Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
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Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
I hope you’ve brushed up on your button mash-justsu!
If you’re big anime fan than you must already know about Naruto – the story about a spunky ninja in training. Fortunately for you, CyberConnect2 has brought PS3 exclusive based on the wildly popular manga and anime. While there have been other games released based on the Naruto property, this is the first game that has gone fully 3-D.
Get out your Hidden Leaf Village map and brush up on your jutsu because it’s time let out your inner ninja.
Gameplay
The game offers two main modes -- there is a standard versus mode where you can compete against the CPU or an offline friend (sadly, no online.) However, the meat of the game comes from the ultimate mission mode. In this mode, you explore a replica of Naruto’s hometown: Hidden Leaf Village. The village acts as a main hub where you can buy items, collect scrolls (used to unlock abilities and support characters), and obtain missions that progress the story. While the village is large and looks great, it’s sparsely populated which makes the whole area and experience feel very barren. You can scale certain walls and even jump rooftop to rooftop but it all feels very shallow as you are not given much to do. Aside from the few characters that actually do serve a purpose (shopkeepers and mission contacts), the other Hidden Leaf dwellers only offer up one or two lines of dialogue. You’re encouraged to explore the village and find money and scrolls (which you blast down with your shuriken) but even that can get tiresome and boring quickly. The missions you undertake come in on a sliding difficulty scale that allows you to unlock additional characters and jutsu. The mission come basically in three varieties – defeating a fellow ninja while meeting certain battle requirements (finish him with jutsu or have a certain amount of the life bar left), partake in a lame minigame (apparently, the highlight of ninja training is running up a tree while avoiding branches), and epic, God of War- esque boss battles complete with quick time events. The boss battles are truly spectacular as you are fighting characters that are hundreds of feet tall.
The actual game play mechanics are simple and accessible – there’s no need to worry about frames or kara-throwing here. Fights take place on an open plane of some sort (grass field, rocks, etc.) where you have complete 360 movements. A cool thing about this is that some of your battles can even occur while you are standing on a wall ala Spider-Man. The fights really capture the essence of anime – frenetic, over the top, physics-smashing action. The control scheme to make your ballet of violence possible is quite simple: your main attack is delegated to the circle button and mashing it will yield very cool martial arts combos. You have a dash button that allows you to rush your opponent or even teleport right next to them. The dash mechanic is essential in maintaining high paced fights which mirrors the anime perfectly. Finally, the crux of the gameplay lies in your chakra meter. Essentially a super meter, using your chakra during combat allows you to perform each of the characters signature moves. Initiating your signature move triggers a quick time event – hit the proper sequence and your character performs a huge, flashy, cinematic attack. They are so unbelievably smooth and spectacularly choreographed that they look like they were ripped straight from the TV show. Each ultimate attack is a sight to behold and demands multiple viewings.
The gameplay, while accessible, can wear a bit thin after a while. Dash in, mash on circle, and then go for an ultimate attack. You can bring in other characters to perform assist attacks and spice up combos. While each character does have unique attacks, the commands are universal for everyone so everyone essentially feels the same. However, every character has a bevy of items they can use during the battle to spice things up (bombs, healing items, etc.) and there are unique items for the characters as well. This adds a bit more to the fighting but doesn’t ultimately address the lack of depth in the combat. The open, 3-D nature of the battlefield is both a blessing and a curse. You can roam anywhere which gives you a nice sense of freedom but since the meat of the combat is close-quarters, the wide open spaces can sometimes hurt the pacing of the fight. Also, while the camera is generally very solid in keeping the action locked in, it can get lost a bit once the action really starts to pick up.
Graphics & Sounds
The game is gorgeous. If you ever wanted to actually play an anime, Ultimate Ninja Storm makes that fantasy a reality. Gorgeously cell-shaded graphics, extremely fluid animation, and a bright, rich color palette. In previous interviews, CyberConnect2 claimed that they wanted to blur the line between the anime and the game. They have done so in a spectacular fashion. The combat is a sight to behold as every character runs, flips, and attacks very fluidly. Once the ultimate attack cut scene triggers, I defy anyone to not mistake it for the anime. It’s quite the treat to feel like you’re controlling an actual anime. Even the Hidden Leaf Village, for all of its desolation, is a nice piece of eye candy.
The audio is on par with the graphics and captures spirit of the series nicely. All of the voice actors from the anime reprise their roles in the game and the voice over work is really top notch. The yelling of the names of the special attacks, grunts, and screams sound like they were ripped straight from the show so the immersion factor is very high. While the game itself is over the top, the delivery is believable and never feels too cheesy or over dramatic. Some voice work during your exploration of the village would have helped in making the village seem less like a ghost town and the music, while decent, is hardly memorable.
Value
While the mission modes thankfully add some depth to the game, the game still feels shallow given its limited fighting mechanics and low mission variety. However, you do get a hundred missions to complete as well as additional downloadable missions that were recently released. Also on the downloadable front there is the addition of new assist characters. While there is a lot to unlock (characters, jutsu, etc.), it can all get repetitive after awhile. The giant boss battles are arguably the best feature in the game but they are few and far between.
Conclusion
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm is a classic case of style over substance. The game boasts incredible graphics and there is an attention to detail that would make any Naruto fan throw their shuriken’s up in joy. However, the thin combat system truly limits what this pretty package can do. Some more mission variety and a deeper combat system would have made this a more robust experience. It feels as though the game is straddling a line and can’t commit to what it really wanted to do – adventure game or over the top fighting game. Hopefully, some downloadable content in the future will add some much needed layers to the game. Ultimate Ninja Storm is a fun game and a textbook example of how to capture the essence of an anime. Ultimately though, it leaves you wanting a bit more.
Pros
+ Beautiful graphics and animation
+ Battles capture the frenetic and stylish combat of the series -- especially the ultimate jutsu attacks
+ Great voice acting by anime cast
+ Simple and accessible combat
+ Huge roster of characters
Cons
- Shallow combat system
- Missions need more variety
- Hidden Leaf Village is desolate and bare
Final Verdict
Here's a small guide to help you understand our evaluation of games.
PRESENTATION GRADE
Can be from the game's box to the contents of the booklet, and even the game introduction. (Intro, menus, options, etc)
GRAPHIC GRADE
Up to what point the graphics have been worked on my the developper. The design type, the effort used for textures and environments, as well as animations and framerate.
AUDIO GRADE
Is the soundtrack a good match to the game's style, he ambient sounds keeping with the gameplay and the sound effects clear and convincing?
GAMEPLAY GRADE
Placement of the controls and the inferface that the player with be using during the game.
REPLAY VALUE GRADE
The most important factor in the evaluation of a game. It identifies the lifespan of the game and the fun of coming back again and again.
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