Naruto arrived as a shonen anime that already had the spectra of Dragon Ball hanging over its shoulders, however thanks to major media coverage (much to the dismay of One Piece fans), it managed to become a success. After 17 years, a manga and anime series that is still ongoing, the adventures of the nine-tailed fox named Konoha have lived a number of incarnations that populate the world of this video game. Luckily, lately these Android titles by Namco Bandai have been washing up on Western shores much earlier than was initially expected. Such is the case of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing, which is now available and ready to download and play in APK format. Right here. Right now.
This game invites players to relive the tales of the original story arch by the hands of none less than Masashi Kisimoto. Revolving almost entirely around combat systems, this game challenges you to turn-based group battles where positioning your characters adequately is more important than their attack skills. What’s most interesting about this game play is that it pairs extremely well with the game’s actual events with Chidoris and Rasegans flying from one place to another while you recruit new members for your team and improve your skills.
Centered around ‘fanservice’ you’ll follow the events of this manganime chronologically with constant visual displays taken directly from the anime. From the first training sessions with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura with Kaskashi, up to the city’s ninja tournaments, even taking scenes from Orochuimaru and the mysterious groupings of the Akatsuki. As you advance though, you’ll unlock new game modes that take a step further into the arena atmosphere by allowing you to participate in special events that let you gain new characters.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing is a great game that’s almost as good as its cohort, titles like Dragon Ball Dokkan Battle or One Piece: Treasure Cruise. On our behalf, we certainly hope that these gems keep making the voyage from Japan to us, anime fans that are always hungry for more. Especially knowing everything we’re missing out on due to Japanese restrictions that ban content to outsiders. For now, the game is available as a soft-launch in certain countries, but can be downloaded and installed on Uptodown without any geographic restrictions.
