Narut Ninja Shippuden Blazing

The game sticks with its two-button attack format of the previous games

Narut Ninja Shippuden Blazing differs from most fighting games in that it comes with two distinct single-player modes.

Given that it’s a DS exclusive, the developers could clearly foresee that there’d be times when we didn’t have another player to compete against.

Their answer to this inevitable problem is the Story mode and the Quest mode.

Undoubtedly, Story will be the mode players spend the most time with,

and not just because it must be played through before Quest mode becomes available.

Using the old-fashioned text-based style found in hundreds of RPGs, the Story mode gives players another glimpse into Uchiha's world.

None of the revelations may surprise those who follow Uchiha's every move, but if you appreciate the saga,

there’s no question that you’ll be intrigued by what the game offers.

The format is pretty solid, if not a little shallow.

During this mode, players automatically switch between Sasuke (the primary warrior)

and other key characters that correspond to the current story developments.

Those developments pop up automatically after each battle (or each series of battles),

along with a few very brief exploration segments (with top-down 3D stages) where the player must find the exit to a very simple maze.

For the most part, it all comes together pretty nicely.

There is one frustrating moment that requires you to jump awkwardly across a few platforms.

But aside from wanting to scream and pull your hair out (a feeling that comes before you realize that falling off a platform doesn’t actually harm your character –

it merely sends you back to the beginning of this annoying trek), players will enjoy the Story mode very much.

Once you’re finished with that mode, you’ll definitely be curious to know what the Quest mode is all about.

Let’s put that curiosity to rest right now: it’s all about the battles.

Using the same 3D engine that powers the exploration portion of the Narut Ninja Shippuden Blazing,

the Quest mode takes you on a journey that’s filled with frequent battle encounters.

You’ll run through level after level – most of which look the same – and discover items, enemies and more enemies.

Which is great if you wanted an excuse to keep battling; it’s not-so-great if you were hoping this would be an extension of the Story mode.