Top 10 Worst Naruto Video Games

The nicest thing to say about this PS2 sequel is that it improved on its predecessor. Though, given the starting line, that’s not saying much. There’s some glimmers of potential in its original story and combo-based gameplay. It’s just a shame that it's wasted on a game with lengthy load times, excessive padding, and a noticeable lack of polish. There’s a lot of clear cut corners, and since the camera in co-op is straight-up broken, it’s not even worth a good laugh, either. Instead, “Uzumaki Chronicles 2” is a lot like polishing a broken shuriken - it’s prettier, but still can’t get the job done.

On visual presentation alone, there’s a lot to like with Naruto’s trek to the PSP. The original storyline isn’t half bad, either. But, then you have to actually play it. Despite its title, the real gimmick of this janky combat system isn’t the Kizuna gauge, it’s that you’re fighting your own teammates. Or, rather, their terrible AI. To be fair, the grindy stat growth and mashy combos aren’t great to begin with. But it becomes tiresome even quicker when the entire level is spent reviving your beginner-level companions. As a result, the whole system fails at a fundamental level. Suffice it to say, it doesn’t come close to holding a fire-style to its stylish cutscenes.

You saw that right, there’s two colons in this game’s title alone. It’s redundant, a bit confusing, and way too long, which is also a good descriptor for the game itself. The biggest offender is the combat system - and, really, calling it that is pretty generous. Putting aside the lackluster animations, there’s only one real attack button. That’s right, there’s no combos, no player expression, and no reason to do anything other than spam your jutsu. But, despite the fact that it’s gameplay was clearly an afterthought, it forces players to grind on spongy villains just to make the asinine difficulty somewhat bearable. Without a doubt, this legend goes down in infamy.

There are plenty of standout anime fighting games on the Nintendo DS. This just isn't one of them. Admittedly, the actual gameplay isn’t too bad, but the truly horrid 3D visuals are hard to look past. Literally. Plus, there’s basically nothing to do in this game but fight. Sure, there’s some exploration, a story mode, and characters to unlock, but in the end, it all boils down to the same repetitive mashing. Over and over and over again. There’s no real variation or difficulty, which makes the decent enough combat system quickly wear thin. Honestly, it’s kind of impressive to make a game that both lacks content and still completely overstays its welcome.

Repetitive sidequests are nothing new to anime games. In fact, they’re nothing new to “Naruto” titles, either. But, in “Ninja Council 3,” they are the game. There is no story mode. It’s quite literally just a checklist of missions to grind through. That is, until you rank up and can do the exact same missions, but with more annoying enemies. Its inexcusable lack of content is only exacerbated by its frustrating gameplay, which never meaningfully changes through the various levels and characters. There’s so little redeemable about it that at a certain point, “Ninja Council 3” feels less like a video game and more like a list of chores.

By today’s standards, there’s just no reason for this game to exist. No, not because it’s a slow, plodding mess - though that definitely doesn’t help - but because it’s an inferior version of an already lackluster game. Due to the delayed schedule of “Naruto’s” English dub, the American release had to edit or outright remove spoilers from later in the series. The only thing worse than these repetitive missions is knowing the game could’ve been so much more. Though, to be fair, not even the missing characters would have fixed the lazy story mode or empty overworld. So, in a way, the removed content serves as a merciful reason to turn this game off even faster.

Don’t let the name fool you, there’s nothing “new” about this. It’s just another “Ninja Council” game with a fresh coat of paint, with the quality to go along with it. The clearly-marketed 3D only delivers grainy character models, the occasional screen tilt, and flatter gameplay than ever before. There’s technically an original story, but it’s just a lifeless collection of tropes meant to justify more platforming levels. Plus, it’s hard to take it seriously when the new villain is literally named Malice. Unfortunately, the rest of the story doesn’t get any more clever than that, either. The very last thing “Naruto” needed was another horrible sidescroller, but at least “New Era” has a lot of company.

After three titles with severely diminishing returns, it should come as no surprise that “Ninja Council 4” continued the series’ decline into utter embarrassment. In fact, this is by far the worst of the bunch, which is truly a feat. While its 17-character roster should be a massive plus, the fact that a whopping twelve of them are locked behind online connectivity is just a Rasengan to the face. Not that it’d be fun to play them, anyways, since the uninspired dungeons and infuriating enemies are somehow worse than they’d ever been before. There isn’t even a reward for gathering the in-game collectibles. Instead, just like the experience overall, it’s a complete waste of time.

For being one of the earliest adaptations of the series, this Playstation title does an admirable job retelling “Naruto’s” first arc. The issue is it does so inside of a board game, and not even a particularly good one. The novelty of its genre simply can’t compensate for the distinct lack of the series’ trademark action. Especially when it’s replaced by long-winded turns decided more by RNG than genuine strategy. To put it simply, this game just doesn’t have any soul. Or depth. Or, really, any fun value at all, for that matter. Clearly, there's a good reason it was never released outside of Japan.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

It’s Not as Horrible as Some of the Other “Ninja Council” Games, but That’s a Low Bar

From a Franchise Inundated With Generic Fighters, You Can Do a Lot Better Than This

This Promising Fighter Fumbles Due to Clumsy Controls and Too Much Grinding

It’s a bad sign when a game’s poor performance, monotonous combat, and atrocious level designs aren’t even the worst part. “Dragon Blade Chronicles” is still guilty of all of those, but its biggest sin is that it doesn’t feel like a “Naruto” game at all. It’s like someone did a substitution jutsu midway through development, and tried to disguise a fantasy hack-and-slash as something it’s clearly not. Predictably, it didn’t work out. There’s a litany of downright head-scratching design flaws, and forget any sort of fanservice from the series it’s named after. This is an embarrassing failure on all fronts, not just because it’s a bad “Naruto” game, but because it’s a bad game, period.