Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3

"A game based off an anime that's fun? Been done before, but man is this awesome!"

Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3, is actually worth my very first review. This game blew my pants off. Running up walls, throwing weapons, dashing through weapons, charging up attacks, sweet combos, no two characters are the same, Grand Theft Auto-style free-roaming, collectables, secret unlockables, missions, great music and gameplay, attack swapping, going on dates, funniness, status changing, RPG type levelling up, this game has it all!

Gameplay:
This is a fighting game. Each stage has a foreground and background to fight on with the push of your jump button (this game has custom controls) and the direction your headed. With each of the 40+ characters, there are one attack button, but each character has different combos to use and two ninjustu attacks. Ninjustu are strong attacks that are different for each character, but in time you can swap ninjustu,ex: giving one character anothers power. Each character also has multiple special attacks, some are just a stronger version of a previous attack. Other special attacks can tranform you into a stronger character or power you up.DID I MENTION YOU CAN WALK UP WALLS? The fighting is fun, there are multiplayer modes of fighting and simple, but fun minigames. I give gameplay 5/5.

Length:
The reason I put length second is because it surprised me. As of today I'm still playing after 35+ hours and I'm not done. There are three story modes. Ultimate Contest mode is an Action RPG mode where you go around a free-roaming Leaf Village to defeat enemies and gather crystals to win a contest. The best part of the game comes from the fact that after you finish Ultimate Contest's story mode you get a free-roaming mode is added to unlock new attacks which is really fun, and you get to see the characters interact in a whole new light. Here you can take people out on dates, not romantically as you can eat a meal with a dude too. A lot of stuff in this mode can be easily skipped, as I started missions in this mode by accident. *Spoiler* A hint is, if you haven't seen Naruto accidently go in the girls hot-tub, your just getting started. *End spoiler*Also many missions can be done at your own pace too of various difficulties and requirements to win (ex. defeating the enemy by throwing them.) The other mode is the History Mode, where you play events right off the show. Beware some things are skipped so don't expect too much. I give it a 5/5 because it also has tons of collectables.

Graphics: 5/5, two words: living comic-book.

Sound: The sound's great it really fits the game's "ninja" theme. I really like the song that plays after finishing a fight when your stats come up.5/5

Final Words: Get this game if your a fan of Naruto, I mean your wasting time reading the reviews of it. If your not a fan, wait until it's cheaper.. $39.99 is a lot of money. I give this game a 5/5 or 9.5/10, it blew my pants off.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/09

Game Release: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 (US, 03/25/08)