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Naruto goes 3D in DS's Ninja Destiny

Anime superstars being readied for February

Naruto goes 3D in DS's Ninja Destiny
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DS
| Naruto: Ninja Destiny

Naruto: Path of the Ninja failed to push our buttons when it was released at the end of last year. Its turn-based battling based on a previous Naruto GBA game boasting ye olde and poor pixelated graphics was enough to tempt us into hanging up our ninja cloaks for good.

We hope there's promising news on the horizon for Naruto though. D3Publisher and Tomy Corporation have announced a new Naruto game - Naruto: Ninja Destiny - will be coming exclusively to DS next month. And the old flat visuals and tedious control system had been sliced-and-diced in favour a new real-time, head-to-head 3D fighting experience.

"We've listened to the fans and made a slew of improvements to the Japanese original, including a much faster frame rate, additional characters and never-before-seen content," said Laura Yoshioka, director of consumer software of Tomy Corporation. "Through the innovative use of the dual displays and touchscreens, Naruto: Ninja Destiny will bring the series' iconic battles to players in a way that is only possible on the DS."

The DS dual screens will display the action on the top screen while the touchscreen is used to strategically unleash power-ups. The game's fighting system uses combos that are apparently "intuitive to pick up but tough to master", and you'll also be able to use jutsu and various items against opponents.

In total, 16 characters will be playable, while scenes, characters and storylines from the Naruto animated series shown on Cartoon Network will also be featured (up to the 140th episode). Both a single player Story mode is promised, as well as wireless multiplayer combat.

A mid-February 2008 release date is confirmed for North America. We're sharpening our knives in anticipation.

Kath Brice
Kath Brice
Kath gave up a job working with animals five years ago to join the world of video game journalism, which now sees her running our DS section. With so many male work colleagues, many have asked if she notices any difference.