Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 Genre: 3D Fighting ESRB Rating: Teen Developer: CyberConnect2 Publisher: Namco Bandai
"Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3" is definitely designed to cater to Naruto fans, offering vivid recreations of the Naruto universe and its characters. But it also has a fun combat system and ultimately turns out to be a solid fighting game. Fans of the series will be able to enjoy surprisingly entertaining, if short, single-player modes.
"Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3" plays like a typical fighting game in all aspects. Players can choose from more than 40 characters and fight on more than 20 diverse battlefields. The fights themselves are extremely enjoyable. Combat is smooth, combos have a variety of effects and characters all have distinct fighting styles. Furthermore, special techniques and summons allow your characters to perform attacks that are amazing to witness. The graphics render in glistening high-definition quality. The music playing during the fights, however, is fairly average.
The single-player modes in "Ultimate Ninja 3" are deeper than those in the previous games. The single-player mode "Ultimate Contest" thrusts the player, as Naruto, into the Hidden Leaf Village, where players must fight out a large tournament. The game mode is free roaming and players are able to wander about, jumping on rooftops and breaking pots to collect money. It's a much more satisfying environment, even if the town is sparsely populated by computer-controlled characters. "Ultimate Ninja 3" also features mini-games, which provide entertainment for a short time, as well as the ability to take other characters out on dates.
Fans of the series will also enjoy a much deeper story mode than the first two games. Called "Hero's History," the story mode takes players through the entirety of the first TV season of Naruto, recreated through impressive voice acting. Voices genuinely sound suited for their characters. As a surprising bonus, the Japanese voice-overs are also available for those who prefer them.
"Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3" feels like its earlier incarnations, but has noticeable refinements. The game has a relatively short learning curve, and the controls are very user-friendly. There's a single attack button, which sounds overly simplistic, but it means players do not have to memorize 15-button-combos and ultimately makes the game more appealing for casual gamers.
There's an endearing charm to watching the characters perform various superhuman feats during their ultimate technique of a particular character can be selected in between battles, and it allows for surprising customization. Some of the transformations characters undergo after techniques are overpowered, but these can be avoided by simply disabling the techniques.
Despite the improved single-player modes, they're both indecently short. Ultimate Contest and Hero's History will take around seven hours to complete. With such short single-player modes the game loses some of appeal for people interested in purely the fighting aspects of the game, even if fighting fans will still enjoy beating each other senseless in standard battles. The single-player modes are a little too easy, too.
This is still easily the best of the "Ultimate Ninja" games. The single-player modes are fun despite their short lengths, and combat remains as endearing as it has been thus far. This is certainly a game for Naruto fans, but fighter fans can enjoy it too.
