The characters in the Clash of Ninja series are directly based upon characters taken from the Naruto anime. Each game introduces a new set of characters, with their appearance and abilities derived directly from the source material. As Naruto Shippūden: Gekito Ninja Taisen! EX and its sequels take place during Naruto: Shippūden, the characters' appearance is significantly different. As such, many characters before Shippūden differ drastically from their older counterparts.
