Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 is moderately likable, a game that never gets off the ground as far as complexity goes, but still serves a purpose, especially to fans of the hit anime show. However, it's not as filling as you might expect, and leaves you hungry for more.

The main problem here is that the gameplay, for the most part, is the same. You're still dishing out counter-attacks, main combo strikes and other moves on a 2.5-D level, smacking around a human or computer opponent while powering up specific attacks. That's not to say it doesn't work, but for a third go-around in a series, you would think that CyberConnect 2 would have something more mind-blowing. It does have one interesting twist, though, and that's with Summoning. With this neat little addition, you're able to grow in size or call upon a giant creature to do some damage for you.

Just another day in Hidden Leaf.

Ultimate Ninja 3 has a few modes, including Vs. Duel (where you can fight against a friend with over 40 characters), Iruka's Training (where you can test out your fighting techniques before heading into battle) and Tanzaku Market (where you can purchase fan-oriented goodies, such as figures and videos).

In addition, Ultimate Contest is a new single-player mode where you duke it out with many combatants in Hidden Leaf Village, obtaining crystals from them and finding missions by free roaming around the town. It's not bad, but the town is barren when it comes to interacting with actual non-physical inhabitants. At least you can break pots to find some valuable Ryo and throw shurikens whenever you feel like it.

Hero's History is bound to be a favorite amongst Naruto fans. In it, you choose from four various Naruto story arcs and play each one out, reliving a number of misadventures from a certain point of view. There's a little more personality in this mode than in Ultimate Contest, although casual players probably won't understand what's going on. The coolest aspect comes from watching your character get stronger and stronger after the course of each battle, although their fighting techniques never give any indication they're improving.

Finally, there's the Break Room, where you can cut loose playing three mini-games. They're mostly button-mashing exercises in futility, such as the Tenten's Target Practice game where you hit targets before opponents do by pressing buttons in the right order. Nice Guy's Exercises fares a little bit better, if only because it actually makes yoga feel like work. Tree Climbing's fun, too, but just for a little while.

As far as presentation goes, Ultimate Ninja 3 doesn't stretch past the first two games. The backdrops still look good, and the character animations are faithful to the anime franchise. However, there's no real extension of the series, outside of the additional characters and the smaller corners of Hidden Leaf Village. The English voiceovers are still somewhat grating, but kudos go out to CyberConnect 2 for also including the Japanese voice cast. It's great hearing Naruto and company speak like real warriors and not like school kids taunting each other on the playground.

One real complaint that can't be overlooked is the lack of depth in multiplayer. Yes, you can challenge a buddy to a fight or a mini-game battle. However, why isn't there any online play? Furthermore, why can't we get a good old-fashioned four-player romp going? Oh well, we can only hope the best for Ultimate Ninja 4. And, yes, it's probably coming.

In all, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 doesn't evolve the ongoing fighting series that much, but it serves its purpose, and its fans, enough to give it a mild recommendation.

Related Links

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 Game Guide

Bandai Namco Games

Our Final ScoreOK

What did you think of this game? Post Your Own Review