The 13 Best 'Naruto' Games of All Time

The very first Naruto game to make its way over to North American shores came in the form of the GameCube fighter Naruto: Clash of Ninja. That modest first effort presented a solid foundation for the soon-to-be franchise with fun 1v1 battles, cel-shaded graphics that respected the source material's signature look, and a straightforward yet enjoyable story mode leading to the final fight with Zabuza. The series took everything up a notch with Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2, which came with a much larger roster of 22 characters, an insanely fun four-player brawl mode, and a memorable campaign that compiles the epic battles contested during the "Chunin Exam" story arc. This sequel is the first major highlight of Naruto's gaming exploits in the States.

By the time the fifth entry in the Clash of Ninja series arrived, fans were given the chance to participate in the unforgettable encounters centered around a grown-up Naruto and his fellow ninjutsu practitioners. For that reason and more, Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is a fan favorite for many who lovingly look back on the best Naruto games. The list of playable characters is impressive (40!), the cel-shaded graphics are even more eye-popping thanks to the game's placement on the Wii, and the special two-person combination attacks produce the most exciting moments from this game's hard-hitting battles. Seeing as how this is the first Naruto game in the series to offer online battles, it's easy to see why it's held in such high regard.

The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series gave PS2 owners their much-deserved serving of flashy Ninjitsu-powered battles. The first two games are certainly respectable fighters in their own right. But the one that got the most play time from us and plenty of other diehard Naruto fans is the unforgettable third series entry. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 marked a high point in the franchise illuminated by a huge roster of characters, more mobility options during battle, a more streamlined story mode that covers a large chuck of Naruto's most monumental battles, and some of the craziest "Ultimate Jutsu" moves we've ever laid eyes on. The light RPG mechanics utilized in "Ultimate Contest" and "Summoning Mode" character variations also stand out as the two other memorable parts of this quality 1v1 brawler.

It will always blow our minds that Ubisoft and Ubisoft Montreal are responsible for crafting one of the best attempts at a Naruto game that featured semi-open-world elements. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja put the manga/anime's front-facing hero in the main character role as players helped him grow stronger, make friends, confront foes, and fight his heart out in and around the town of "Konoha." What we love most about this game is its focus on exploring the recognizable surroundings of Naruto's world and the unique controller inputs needed to pull off the flashiest Ninjitsu-powered moves every character wielded. From a single-player and multiplayer standpoint, Naruto: Rise of a Ninja excelled in both areas.

After the greatness of Naruto: Rise of a Ninja set things up wonderfully for a sequel, Ubisoft and Ubisoft Montreal fulfilled that expected outcome with Naruto: The Broken Bond. The strong focus on running and jumping across the various locales was thankfully kept intact, plus the impactful battle mechanics were also retained for this amazing follow-up. The tag-team combat really appealed to us as it maximized the fun factor of the first game's multiplayer gameplay. Actively partaking in the tumultuous events of the "Return of Itachi," "Search for Tsunade," "Land of Tea," and the "Sasuke Retrieval" story arcs in this game was and still is an astounding experience.

The PlayStation Portable got to join in on all the Naruto gaming fun, of course. Out of all the six Naruto games that graced the portable platform, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact is undoubtedly the best of the best. As fans of the Dynasty Warriors series, that chaotic style of gameplay was perfectly replicated by everything this game features. You haven't lived until you cleared out hundreds upon hundreds of enemies with Naruto's "Big Ball Rasengan" and the overwhelming strength brought on by the awakening of Gamabunta. The action/adventure mission-based gameplay and addictive card-based attribute system definitely helped us dedicate ourselves to this slept-on PSP gem.

A new era of the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series was born as a PS3 exclusive. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm pushed its predecessor forward by widening out the arenas to amaze players with spacious battlefields, flashier graphics, and fast-paced combat. Speaking of combat, we couldn't get enough of its fun mix of "Chakra" management, "Awakening" transformations, and jaw-dropping cutscenes that play out every time an Ultimate Jutsu move is landed. Add in the action/adventure-like story mode and you have a fine first attempt at moving the world of Naruto to the seventh generation of game consoles.

So right off the bat, the first memory of this game that comes to mind is the guest character inclusion of Tekken 6's Lars Alexandersson (who just so happened to be wearing some incredible drip courtesy of Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto). The rest of the meat on the bone for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 comes from its two new types of "Support" character assists - relying on them to maximize your combo potential, guard you while you're gathering Chakra, and even help you land sick "Team Ultimate Jutsu" finishers to end every battle in style. The light JRPG elements present in this game's continuation of the story mode from the first Ultimate Ninja Storm game gave us those bombastic boss fights, which is another reason why this sequel is worth putting on anyone's list of the best Naruto games.

When Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations first hit the anime fighting game scene, Naruto fans flocked to it for several reasons. One of them is its incredible roster that features young and old versions of familiar characters. Another one is the inclusion of entirely original storylines produced by Studio Pierrot, which was a nice change of pace for Naruto fans that wanted to play through something other than what they've already read/watched. Kudos have to be showered upon this game for also speeding up the combat and giving players the ability to turn up the heat with beastly transformations for certain characters mid-battle. The joy that comes from entering "Tailed Beast Chakra Mode" as Naruto and using it to pound your enemy into the ground is unparalleled.

The Ultimate Ninja Storm kept on putting out bangers by the time we arrived at the Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. This sequel really raised the stakes with its adventure mode with some of the most exciting boss encounters and newly implemented "Mob Battles" that really brought the hype. The replay value of that adventure mode is strong thanks to the addition of "Ultimate Decisions" which presents two options for crucial battles and difficulty modes. The altered items system added another cool element to the quality fighting mechanics, plus the massive 80-character roster made for a great mix of Naruto characters from every tier of popularity. We'll always point to the Full Burst edition as the version that deserves to be crowned as one of the best Naruto games.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 wrapped up the "Fourth Shinobi World War" and included one of the greatest boss fights of all time within the series as Naruto and Sasuks came to blows one final time. On the combat side of things, we adored the return of wall running and the mid-battle character-switching mechanic that appealed to our affection for the Marvel vs. Capcom series. From a roster standpoint, this sequel went crazy as it ballooned to include 106 characters to master. Going ham with "Sage of the Six Paths Mode" Naruto and "Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan" Sasuke never got old! The Road to Boruto DLC's adventure mode expansion and Boruto character additions are just the extra cherry on top for this quality installment of Naruto fighting game goodness.

After the Ultimate Ninja Storm franchise took a bit of a break, a multiplayer-focused action game rose up to fill its absence. Enter Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, a 4v4 online brawler that elicits a ton of joy thanks to all the fun that erupts as eight players go to war. The wide 3D environments help facilitate battles full of swift movement and includes plenty of space for multiple battles erupting within the same vicinity. Years after its launch, this game still got plenty of support in the form of DLC characters, special ninjutsu abilities, and extra attire for one's very own male/female avatar. This multiplayer-themed Naruto gaming experiment worked better than expected, which is why we'll always commend it for being another one of the best Naruto games still worth playing online.

We know, we know - there's a whole bunch of mobile games based on popular anime properties that are nothing more than cash cows for publishers that love raking in funds from gacha games. But we have to admit those types of games are simply too engaging to put down. Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage falls into that category as it produces the ultimate high that comes from emerging victorious after taking down an enemy fortress after a lengthy encounter. This game has a nice array of characters from the Naruto and Boruto universes, which results in that addictive loop that comes from trying to collect your favorites and adding them to your growing ninja clan. Those four-player boss battles always satisfy as well.