Had Akatsuki Rising presented players with a more enjoyable, more intuitive combat engine, I might have been able to forgive the fact that we're seeing the same story arc we've seen before. But even with an interesting item system and solid Ad Hoc multiplayer, the unintuitive lock-on system, mixed with an overly simple counter system, make Akatsuki Rising a mediocre game at best.
Sorry Naruto fans -- this is not the hit PSP game you're looking for.