Oasis Games announces the western release of Chinese MMORPG Naruto Online, based on the anime and manga series, which will be available for PC on July 24th.

It's been out for three years in China, but now the anime MMORPG Naruto Online is making its way to PC in western territories as well. And luckily for western Naruto fans, publisher Oasis Games isn't making them wait much longer, as Naruto Online is scheduled to launch outside of China on Sunday, July 24th.

Like many other anime games, Naruto Online will follow the source material closely. The game's storyline will take players through all major Naruto story arcs, with voice actors from the anime returning to reprise their roles. Some of the most recognizable locations from the anime will also be on hand for fans to explore to their heart's content, though they will be doing so as completely new characters, as opposed to ones that fans will remember.

Five new characters will be available to choose from, each with a different fighting style. Naruto Online's combat system will be a departure from the Ultimate Ninja games in that it will be turn-based instead of a fighting game. The turn-based combat allows for a party system like the one found in many older RPGs, and so players will be able to recruit popular characters to their team, such as Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and more.

Players will be able to take their parties into both single-player and multiplayer dungeons. Besides going through dungeons together, another way players will be able to play together in Naruto Online is in shared boss battles, which will require players to work together to defeat them for special rewards.

For the most part, Naruto Online seems like a standard MMORPG in terms of features, but its turn-based combat system and art style may not appeal to all MMORPG players. Instead of 3D character models and locations, the game mostly employs a 2D art style that resembles the look of the anime. This scaled back approach may keep Naruto Online from reaching its full potential when it releases later this month.

However, if enough gamers show interest in Naruto Online, maybe Oasis Games and Naruto license holder Bandai Namco will be convinced to pursue other online-centric games in the franchise. Perhaps a Naruto online game in the vein of the Dragon Ball Xenoverse games could eventually be in the cards, or even a full-fledged Naruto MMORPG with a bigger budget. In the meantime, fans will have to see if Naruto Online is up their alley come July 24th.

Naruto Online will be available on July 24th for PC.

Source: Naruto Online