Anime fans are like the red-headed step child of the gaming industry. You may think that movie fans get the short end of the stick with plenty of bargain bin titles based on movie licenses, but at least you see a game based on just about every blockbuster movie (for better or for worse). Anime fans generally have to import their titles, and even then they're left with below average products.

This all changed when developer 8ing released its first Naruto title for the GameCube a few years ago. Naruto: Clash of Ninja was the best anime-based fighting game ever to grace a home console, and has since been followed up by three successful sequels. Until now, Naruto fans have had to import the series (which wasn't all that difficult), but thanks to publishers D3 and Tomy, Naruto: Clash of Ninja is heading to the US.

For those unfamiliar with Naruto, it's an anime series based around a clan of ninja living in Japan. Naruto, the main character of the anime, has the power of the Nine-Tails Demon Fox sealed deep within his body. While the Demon Fox gives Naruto near limitless power, before the Demon Fox was sealed within Naruto, it nearly destroyed the village. This fact has caused many of the people in Naruto's village to dislike him.

The series has been compared to Dragon Ball Z, but in most cases Naruto greatly surpasses the aging anime powerhouse. The anime has a huge underground following and just recently debuted on Cartoon Network. D3 and Tomy are taking advantage of the potential fan base Naruto may gain in the US and has grabbed up the publishing rights to the first two GCN titles, as well as the GBA Naruto games.

While the Clash of Ninja series has advanced quite a bit since the original installment, Naruto fans will not be disappointed in the first game. Eight characters from the anime make an appearance, including Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Rock Lee (the best character in the anime), Kakashi, Iruka, Zabuza, and Haku. Each character has a unique move list, as well as a special move that can be used when your chakra bar (super bar) has reached a certain point.

The gameplay mechanics in Naruto: Clash of Ninja are not quite as technical and in-depth as Tekken or Virtua Fighter, but they do allow for a decent amount of strategy. With each new game in the series the gameplay became deeper and deeper, but every series has to start somewhere and the original Clash of Ninja is a solid title in its own right. The game is a basic 3D fighter with the ability to sidestep into the foreground or background and counter your opponent's attacks. At higher levels of play the game becomes heavily based on movement and spacing in order to counter your opponent and dish out some big damage with special attacks.

Being a big Naruto fan (aside from the current filler arc in the series), I've played all four of the Clash of Ninja titles and I have to say, it's somewhat disappointing that the US is only getting the first two for now. With the GameCube on its way out the door, US fans will not get to experience the true depth of this series. Even if Clash of Ninja 3 and 4 make it out sometime late this year or in 2007, it won't have the fan base this series deserves. The Revolution will be backward compatible, but the games will still be dated by the time they're released. Hopefully 8ing will develop a next generation Naruto fighter for D3 and Tomy to pick up, but until then Clash of Ninja will be more than enough to tide over Naruto fans.

If D3 and Tomy had released the latter games in the series, many US Naruto fans would be spoiled by the new characters that don't appear early on in the series. However, at the very least Naruto fans will be able to get their hands on a solid fighting game that only gets better with each new installment in the series. Stay tuned for more on Naruto: Clash of Ninja as we draw closer its March release date.