The “Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja” Naruto Uzumaki has become one of the great staples in the realm of manga and anime. The Naruto series has become immensely popular, even after the series ended back in 2017. Since its inception, it’s spawned several video games, toys, and even a spin-off series about his son, Boruto. Though the spin-off series has had a mixed reception from old and new fans, it adds to the already monumental legacy that was already established. The next addition to the series comes in the form of an all-new mobile/browser game, Naruto X Boruto: Ninja Tribes.
Set in the same universe of the iconic Naruto and Boruto anime series, Naruto X Boruto Ninja Tribes is a game that brings together fan-favorite characters that span multiple generations of Naruto lore, including Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura of the original Team 7 as well as Boruto counterparts Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki for one-tap team-based battles. In combat, players use the shinobi bonds with overwhelming duo and trio attacks unique to each character combination from the new Team 7 teamwork and father-and-son Rasengan with the Seventh Hokage Naruto and Boruto. In addition, all the game’s art style is all high-quality 2D visuals that evoke the anime series.
It was revealed a day before this year’s Crunchyroll Expo that there would be a playable demo of the game. Given that I’ve been a fan of the Naruto for over a decade, I had to jump at the opportunity to play the game. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with the overall gameplay. As the synopsis states, each team has three members and take turns attacking one another.
Players select both the character they want to attack and who will be attacking. Depending on the damage, players will build up power to do special moves and team attacks. There are opportunities to increase a character’s power depending on the damage they inflict.
As I was playing the game, I was immediately taken back to playing both the Naruto: Path of the Ninja and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm games. Both of these games have a special place in my heart as those were the first two games within the series that fully captured my attention. The game has similar graphics to the Ninja Storm game while implementing the RPG style from Path of a Ninja. Having been let down with Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, Naruto X Boruto: Ninja Tribes not only as a reminder for why I love the franchise but also brought a nostalgic feeling.
As of now, I can’t give a definitive answer in terms of if I will be downloading this game when it’s released. Though the demo gave me hope, it’s still not enough to fully convince me. Though the game showed a few characters that will be in the game, not all of the characters were revealed, so there is more to look out for.
There’s also the fact that it wasn’t revealed if the entire game would just be fights between characters or if there would be other aspects to the game. Given that we’re still a few months away from its release, I remain hopeful that this will be a game that I will surely pick up.
If you’re interested to see for yourself, Naruto X Boruto: Ninja Tribes is set to be released in winter of 2019 on mobile devices and browsers.
