A Storm was the forecast, can this Naruto title live up to the hype, read on to find out.
Story: This game follows, or suppose to follow along the popular anime of Naruto, a young leaf ninja. My problem with this area of the game is how the story is told. I'm a huge Naruto fan myself but I cannot help but feel disappointed in the games story telling ability. Fans were promised that the game would cover the first 135 episodes of the show but we were left hanging. Famous people such as Haku and Zabuza were not featured in the game. Other important people such as the Sound 4 were not part of the storyline either. This leaves a huge hole in lots of major points in the story. Another problem with the game is the way the game is presented through each arc. For the most part, the story is told in text, not scenes, just text. This does nothing for fans or newcomers. The only cutscenes in the game is at the beginning, end, and of course boss fights. Other then that, you will be reading text. It also bugs me that I feel the developers of the Ninja Storm wanted to tell the story in their on way, not really following along the episodes of the manga or anime like they are suppose to.
Gameplay: Despite the horrid storyline translation of the game, the actual fighting gameplay is where the game really lives up to expectations. The game pretty much plays just like ultimate ninja series did for the PS2 but on a 3-D plain. The controls are still simplistic and easy to learn but it's still very addictive. The camera is very unique in this fighting game, its just one camera for both fighters yet it rotates around each depending on where the players are standing. These are some of the many things that the developers have done right. Besides having jutsu unique to the character, you also get an Ultimate jutsu which looks great in battle. You can only select one jutsu per battle though; the Ultimate one cannot be changed. Players of the game will love the clashes they have with friends; each fight is very frantic in pace at its core. Sadly though if you don't have any friends around you then you're at a lost, because there is no online play. The computer can be a challenge at first but once you learn there fighting patterns it becomes old and uneventful. Its better to play with a human player because they can be very random at times and more tactical then a computer. The battle mode is where most of the credit goes to in Ninja Storm.
I cannot however condone the Ultimate Ninja Mode for its sins. In the story mode you are placed in the Konoha leaf village were you will complete story arcs, side missions and also collect various objects. It sounds cool in theory like most things do, but when it's put to action, it isn't very good. After being in the village for a few minutes or so, you soon find out that there isn't really much to do. If you wish to unlock all the other jutsus then you have to go around the village and collect these things called secret scroll, which aren't so secret because they are displayed on your map. If feels more like a chore then a fun thing to do when collecting these bothersome scrolls. You will also collect other even more useless items such as ingredients for ramen which holds no point except slightly increasing your chakra. It's a waste of time though because you can't really use your chakra for anything in the story mode except running faster and breaking some doors. You will also be forced to play horrible mini games in the side quest if you wish to continue with the main story. You may find them to be pretty unique at first been then as you progress through the story you will see lots of repeats of these mini games. Despite all the bad stuff about the story mode credit should be placed on the three giant boss fights in the game though considering everything else. Each one has visually pleasing sequences the player gets to view making some of the battle scenes truly extraordinary.
Graphics: The visuals in no other words leave you breathless. Never have I seen an anime to game translation look so good. Ninja Storm has ground breaking graphics that will impress people who aren't even a fan of the show. Most of this game's charm alone comes from the shear beauty of the visuals. I have no complaints at all in this section, well done to all who worked on the graphics portion of the game.
Sound: The soundtracks are pretty good in this game; all of it is original music. The sound effects are as good as well. I do not have any complaint in this area what so ever. Kudos to the sound designers for doing a good job too.
Value: The actual replay of Ultimate Ninja Storm is varied; it all depends on the player. The story mode is about 10 hours long including side quest and collecting items. The free battle mode is the source of most of the replay ability. Of course how much value comes from this mode is based solely on if you have any friends that live near you and are fans of the show or at least just enjoy that type of gameplay. If not, then you will be pretty bored after beating the questionable story mode.
Overall, as a fan of the show, I have rather enjoyed this game even with its short comings, but that's just it, this game feels like nothing more then a fan service, if you aren't a fan then it would be hard to recommend this game. The storyline is far too obstructing to understand through text though the gameplay is really addictive. So in conclusion, if you are a fan, I say pick this game up or at least rent it and see what you think. If you aren't a fan then you can always rent it too but I can't guarantee your level of satisfaction.