Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3

"An awesome anime-based fighting game"

Like most new game titles being released we see another famous Japanese anime/manga by the name of Naruto hit the gaming industry, having its own little series of games.

This particular game, Naruto: Narutimate Hero 3, is perhaps the best of the series thus far. Following in this review I will explain why from my perspective, but first a bit of background.

Naruto is a young man growing up in the ninja arts of his village, but he is special. His body contains the spirit of the Nine Tailed Fox that was sealed away by the Fourth Hokage. Naruto is secretly a hero for this duty but society shuns him for his immature behavior and practical jokes. Very few understand the daily torment he endures of being an orphan with few actual friends so he responds by constantly drawing attention.

Graphics: 9/10
The now popular cell shading is back! In this game cell shading gives us players the feel of still reading the manga or watching the anime while playing the game. Everybody likes that old-school feel right?

The characters themselves are very well drawn to depict their anime/manga counterparts that fans have become accustomed to. In the game in different areas any knowledgeable fan would recognize scenes and decoration taken straight from the anime/manga. All the backgrounds are very well detailed in 3D and add the all around texture and flavor to the game.

Music/Sounds: 7.5/10
The music for the fights are superb but strangely enough the introduction musical sequence isn't all that great. This is probably something any fan would recognize immediately, but this game doesn't use the official Naruto opening theme, unlike the first two games.

The best saver for the sounds ratings would be the steel clashes of shuriken and kunai, the sound effects of two opposing jutsu techniques meeting, explosions, and the wonderful bird chirps and buzzes of one very famous jutsu.

A slight downfall of the game would be the sounds of female screams. It almost sounds like they're being murdered instead of smacked around.

A big downfall would be Kakashi's voiceover. Traditionally he is cool, calm and very assertive with his tone. In this game it seems like the voice actor was either not qualified, not familiar with the character, or just didn't care to give the fans what they expect.

Control: 10/10
Of any fighting game I've ever played this system has to have the best and easiest control system to learn and figure out. Quite literally it's so easy my nine year old cousin can play effectively. Circle attacks, square throws shuriken, X jumps....kinda easy eh?

In actual combat movement is very smooth and fluid-like in all aspects, reflecting on the wonderful fighting system from the previous game. Having the ability to execute smooth and relatively easy wall combinations gives this game a huge advantage over most others in the genre.

Gameplay: 10/10
Utilizing the fighting engine from Naruto: Narutimate Hero 2 gives this game the biggest advantage of all. It uses two 2D fighting planes that give strategies to any player from using wall combinations and environmental hazards such as water and cliffs.

Unlike the previous games, the chakra guage is slower to replenish. However any good gamer would look at this as a challenge, a way to test your conversation skills in a heated battle.

A big change in the series would fall with the Ougis, or specials as most know them. Now players have only one special per match and sequence input is back! Should two players use opposing Ougis, each must punch in as many correct buttons as possible to win the standoff during the animation cut-scenes. The winner of the sequence will either deliver mega damage or cancel out the attack.

Similar to the Budokai series, when two opposing jutsu meet there is a time where they will hold each other off, giving another button mashing fest for the players. The winner will have his/her attack go through!

Overall: 10/10
This is without a doubt the best anime fighting game ever created. It keeps with the series of the previous games while introducing cool new visuals and sounds. Definitely worth buying!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/06