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> Results: Naruto: Path of the Ninja
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The ESRB Says
Crude Humor: GamerDad already realized that Naruto had plenty of potty-inspired humor before this game reminded us repeatedly. Mild Cartoon Violence: Plenty of turn-based ninja battle throughout. Suggestive Themes: Naruto loves Sakura who loves Sasuke ... and Kakashi likes reading 'Make-out Paradise'. Naruto is a turn-based party RPG that gets its' story entirely from the first 80 episodes of the Naruoto anime series - which seems very exciting until you think about the inherent limitations. First, squeezing that much material while still having plenty of turn-based combat means losing plenty of content along the way, leaving the plot fairly thin and weak - even compared to the anime series, which no one would accuse of being overly deep in the first place. But the bigger problem is that there is very little room for freedom or choice, making you feel like you're riding on rails the entire time from predictable scene to predictable scene. As for why the game is based on a string of anime episodes from more than a few years ago - the game is a slightly upscaled port of a Japanese GBA game from three years ago. Believe it! 'Believe it' is a common saying of Naruto. The reason I have used it is that it is indicative of the only thing keeping this game from being completely forgettable - the developers have done a very good job of infusing the spirit of the anime series into every corner of the game. Despite a clunky interface, lousy graphics and sound, boxed-in character advancement and gameplay, the charm of the game comes through on a regular basis as you have various characters chiming in on one subject or another - but usually about Naruto. That doesn't earn the game a recommendation, however - it just means that fans of the anime series are likely to find some fun here. But still I recommend waiting for a few months, because this will be in bargain bins before long ... which is where it belongs. Believe it!  
Naruto has a target audience in the US that is younger than in Japan. In the US the target is the 'tween' set - kids in elementary and middle school. Not quite beyond lower elementary school themes of silliness and potty-humor, and just getting into dealing with boy-girl relationships. In a way, this is an easy Kid Factor to write - watch one episode of Naruto and you can decide directly as the game is pulled right from the show. If your kids are already watching then this should be no problem.
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