Naruto is one of Shonen Jump's biggest hit manga, and it was considered one of their "big three" releases alongside media juggernauts like One Piece and Dragon Ball. Masashi Kishimoto's hit from 1999 has maintained consistent popularity, and it even spawned a follow-up series based on his son and is a veritable media franchise.
However, a part of that media empire that is not just manga and anime, video games, played a big role in the series' popularity. While not as well regarded as the games of fellow "big three" member Dragon Ball, it still has plenty of games to offer, and some of these games are excellent, according to rating aggregator Metacritic.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 (2006) - 74
Back before the age of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, there was another franchise of Naruto fighters. The Clash of Ninja series featured many different game modes and characters to play as. This game came out relatively early in the history of the series. As a result, most of the roster comes from the Chunin Exams arc of Naruto.
The games took a lot of liberties, as not a lot had been established about the characters yet. They lacked strong fighting mechanics, but Clash of Ninja 2 became the best received out of this series. It had wacky characters, alternate skins, and tons of modes. Players could even play as Koga's dog if they wanted to; it was a lot of fun.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution (2007) - 74
The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series was a big enough hit that it got its own spinoff. This would be the Revolution series, which is three of many hidden gem games on the Nintendo Wii. It shares the name with the Wii's prototype, The Revolution, and all three entries in the series received the same score on Metacritic.
The Revolution series was released internationally, unlike most of the other Clash of Ninja games. The first two games were based on the early version of Naruto before Shippuden came out, and the second game even featured a unique, original campaign with the characters. The third game would update the cast with their Shippuden designs.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (2008) - 75
The beginning of the rest of Naruto's gaming life finally came in 2008: the first game in the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm series. The Storm series spun off of the Ultimate Ninja series and quickly surpassed the original in success. It brought the series into full 3D arena fighting.
Ultimate Ninja Storm was developed by CyberConnect12, who are known for their work on excellent visuals in anime games. The game also introduced "Awakening Mode," which gave characters a big power-up after they had taken a lot of damage. The game has twenty-five playable characters and plenty of arenas, which is great for a first attempt. While its sequels would surpass it, it is still fun to go back to.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 (2008) - 75
The third in the Ultimate Ninja line of Naruto games was beginning to show its age but still reviewed better than its predecessor. This traditional fighter might have had 2D planes, but it also had plenty of Naruto charm. Notably, it had the largest Naruto roster on its release, at forty-five, and it covered up to episode 135 of the anime. In Japan, the game was sold with a 30-minute anime OVA.
The game featured new mechanics as well, such as being able to customize any Naruto character's ultimate Jutsu attack. It also featured the clashing of Jutsu, which were small cutscenes that played out when two special moves collided. The game also built heavily on its predecessor's story mode, adding CGI cutscenes.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (2006) - 75
The game that started Naruto's longest-lasting gaming franchise was Naruto: Ultimate Ninja. In Japan, it had the somewhat silly name of Narutimate Hero. It also had a pretty small roster of twelve characters, which its sequels would massively outperform, but it let players control characters from the world with all sorts of Jutsus and finishing moves.
The game also featured support characters and a story mode that recreated the manga. However, it showed other characters' perspectives of those events, leading to different scenarios and even divergence. The most shocking element was the transformations. In the United States release, Nine-Tails Naruto and Cursed Sasuke were separate characters, but one could transform into them mid-battle in the original.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (2010) - 77
After the success of the first Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, development began on a sequel that would surpass fan expectations. This game was designed with the "Part 2" versions of the characters in mind. It was also designed to take in feedback from the fans of the first game. Multiplayer was added as a direct response.
The team also wanted to ratchet up the "drama" of the game to draw a larger audience, so special care was taken to recreate manga panels and scenes as accurately as possible. This would become CyberConnect's modus operandi going forward. The game also featured a guest character in the form of Tekken's Lars, whose design in this game was created by Naruto creator Kishimoto.
Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (2007) - 78
Rise of a Ninja was the first role-playing game in the series, and it remains one of the best Naruto video games. It was also the first game to be developed by a non-Japanese company. Rise of a Ninja was developed by famous video game company Ubisoft during their stint at making licensed games, and it is pretty unique, being a cross between an RPG, a fighter, and a 3D platformer.
The game allows Naruto to run around Konoha, jumping from roof to roof. The game also had online support, and there was an online leaderboard for a sequence of fights called "The Forest of Death." And the game also featured several playable characters, adding even more as DLC.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (2016) - 80
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is the most recent release in the series. It includes the fourth Ninja War plotline and more characters and features than ever before. The game included boss battles, hack and slash segments, and quick-time events. The three-on-three fighting has never been more exciting.
The game also includes an expansion called Road to Boruto and adapts the events of the Boruto film. It has plenty of features and characters with some great moments in the Boruto arc, and the expansion, main game, and all previous entries have appeared together in bundles, which means gamers can experience the whole Naruto story in game form.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst (2013) - 80
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst has an extremely long title, but it also has an extremely large amount of content in the game. It covers the lead-up to the Ninja Wars and the threat of the Akatsuki. It also features a mode called "Ultimate Decision," which challenges players with higher difficulties for more rewards.
The game also features mob battles in brutal hack and slash segments, and it was praised for its boss fights and intensive story, though some critics remarked that the story may be difficult to follow for newcomers. Perhaps this is why the game is often seen bundled with the other Ninja Storm titles.
Naruto: The Broken Bond (2008) - 80
The second and last Naruto game published by Ubisoft was Naruto: The Broken Bond. Despite being pushed out in a year due to the expiration of the license, the game reviewed even better than its predecessor Rise of a Ninja. The game picks up right where the first game left off, adapting through the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. It features full original voice acting and even music from the original show.
The game featured thirty total playable characters, including DLC. It also busted out a new watercolored look for the game's environments, which helps make the cell-shaded characters stand out even more. The environments were the biggest thing to benefit in the sequel, in general, as 3D now accompanies cut scenes, and there are far more NPCs and an emphasis on exploration. Unfortunately, as Ubisoft's license expired after this, fans never got to see what they would do with the Shippuden versions of the characters.