searched in vain for whatever was required. Another mode is Survival Mode where you are pitted against countless enemies. This mode is broken, of course all thanks to the large amount of enemies which when using ranged-weapons constantly shifts lock-on. Another mode is the Battle mode, and later the Akatsuki mode which lets you play as the Akatsuki and their side of the story. It's most unfortunate that you need to finish the Scenario Mode to unlock.
As an anime base title, there should be a law; that the game is a faithful visual recreation of the anime. That makes this game a criminal, because it instead uses 3D models which look just decent aside the fact that the lip-syncing is absolutely terrible. The animation is fluid at least, and the environments look nice but most of these environments are devoid of life and repetitive. Visually it's average, and that translates to the cutscenes. The cutscenes have good quality, but some emotionless, unexcited expressions and again that awful lip-syncing really ticks me off. Luckily the sound has been saved. There are both English and Japanese languages and the soundtrack passes, barely. In battle, there is an awful lot of voice repetition. It's annoying to hear a ninja saying the same phrase over and over when he attacks, or a boss saying "No" every time you hit her.
I have played a lot of Naruto games on the PS2 and the previous Uzumaki Chronicles, and I basically know the treatment these anime-based titles get unfortunately. But that fact is that there is a lack of effort. Ultimate Ninja Storm on the PS3 soared high and it was the best Naruto game on any console, but why does Akatsuki Rising lurk so low? The story that we all know about aside, the combat is wholly uninteresting with some frustrating problems and that it's the gameplay more than anything that makes a person keep playing especially when the gameplay carries the game. Akatsuki Rising fails that mission. Ninja games that fail their mission have no place in your library.
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Graphics = 6.2
Ok, the 3D models and environments look good, but can't they make an anime animated game like the anime?
Sound = 7.1
Nice to have both Japanese and English language. Good music, but beware of repetitive voice overs in battles.
Presentation = 5.4
Most cutscenes are uninteresting with bad lip-sync. Loadings are appropriate. Leveling up system is not much fun, and how the game sets the mission/story part difficulty can frustrate.
Gameplay = 4.0
The combat is lame on the whole, but you have many characters to unlock. Terrible, terrible lock-on that shifts target on its own. Survival mode is torture because of it. Poor exploration. Decent customizations.
Story = 5.0
Retelling of Gaara's Retrieval Arc. Least interesting arc of the anime in my opinion, and the game follows it so well it fails to inject some life into it. Other modes available.
OVERALL = 55 / 100
Much unlike its source material, Akatsuki Rising fails to be an engaging experience in any manner.