If you grew up watching Naruto and wished you could throw hands as one of the Konoha ninja, this GBA game actually lets you do it—sort of. You pick from a roster of familiar faces (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, etc.), and the battles play out like a mix of turn-based strategy and rock-paper-scissors with ninja moves. Fireball jutsu beats taijutsu, which dodges kunai throws, that kind of thing.

The sprites are chunky but full of personality, especially when someone pulls off a special move—Naruto’s Rasengan looks like someone smeared a blue tornado across the screen. Missions start simple (beat up bandits, escort some rando), but later fights force you to actually think about positioning and which jutsu to burn at the right moment. Just don’t expect deep storytelling—it’s mostly an excuse to pit ninjas against each other.

It’s not perfect (the AI sometimes just stands there), but if you ever wanted to argue with friends about whether Gaara could take on Rock Lee, this game settles that debate. You’ll probably blast through it in a weekend.