NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM Anime battles you control

Battles happen in full 3D across wide arenas, and the camera treats them like a production: you circle your opponent, dodge with acrobatic maneuvers and chase them up walls and across water. Charge a Rasengan or a Chidori and land it, and the ultimate jutsu animation takes over for a moment worth watching. The giant boss fights are the peak: you trade blows with creatures the size of buildings, pressing the prompts that play out the clash on screen. Combat is easy to pick up and quick to get hooked on, and the boss battles are the highlight of the whole game.

Between fights you roam a large open version of the Hidden Leaf Village, and at first it is a treat: running the rooftops of a place you know from the show, in bright, saturated colors. Story missions cost experience, so you earn it through side missions: timed races through rings, ninja scroll hunts, tree-climbing races and the occasional fight with special rules. It works well for the first stretch, though the minigames repeat and the village has less in it than its size suggests. Come for the fights and the story more than the errands.