Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3

"Simply amazing, even if you don't like Naruto."

Naruto; Narutimate Hero 3 is the third game in the "Narutimate Hero" series of Naruto games on the PS2 (otherwise known as "Ultimate Ninja" in America). It's a fighting game with a whopping 42 characters. This game is essentially a Naruto fan's dream come true. Not only for all the fan service and references to the anime/manga, but for the actual gameplay itself. In fact, you don't even have to be a Naruto fan to enjoy the game. It definitely helps a lot, but it's far from necessary.

I really can't tell you much about the story modes in the game, as the game is in Japanese, and I can't read or otherwise understand it. The main story presumably follows the story of the series, albeit leaving a lot out. There is also an RPG mode, where it seems that you (Naruto) are trying to collect as many of these crystal-thingies as you can in order to win a competition. While maybe it's not the most amazing of stories, it wouldn't be fair to grade the game based on what little of it I understand.

The game sounds as it should. The music is decent, though not at the same quality and not as memorable as the anime's. The sound effects are what they need to be. I can't tell how good the voices are, since I have not seen the Japanese anime, but they sound good. There is little to complain about in this regard.

The graphics in this game are superb. While they won't necessarily earn any awards, they do look rather beautiful. The scenery is very nice. While most of the levels in this game are recycled from the past games, they look significantly better than they did in their original game. The cel-shaded characters also look very nice.

Now onto the actual gameplay, which is where the game truly shines. The fights are 1 on 1, place on two fighting planes, which can be switched between during the fights. The controls are simple enough. Square throws weapons, x jumps, circle does all of your major attacks, and triangle activates your ougi (special attack). Despite these overly simplistic controls, there are a lot of things you can do with these. There are many different combos you can perform depend on what direction you are holding as you attack. You also have a few jutsus that you can perform without any trouble. Even the ‘advanced' techniques aren't too hard to figure out with a little practice.

But there is a lot to keep in mind while fighting. You've got to keep your chakra up during the fight, or else you'll risk getting pummeled without a way out. It is possible to “kawarimi” (aka; substitution jutsu) out of combos and turn the tables on your opponent. It's very easy to turn the tide in battle using the right tactics, which makes fights rather unpredictable and more importantly, fun.

As I said before, there are a total of 42 characters in the game, or 52 if you count transformations. Amazingly, every single character plays differently from one another. This leaves for a lot of possible play styles for both you and your opponent.

In addition to just the vs. mode, there is the story mode and RPG mode. Story mode is rather simple, but allows new players to ease into the game. RPG mode is where you'll be spending a majority of your time at first Even after finishing RPG mode's story, there is a lot to do. There are jutsus and ougis what you must unlock through this mode, usually via dating, as well as an abundance of missions ranging in difficulty. While the story of both story mode and RPG mode together take less than 5 hours to complete, if that, it can take upwards of 20-30 hours to finally unlock and do everything from RPG mode.

All in all, the game is nothing short of amazing. It's hard to come up with a complaint about this game; it's just that good. You don't need to be a huge Naruto fan to appreciate the gameplay found within. But if you are a Naruto fan, you'll enjoy the game so much more. The game may be Japanese, the game may be 65 bucks, even before the costs of the hardware necessarily to play Japanese games on an American PS2, but it is worth it. If you are a fan or Naruto and are capable of getting this game, you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. If you aren't a Naruto fan, but have the money and capabilities to pick the game, you should get the game. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/06