Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 – Review
Naruto is back in this third game of the ultimate ninja storm games. For you guys that have no clue who in the world Naruto is, I guess there will not be too many of you, shame on you. Just kidding, Naruto is a ninja that got picked on a lot when he was young. But in ninja school he finally made some friends, but as one of his friends, Sasuke, was on a revengeful mission to kill his brother, left the village to train with one of the Hidden Leaf Village most feared enemy. Now Naruto’s mission is to get Sasuke back and while doing that restore peace to the world.
Story:
After the 2 previous ultimate ninja storm games, the story picks up after defeating Pain, who was Akatsuki and wanted to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. The previous game ends with the fight between Naruto and Toby, also known as Madara Uchiha the leader of the Akatsuki.
The game follows the story of the manga/anime, which is delightful for the hardcore fans, of course without the fillers parts of the anime. Sometimes the storytelling is a bit out of order but you’ll get the picture. We finally get to know more about Naruto’s parents, and how he became the Jinchuriki.
Graphics:
The graphics of this game are exactly what you can expect of an anime game. It’s like you are watching the series in HD, even while playing. Everything runs really smooth, there were no frame drops at any point in the game. There is almost no difference in the quality of the graphics between playing and watching a clip, this makes the transition between those two almost invisible.
I can go on and on about the graphics, but I will end by saying the game really delivered on the graphics, just like its predecessors.
Sound:
Everyone that knows Naruto and who watches the anime, knows that the typical music of Naruto is unrivaled in its kind. Again for this game this statement is true. Together with the music the game also contains the Japanese and English voices of the cast that dubs the anime series. The use of the original voices always give that something extra to a game.
One point I did not like is, but you see this with a lot of games, is that when talking to some characters in the game the conversation is just text on the screen. I would’ve liked to see a game that has audio conversation with every character. But perhaps this makes the game more expensive to produce.
Gameplay:
You start the game by playing as the fourth Hokage trying to protect the destruction of the Hidden Leaf Village by the nine tailed fox 16 years ago. This is the tutorial chapter, which explains the combat system, special events, the choice between hero and legend etc. After this chapter there are 10 chapters for you to play through. Each chapter tells you a part of the story while you run from place to place and fight the bosses. You don’t always play as Naruto, you also have to fight other people their battles. Naruto is a great ninja, but of course he can’t participate in every battle.
During a fight it’s possible to make a choice between Legend and Hero. Legend makes the fight harder, as Hero is a bit easier. If you choose Legend you’ll earn Legend Points and if you choose Hero, naturally you’ll get Hero Points. The idea behind this is that you have 2 palettes, a Legend and a Hero palette. A palette has 4 slots you can equip with tools, so you can use them in battle. So with Legend Points you level your Legend Palette and with Hero Points, well you get the picture by now. The difference between these palettes is the kind of items they can hold. The higher your palette level, the higher level tools you can equip.
Some fights will have a secret factor, which gets activated in towards the end of the battle. When it activates, you’ll have to complete some quick time events as fast as possible to earn stars. If all the stars at the top of the screen are filled, you’ve unlocked the secret factor and you can watch an extra clip.
All the above is featured in the Ultimate Adventure mode of the game, which is just another fancy word for Story mode. Next to this mode there are 2 other modes, the Online battle and the free battle mode.
In Online Battle you have the option to choose between Player Match and Ranked Match. They are basically the same except for the part that you’ll play Player Matches for fun and Ranked Matches to get higher up in the ranks, by earning BP.
In Free Battle you’ll be able to choose between VS Battle, Tournament and Practice.
VS Battle doesn’t really need explaining, it’s just the common basic fight between two players. This VS Battle has 3 options available, the player vs computer, player 1 vs player 2 and I found the last one a nice addition, computer vs computer. So you can relax and watch a fight between two characters of your choosing.
In Tournament you can play a 4 to 8 player tournament with your friends. Here also are 3 options available, Free tournament where you can choose whichever players you like to battle in a tournament. Perpetual Change Tournament, this is a tournament where special conditions are attached. Last but not least, the Challenge Tournament, here you’ll battle in tournaments of varying difficulty levels.
There is also a Practice mode, where you can try out your different combo’s to improve your skills. Also here are two options available, Team Match and Single Match.
So in terms of gameplay, this game really offers you enough to keep you busy for a while. You won’t regret putting in a lot of hours in the Online Battle mode.
Conclusion:
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 was another great addition to the Storm series. After Generations which was a little bit of a disappointment, they pulled their act together and created another Naruto game worthy of its name. I can’t wait for the next game in this series as over the past few year I have become a really great fan. This time it could take a while, because storywise the game now is as far as the anime series. If you’ve never played one of these games before it’s the perfect time to try them out. Who knows, they might even inspire you to watch the series.
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 - Review,
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Haven’t bought yet, but definily will buy…with 1 reason: I quit the mange + anime around begin of shinpuden. I’m using the game to follow the story XD
succeed in the 2nd game 😀