Bag of Games

It’s been a while since the title Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm was released and PS3 got it’s first Naruto themed game. Now when Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 has been announced for Xbox 360 and PS3, it is time to say few words about the first game. You can probably find the game already with astonishly low prices since the game has somewhat been “forgotten”.

If somebody doesn’t know, Naruto is the #1 best-selling manga across Europe, with the hit anime TV series currently broadcast worldwide to massive audiences and from the year 2003 NAMCO BANDAI Games has been the leading company selling video games based on the series. The game Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm was developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai. I’ve played through the mission story arc, took a spin around Hidden Leaf, done majority of the side missions and spent hours by fighting with every character already, so I believe I can say a word or two about the game.

The graphics are very good, the cel-shading works like a charm comparing almost to the anime itself occasionally. Animations are smooth, camera angles are correct and special moves are.. well.. awesome. Seeing those moves actually makes you want to try every character within the game and with 25 characters to go, it will take a moment or two. While the graphics are good, the simple fighting system supports it. I’ve played games like Tekken and Soul Calibur a lot, so first I thought that simple system would be dull, but it is not. One button for each action really works and simple combinations make it quite enjoyable, especially in the epic boss fights where you fight against the few giant bosses in the game.

Not everything within the game are alright unfortunately. The loading times are long and even with the 4gb mandatory install doesn’t make it any better. You’re still stuck with 10-20 second loading times between the scenes. Another thing is the repeatetive mini-games which at first are entertaining, but you’ll soon grow quite bored with them. I would like to see more of those in the future release. Then there is the village of Hidden Leaf, where you are able to run freely collecting scrolls and breaking objects. It is a great asset to be able to run freely in the game, but I would like to see it more alive to make it more believable. Since it is a older game, the game lacks trophy support. I’ll let you decide is it a bad thing or not…

All in all the game is worth a try, especially if you’re a fan of the series. It isn’t perfect but it has a good start so I’m anxious to see the future release since the developers now have had more time to get to know to the technology PS3 offers. Here’s a trailer for the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2