PS3 Review: PS3 Review: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm

I suppose it reveals a certain jaded cynicism about TV-to-game transitions, but I’m really impressed at how much fun Naruto: Ultimate Ninja: Storm is, despite its extensive use of colons in the title. Featuring all the voice actors from the original Japanese anime and an art style that looks like it was straight from the TV show, this fighter is a must have for any Naruto fan.

Naruto: Storm is, at its core, a fighting game. The basic combat mode pits teams of three against each other, with a main character that actually fights and two support characters that can be called in for a quick backup attack when you’re in a pinch. It’s based on the traditional combat styles featured in Naruto, with a build-up of standard melee attacks, chakra charging, and unleashing of powerful techniques. It also features the ultimate powers from the series: for example, Naruto can unleash the power of the nine-tailed demon fox and become surrounded by the blood-red demon cloak (three tail stage, if you’re keeping count).

Unlike “hadcore” fighting games like the Soul Calibur series, Naruto: Storm features a simplified fighting system where you pretty much just use one button to attack and use the other buttons to determine which attack you are trying to use. For example, the attack button does a different move based on how many levels of chakra you are currently focusing, or based on which direction you are holding the movement stick. Although it may seem simple – and makes the game accessible to button mashers – the actual number of different combos that can be executed and the strategy involved in knowing when to charge up your chakra does give the game plenty of depth. Not to mention, the ultimate attacks are just awesome.

The game is set at the end of the original Naruto series (EG: what transpires prior to Shippuuden). The game features an adventure story mode, where you play as Naruto through most of the series. Although it starts with the assembly of team 7, the story skips over most of the early events (including the water country arc) leading up to the Chounin exam. The game focuses on the events from the exam to the epic battle between Naruto and Sasuke at the waterfall. The roster of fighters includes Kimimaro and two of the Akatsuki, Itachi and Kisame; however, the Sound Four are present only as bonus support characters rather than playable fighters.

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Adventure mode is a bit of a mixed bag. In addition to actual fights, there are a lot of side challenges, including chasing Konohamaru around town in a game of hide-and-seek, some training missions involving a simple race mechanic as you go up a tree or leaping through the woods, and other gather-the-goodies missions as you run around town. Sadly, I felt a lot of the extra content in adventure mode bogged down the game; I just wanted to get to the action! But you have to play through the adventure portion of the game to unlock all the fighters and their special moves in the free-fight mode.

Although I think the adventure mode could have been significantly improved, the fighting action and graphics, not to mention the authentic sounds and voices, make for a very compelling Naruto experience. Furthermore, all the advanced techniques that fans enjoy from the series are here in the game, at your disposal, which is pretty much as awesome as it gets. The large battlefields also give you plenty of room to execute some of the larger, more exotic attacks. And with a cast of 25 playable fighters and ten bonus support characters, there should be more than enough variety to keep people interested for a long time.

Score: 8.8/10

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