Naruto Shippuden Legends Akatsuki Rising Sony PSP Review

Naruto Shippuden Legends Akatsuki Rising

Sony PSP Review
Developer: Namco Bandai Games America
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games America
Released: October 2009

The Naruto franchise has received a lot of video game releases over the years, with the most recent being Naruto Shippuden Legends Akatsuki Rising on the Sony PSP.

The latest video game release follows the Akatsuki conflict, a threat that is bearing down on Naruto, who is now a teenager.

The main game here revolves around the well-done story mode, which is called Scenario Mode.

The Scenario Mode showcases a story from the Naruto universe that is well-told and stays true to the franchise, especially if you are a fan of the series and of anime in general.

The way in which the gameplay works here is a bit lackluster unfortunately, as the battle system seems a tad too clunky for my personal taste. The various missions that they throw you into though are a lot of fun, and the story mode is long enough that it will keep you busy for hours.

The longevity comes into play as you get to unlock more characters and such with the more you play, also giving you the option to purchase items such as health packs and other things to aid your characters.

The visuals here on the PSP are pretty decent, but far from award-winning. The character models are probably my biggest gripe as I would have liked to see more in terms of brighter colors and details on them, especially on the clothing and in the faces. Cut-scenes also leave a lot to be desired.

The audio presentation here is strong, I especially liked playing through it with the original Japanese voices, the score is quite good as well.

This latest Naruto release makes for a respectable action game on the PSP that fans of the franchise will probably enjoy, but it does not have enough to it to really warrant a full purchase. The game has some fantastic modes of play that try to keep things fresh, but the game feels like it is just missing that fun-factor unfortunately. Best kept as a rental for Naruto fans.

Graphics: 6.0

Final Score: 6.8