Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 3

"The third installment to the GNT series, does it rack up to its predecessors?"

Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3 is the third installment to the Gamecube fighting series, and it is easily the best of the three. Now, some people weren't happy with the inclusion of three lesser characters rather than their three heavy hitters. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I will not lower the game's score because of this, that would be very unprofesional. I mean, c'mon, who lowers a score for what it doesn't have, rather than review what it does? Well, I'm reviewing this game and not bashing it for what it doesn't have, and what it does have is pretty damn good.

GAMEPLAY 9/10
This fighter comes packaged with a simple yet elaborate combo system. By merely pressing the A or B button in several combinations, combos are initiated, but there are far more combos that are not listed in the move list, and these are usually the complex ones. There are a total of 29 characters in the game, and all but two have their own move set, giving the game a whopping 28 unique playable characters. Each character has at least two supers (Except 2 joke characters), and every super cuts into a short cinematic which enters and exits the gameplay seamlessly and smoothly. The game features a four player mode which is in short, chaotic, and has several one player modes. The game also features an updated team battle mode where characters can perform team supers and take out a great amount of health. Overall, the game has great gameplay though it is not quite perfect, but it is still satisfying.

SOUND 8/10
Although this game has no music from the actual anime series, it has very well done music, and I must say that not all video games have this. The game features great and catchy tunes for level music, and every character has an assortment of sayings, all done to accurately fit in the the character's anime counterpart, and the game does it nicely. I've docked two points in this because some levels have some overall average music, and the music doesn't really express the fast paced action going on in the fighting. With that said, most of these tracks are quite enjoyable.

GRAPHICS 9/10
The characters have been rendered in beautiful cel shading and the move and attack smoothly. The stages too, are beautiful and are something to look at if you are not in on the action, the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second with very little to no slowdown caused only in the 4 player mode and only if certain characters are used. Everything in this game has great animation to back it up and every stage has a mood from bright and vibrant to dark and gloomy. The only problem is that some of the extra characters in the background are not given as much detail as they should have gotten.

REPLAYABILITY 7/10 to 10/10
For single player, there really isn't muh to come back for besides unlocking all the characters and extras, and maybe perfecting your fighting style. For multiplayer however, this is a party game that rivals SSBM, with 4 player free for all, team battles, and handicap matches, and 2 player survival and arcade mode, this is one of the Gamecube's best multiplayer games out there and just begs to be played over and over again.

OVERALL 8/10
I give this game an 8 out of 10 for the people who play single player more than multiplayer, and since that's a majority of gamers, this game gets and 8. However, if you have a sibling or neighbor who likes to play this game, it is easily a 9 out of 10.

CLOSING COMMENTS
This game is great for fans of the anime and to newcomers, and it presents something for everyone, whether it's simple and addicting gameplay or a crazy four player mode, Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3 is not a game to pass up. This game offers everything a fighting game needs, and then some. Well done Tomy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/04