Naruto is all about ninjas, this kid who has a relentless beast inside him and his struggle to be acknowledged by everyone. This game however might not be so well remembered, however. Countless Naruto games have been released since, some really good, some just.....eh, so is it worth playing this game so many years later? Well, kind of.
The story follows the anime. It covers the whole Naruto plot, that is the original series (not Shippuden). Nothing more to be said. There are two kinds of story modes in the game, one that follows the anime and one that is a story exclusive to the game. The game exclusive plot is kind of boring, honestly. The Hidden Leaf Village has organised an all-out battle competition between ninjas both young and old. Here is where I feel this mode falls flat. You are restricted to only playing as Naruto, which gets really tedious later on. You can only fight as other characters after you finish the story. Now. what's cool is, you get to freely roam around the Leaf Village doing mission, running and jumping around. It's a nice touch, and I like that.
The anime plot is in chapters and you can only play the battles, (sorry no free roaming) which is a bummer. The cel-shaded art style of the game still looks good and the music is well.....alright.
But for a fighting game, its a good romp and should be played in short bursts. It's a nice 2d fighter, but I still recommend getting Ultimate Ninja 4 or 5 (on the PS2) as they have much more content than this game.