Naruto Ultimate Ninja Review
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja ReviewGenre: Anime Fighter
Developer: Cyber Connect 2
System I Played On: Playstation 2
Year: 2005
YO! I’ve reviewed Naruto Clash of Ninja 1 and 2 on the Gamecube, but what about the PS2? Well we’re going to review we’re the ultimate ninja series began. YO! First I’d like to get the bad out of the way, like the fact when navigating through menus you’ll hear a random YO! whenever your doing normal things. Then when your moving quickly it’s like a Japanese man is trying to rap by constantly repeating the word yo. Also this may be a bad thing to some, but there is only about fourteen characters in the game. It goes to the fight with Gaara, so of course they couldn’t cram many characters, but some might say fourteen isn’t much. Well for me I thought like they were trying to get a good amount of characters in, and succeeded, and I really don’t have a problem with the roster as long as the sequel makes an improvement. Also on the underside the combat which I’ll get to in a minute is a little stale and I actually prefer the Clash Of Ninja fighting even though it feels like your doing more in the ultimate ninja game. Anyway there is however a lot of good to this game. First is the in game collection and shop. Like the clash of ninja games there’s a store, but rather than buying your characters you’ll be trying to save money in order to buy not hundreds, but thousands of different collectibles that can be later viewed. At first it seems intimidating, but later as your getting thousands of ryo at a time you see it might not be impossible. I didn’t get far because I didn’t do all the missions, but I had at a small little collection going, and I had to say I’m tempted to keep going, but since I know Ultimate Ninja 2 also has a in game collection I think I’ll pass. Just know it’s addicting, and possibly one of the biggest and greatest in game collections I’ll ever see. Second the two game modes. First the story. Each character minus Nine-Tailed Naruto and Cursed Mark Sasuke have their own saga, and each saga has about six matches, so there’s a good amount of time on story. The little clips at the end make it worth it, and the little sections between are bearable. The second mode is the missions. You win matches with vague and strange tasks, and get large amounts of money and experience for each, and if you complete enough you move to the next ninja rank (Genin, Chunin, etc.) When you hit the higher ranks you get more missions. I think I made it to right before Chunin level, but there’s plenty to keep you playing much longer than I was. The modes in the end keep you going for long, and even though I’d have liked maybe one more, it still feels fulfilling and rewarding. Next is the combat. In ultimate ninja it looks more straight from the manga than the anime. Characters almost look more drawn than in 3D, and before and after matches or when you switch arenas in mid battle it shows them in manga form like their popping from the manga itself. I thought that was a nice touch. The actual fighting is okay, it’s nothing special, and it gets the job done. I did enjoy the supers, and that each character had plenty of moves. It got intense at times, and in the end it was all right. I like that other characters can help, but sometimes it looked like they were trying shove as many things as possible onto the screen, and hearing and seeing that many things on the screen was annoying and less focused on the fight. But the items your partners can throw you, or you simply find in the environment was a nice touch. Anime fighters and games like Smash Bros. need to add those kind of things to keep the quirky combat along while also adding strategy. Also the roster is important. Of course there is the obvious always returning characters like Naruto, Sasuke, etc. There is some of the other usual ones like Neji and Hinata, but there aren’t many special characters. It’s very limited, but in the end I can’t hate it. They decided to make Nine Tailed Naruto and Curse Mark Sasuke, and in the end I felt that wasn’t at all necessary. Why these older Naruto games insist on this I don’t know, and I didn’t even use them to be honest because I felt no urge to get them. I’d rather do the missions for the sake of doing them rather than to get improved versions of characters I already have. It’s not a big deal, but just saying that doesn’t add to the roster at all. For the time of the game’s release the roster wasn’t bad, but just one or two extra characters really could have made the difference. In the end is this better than Naruto Clash of Ninja 1 and 2? Yes, I like a hell of a lot more than Clash 1, and just a little more than Clash 2, and I can easily see why this is looks to be the better Naruto game series. It’s a good game, and a low 7 for me. I had fun with it, and it’s by no means a bad Naruto game. It was the start of a big series, and a good anime fighter. I say anyone who likes Naruto and won’t mind a older Naruto game should at least rent it, and if you’re a game collector who likes the Naruto games than definitely buy it, because you can get it dirt cheap. Anyway good game, hopefully the second one will also be likable.
Naruto Ultimate Ninja gets a 3/5
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