The story in short: Orochimaru attacks Hidden Leaf Village with four of his sidekicks and it's up to Naruto and his friends to throw them back out again. In other words, nothing that we haven't seen before. However, without knowing something about Naruto it is not always easy to understand what is going on.

At the start of each mission the player can choose one main character and two back-ups. The main character is the one the player controls througout the level, while the back-up characters can quickly be called upon to aid for a short while. Usually that is not necessary, because enemies walk and fight like zombies on drugs, except for end bosses, although they too not really offer any challenge.

For standard fighting moves like kicks and punches the DS buttons are used. Theoretically speaking, different combo's are possible, but button bashing proves to be extremely effective. Even easier to use are the projectiles. Most enemies don't have those and as long as the hero keeps his distance, he is almost invincible. To emphasize that idea even more, it is now also possible to walk up walls.

Next to those standard things each character knows one or more 'secret techniques'. These are powerful attacks that come with a certain animation. They are not always necessary to win, but they are fun (and it's the only pleasant feature, even though it quickly gets boring). To execute those techniques, the stylus and microphone are used. The problem with this is that switching from buttons to stylus has to happen fast.

As an extra, a mode called 'Make Pictures' is available. The idea behind it is that the player can doodle some stuff just as Naruto does. Not only is it a bad version of Paint, it is also not possible to save any of the drawings made. It is a ridiculous addition that symbolizes the incredible uninspiredness of the game.