MASTER MODE begins with a dramatic cinema where Sasuke and Naruto face off in a blazing battle where they marshal all of their power against each other. They clash and the camera cuts to a green meadow where birds are chirping and a frog leaps a few paces before dropping into the drink. A leaf falls from overhead and drops on someone sleeping underneath the tree shade.

   Winds may be heard and someone is walking toward the sleeper. It's Jiraiya and he rouses his pupil awake. Naruto's eyes slowly open and take in the vision of his teacher. Piano music plays and the Naruto Shippuuden logo eventually appears. Afterwards, Jiraiya and Naruto have a conversation and the more mature and lanky Naruto gets up and stretches. Jiraiya laters slaps some wrist bracers on Naruto which are lightweight at first but become very heavy. Naruto struggles to raise his arms but he drops them down again. The camera takes a close shot of Naruto and we see the bracers are on both of his ankles as well. An exploration game ensues where Naruto runs around a maze-like area while jumping, soaring, and breaking wooden boxes. A map on the right side of the screen keeps track of his location on the over world. You'll want to visit three of the purple pulsating spots on the map to collect the orbs in each area. Some walls that are seemingly impassable may be destroyed by activating Naruto's Rasengan - press TRIANGLE and then smash the entire obstruction down with some "O" button mashing fever.

   Continue to the southern portion of the map and Naruto and Jiraiya will reach a village with a shrine maiden who goes into a cavern. After a bit of banter, Naruto runs into the cavern after the shrine maiden. While crossing a bridge, it'll collapse when he's halfway through. Once on the ground, break all of the boxes and barrels for bonuses and then leap upwards to the other side where he encounters four ghouls. Thanks to his skills, Naruto dominates all four in less than a minute of rambunctious punching and special attacks. In the next scene, he has to double jump his way through some tall platforms. Make sure to hit the lever located on one of the platforms on the left side of the area to activate the elevator. There a few more ghouls, levers to punch, and jumping forays ahead but nothing too difficult as Naruto charges after the maiden.

» Leaping over the chasms is fairly thrilling due to the sense of danger and extreme height when leaping from rock to rock.

» You can save your progress by walking into the lighted orbs and then pressing the "O" button to bring up the save data prompt. They are also indicated by the green spots on the overhead map.

HERO MODE: After starting a new game with a selected character, an animation plays with voice over which recounts the nine-tails fox demon and how it was sealed within baby Naruto by the white-cloaked Fourth Hokage. The story goes on to summarize the exploits of Naruto in the first story arc and the events leading up to the Shippuuden series. After watching the introductory animation, a menu page appears with a selector on the left side of the screen and the current highlighted image on the right side. The other three options are not available yet.

VERSUS MODE: The first bunch of characters available are:

First Roster (Shippuuden Characters)
Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, Kakashi, Shikamaru Nara, Might Guy, Rock Lee, Tenten, Neji Hyuga, Kankuro, and Temari. A few are locked.

Second Roster (Series 1 Characters)
Naruto, Sasuke, Rock Lee, Shikamaru, Neji Hyuga, Sakura, Hinata Hyuga, Tenten, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. A few are locked.

Third Roster (Team Leaders and Others)
Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Anko Mitarashi, and Hanabi Hyuga. All of the others are LOCKED.

Fourth Roster (All LOCKED and everyone's in shadow)

To activate the character selection randomizer in VS Mode, press the TRIANGLE button.

» Versus Mode features 18 different stages to battle upon.

» Either d-pad or L-Analog may be used to control the fighter in VERSUS mode. The button commands are:

SQUARE / Shoot shuriken
CROSS / Jump. Press again in mid-air to double jump.
CIRCLE / Attack. Press multiple times for chains
TRIANGLE / Charge up for attack
L1 or R1 / Switch between shuriken and stars
L2 or R2 / Block

» To jump into the background layer in Versus Mode, push up and press the "X" button to leap into the background.

» Anko Mitarashi fights by barreling into her opponent. Sort of like a female and less furry version of Blanka. She can also lash out tentacles from her sleeve which grab and throw an opponent. For a tentacle throwing barrage, push Down, Down and press the "O" button.

» The TRAINING MODE of the game records your d-pad tugs and button presses as they're hammered out on the bottom of the screen so you can keep track of your precision or lack thereof.

» The voice actors from the animation provide the speech for the characters in the game during the many cut scenes in Master Mode.

» Another excellent and robust 2D fighting game which features a massive amount of Naruto characters. The quality of Accel builds on previous releases in the series and offers players a solid game with fluid control that makes it a breeze to pull off special attacks and combos. Similar to the earlier Narutimett releases, the entire game feels substantial and weighty which in turn merits an investment of time and studied exploration to check out all that the game has to offer. 
 

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