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An Interesting, and Promising Fighting Game Series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 30, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Firstly I would like to say that I am a long-time fan of the Dragonball Z series, and even though it took me a while, I later became a fan of Naruto, since it has been described by some as "The next Dragonball Z." In the same way, I have also been a fan of the DBZ Budokai/Budokai Tenkaichi video game series, and now I am trying to switch to the Naruto Ultimate Ninja series. My first impression of the game when I bought it was that it was a mix of Street Fighter, and Super Smash Bros. with a hint of DBZ influence. I had assumed that on a console like the Playstation 2 the game would at least be a 3-D fighter, but it is solely a two-dimensional game. It took some getting used to but in the end this feature might be what makes this game unique, so I'm not entirely against it. The biggest shock to me was that the attack button is circle, when in almost every other game out there, the attack button is square. But these are just minor details that overall do not detract from Ultimate Ninja's appeal.

Even though the game is based on the anime, the graphics make the game look like it was based on the manga. As I am a manga fan before I am an anime fan, this feature was a big plus in my book. The secret techniques are the best example of this aspect, because the cel-shading is done even more heavily here. The effect is that the scenes look like they were drawn with ink and paper, rather than simulated by a computer. I was highly pleased with this little bonus.

Now I'll look at the actual gameplay. There are three modes, and a training mode in the game to play through. The first is story mode, which takes you through the story of Naruto, up to slightly past the Chunin Exams. The twist is that you are only able to go through one character's story at a time, a problem they fixed in Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2. In between fights, the cutscenes are simply avatars of the two characters involved in the battle, who talk to each other. I was very disappointed with this, and thought that the producers could have done a much better job. I also didn't like to beat the story mode about ten times, but it didn't take me that long to do so.

The next mode is mission mode, in which you fight in a variety of battles with certain win conditions. These conditions get progressively harder, with every mission you complete, and every rank you progress. The easiest are battles which you have to win within a certain time limit. The harder ones are ones in which you can only use techniques in the air, and maintain a full chakra meter.

Finally the last mode is versus mode. This is my favorite mode, because it is nothing but what a true DBZ fan like me wants: fighting. The controls are fairly straight-forward, circle is attack, x is jump, square is a projectile attack, and triangle initiates a secret technique. Up, or down and x change the plane of fighting, L2, and R2 both block, and R1, and L1 scroll through your choice of projectiles. At the start of the match both players start with one full bar of health, and a full chakra meter. The chakra meter is used for either chakra attacks (every character has two), or secret techniques (each character has three). Secret Techniques are the most fun to play through, because they involve a series of cinematic attacks, and randomized button combinations, which have to be executed precisely within a time limit. The final aspect of the battles which is interesting, and which gives Ultimate Ninja the feel of Super Smash Bros. is the support characters. Every now and then the support character will pop up, and hand out items that you can either throw (projectiles), items that can heal you, or items that can heal your chakra. Most other details of the game are negligible, like the music or the shop (which is much like the Krypt in Mortal Kombat).

With all these good aspects of the game some may be wondering why I gave this game four stars instead of five, well here are the reasons. My two biggest complaints are the lack of characters, and slight inaccuracies in the story mode. The first (the lack of characters) is the most important. In the game there are only twelve distinct characters, and two secret characters, but the story goes up to the Chunin Exam. Too many characters that play a major part in the Exam are left out in Naruto Ultimate Ninja, and this sometimes leads to inaccuracies in the story. Again as a Dragonball Z fan, I may be too used to hundreds of characters in a game (DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 had 150 distinct characters and that still wasn't enough), but there are some key Naruto characters that should be in this game.

This leads to my second complaint which is the inaccuracies in the story. Because of the lack of characters, the story mode was made too short, and too many battles were left out. Also in two cases the second round of the Chunin Exam Finals takes place between Shikamaru, and Sakura. Anyone who has seen or read that match knows that it really took place between Shikamaru, and Temari.

The last minor point that I would like to add is that all of the characters have almost identical fighting styles, and the combinations are almost completely the same. At any rate, the game was still fun, and I can always play more of it. I may not recommend it to people who are not Naruto fans, but for anyone else it is a great game. Dragonball Z fans should also look into Naruto plus the Ultimate Ninja series is just about the only series of solid fighting games based on the show. So if you liked DBZ, and its games for the fighting, then you would also like Naruto, and this game.

not the best game, audio should had been better and part2 is the best

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game was okay but not the best, i have to say ultimate ninga2 and clash of ninga2 are the best naruto games the other naruto games were okay, but this game was okay.

Great game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game for my kids who are 11 and 8 and are huge Naruto fans, and they love it!

Naruto the Ultimate Ninja

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

this game was great!!!!! it had it's bad parts to tough, like there are only 12 people you can play as!! this is form Ep.1-76!!!!!!!! there is a 2 player mode and it is FUN.I am on the com. a lot so i see the futur naruto games. like the 2,3,4, and i think 5th Naruto the Ultimate Ninja.
bye bye!!!!

Great buy for the PS2 platform

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: November 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My brother first introduced me to "Naruto" the show, and I ended up liking it, though I usually try to steer clear of all the Japanese manga things. I played this game, and I really thought it was going to suck, but turns out, it didn't.

*Graphics-- My rating: 3.5/5 stars
The graphics in this game were ok, they could have been better and way more realistic looking. But then, since this game is based off of a cartoon-like show, it seems reasonable that the gameplay scenery should also look like this.

*Voice Acting/Dialogue-- My rating: 5/5 stars
The voice acting in this game is superb, it sounds just like the show. The dialogue, too, seems like it-- you never find yourself confused because that character would never say that. The only thing that bugged me was that there was a lot of the "??!" in dialogue (interpreted by the actors as HUH? or UH!), and it got kind of annoying.

*Fighting Style-- My rating: 5/5 stars
The fighting in this game is great because you can do all kinds of moves and they're not too hard to figure out, like they are in the "Tekken" series. You can also do the moves and specials that you've seen the characters do in the show. Also, there's no blood, so nothing for parents to complain about.

*Overall Gameplay Difficulty-- My rating: 4/5 stars (INTERMEDIATE)
I liked the gameplay in this game. I usually don't play fighting games that often, so I opted for the story modes. These are very easy, and beginners to the fighting genre will like that it is not too challenging so that they can learn the moves at their own speed. But the game is also for people that are experts at this sort of thing: the Mission modes are just like the ones in the show. You start off at Training, D-rank & C-rank missions which are easier; and then you get to B-rank & A-rank, which should definitely pacify lots of competitive gamers because they are HARD!!

Overall Game Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I really enjoyed playing this game, it's a good buy for the PS2.

Awesome

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: November 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Fun game. Once you start playing, you want to keep going and not stop.

Great game, but only for the fans.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a good game that is great for hour on end, but only is you are a fan of the show. Those who don't like the show, I have seen, have no interest in the game what so ever. So if you don't like the show, simply don't buy it! If you do like the show, this game has your name written all over it!

Ok.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: October 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Naruto ultamite ninja is not all that. This particular game had a lot of bugs in it and is lacking the ever so cool rpg mode of its succsesors.
In the end I feel sorry for you people with american ps2s because you will never be able to enjoy naruto to its fullest. I just recently recived my copy of naruto narutamite hero 3 (of as it is called in the US ultamite ninja) and it blows this game out of the water with 58 characters and an awsome rpg mode.

Horrible Dubs: Another Great Game Ruined by Poor Voice Actors

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: October 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been watching the Naruto series for a while now, and i was excited when i found out they finally brought this game to the US.

The graphics are quite impressive, and the gameplay is different from any fighting game, making it loads of fun. There's tons of unlockables so the fun will last you for a while.

The game engine somehow reminds me of Super Smash Brothers, with the assists and items thrown at you, it stays true to the series.

Now as for the audio goes, the music on this game is great. I've never played the original import game, but i'm assuming they kept the original BGM and all the music since it's got that classic Japanese sound mixed with a little rock just like the Naruto anime. However, what really disappointed me was the voices. I was glad that the game came to the US because i like to be able to understand the manuals and menus on my games, but whoever did the dub for this series really messed up. Probably the worst character's voices are Naruto, Jiraya and Kakashi, some of the main characters. Naruto's voice is so annoying i'm thinking of getting rid of this game, his voice sort of resembles its original japanese counterpart, what makes him extremely annoying is the fact that he says "Believe it!" at the end of every damn sentence! even if it doesnt make sense! The game does NOT have the option for Japanese voices, so you're pretty much stuck with the crappy American voice actors.

Overall this game is great, but don't buy it if you're used to the Japanese Anime and you're expecting to re-live the great experience that is the Naruto series with its original voice actors. I'm hoping they'll add the Japanese Voice feature for a Greatest Hits re-release of this game, just like Funimation did for Dragonball Z Budokai 3.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.......

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: August 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

For a fan of fighting games, this one surprised me with a one, two punch....believe it! Considering I've only read one issue of Shonen Jump and the Naruto manga, and not seeing the anime at all; I didn't know much about the series. But, now that I've played this game...you can bet a bowl of ramen that I'm going to get to know this property very well.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja has over 14 characters to choose from(which I, personally, feel is too small a list) and 12 levels to fight upon. The 12 levels themselves play alot like those in Power Stone(ala Sandbox-style)with power-ups given to you along the stage itself by other Naruto characters. One good thing, though, is that the battles last a good while so you'll get your game on there.

While a good bit of the fighting is like any other fighting game, there's a part of the game that makes it totally unique. Let me explain. See, each character has various special techniques they can use while battling. They all require energy that you build while fighting. Each has three power levels. Once executed, the game switches play completely. This makes room for extreme anime-style fight scenes. On the two sides of the screen sit gauges with different button sequences. Hit them in the correct order and the attacker delivers maximum damage. If the victim get his or her button sequences right, then the damage is reduced somewhat. It's an interesting fighting system that makes the game feel different than your ordinary standard fighter and it makes a huge difference as to whether you win or lose. Another thing that sets it apart is its' visual style. Pop the game in your PS2 and play a few rounds & you'll see exactly what I mean.

If what I'm reading in other reviews as well as news on some gaming sites, this isn't the last game Japan has seen of Naruto. If that's so, considering as to how Naruto is beginning to be a hot property here, we'll be seeing more Ultimate Ninja games come soon. I, for one, can't wait. I've had an absolute blast with this game.

I love it, believe it!

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