If anything, Naruto: Rise of a Ninja for the Xbox 360 spoiled fans of the young ninja in the orange jumpsuit. It was just one of those games that truly did justice to the source material whether it’s the Shonen Jump manga or Viz Media’s long-running anime series. It’s not that Namco Bandai Games hasn’t tried to bring us good Naruto games but seldom did they really push the fighting genre to new heights or give us better reasons to go back for more. That is, of course, until Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 for the PlayStation 2.
An improvement over the first two Ultimate Ninja releases, this third outing might not be as near perfect as Rise of a Ninja but it’s a very good step in the right direction. In fact, Naruto fans will be absolutely pleased with the number of improvements and gameplay elements that Ultimate Ninja 3 brings to PS2 gamers. Even the fighting styles show some improvement to make battles seem just as grand as they do on the Cartoon Network show or on the pages of the manga. Even the game modes show an improvement … although the controls and weak opponent AI make a comeback.
Ultimate Ninja 3’s theme revolves around a major storylines that involves fellow Hidden Leaf ninja Sasuke Uchiha and his Anakin Skywalker-like fall from grace. Boot up the PS2 disc and you’ll even be treated to one of the more dramatic moments from the show and manga that has Naruto Uzumaki going up against his old comrade who has become more powerful. In Hero’s History mode, we follow young Naruto through key moments of his life including his first day of training with Kakashi-sensei to the search for the Fifth Hokage and finally the “Sasuke Retrieval” story arch that pits friend against friend.
Source:PS2 Gamezone
