Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (series)

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The English cover to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.
The English cover to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.

The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series (known in Japan as Naruto: Narutimate Hero) is a series of 3-D fighting games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. They were developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai. The games are available only on Sony's PlayStation 2, Playstation 3 and PlayStation Portable. Five games are present on the PlayStation 2 and two are on PSP with one announced for release on the Playstation 3.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

Kakashi Hatake facing Sasuke Uchiha in Ultimate Ninja 2.
Kakashi Hatake facing Sasuke Uchiha in Ultimate Ninja 2.

In the Ultimate Ninja Series line, the player controls one of the many characters seen within the Naruto anime and manga. The simple goal is to fight the opposing character and to win by reducing their health to zero. The catch to this goal is the vast amount of weapons that appear to the characters as the battle progresses (along with items which could potentially heal the player or the opponent). Unlike the Clash of Ninja series, which is similar to Street Fighter; Ultimate Ninja is more of an arena based battle, similar to Super Smash Bros. Along with the various weapons available to the characters, they also have their various special abilities taken straight from the series (Naruto Uzumaki's Rasengan or Sasuke Uchiha's Chidori, for example). To use these attacks, however, the player must have the required chakra as indicated by the "chakra bars" located under the players health. Using the technique drains the chakra bar (which can be regained through various methods, including special, character specific methods for some characters). These special techniques are not performed in real-time, however; once successfully executed, a cinematic takes place, where the player either has to fill a bar to a specific level or hit buttons illustrated in the corner of the screen faster than their opponent to assure the attack is at its full strength. All characters can use the substitution jutsu (two variants of which exist; one which evades normal attacks, and another which begins a tug-of-war like minigame after juggling an opponent). Also, some characters have specific transformations available to them (such as Sasuke's Curse Mark of Heaven with the right amount of chakra or, in the later games, by successfully executing their special technique). The first few games of the Ultimate Ninja series let players execute 3 different secret technique attacks using three different Chakra levels (red, purple, and blue, in order of weakest to strongest), 2 different signature techniques, and a wide variety of kicks, punches, and throws. However, in Ultimate Ninja 3, players are only allowed to use one secret technique attack, besides the other attacks and techniques. To compensate for this, players will be allowed to select the secret technique of their choice before each battle, but not all secret techniques will be made available at the start of the game. Different secret techniques must be obtained through story mode and completing missions.

[edit] Playstation 2

[edit] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (known in Japan as Naruto: Narutimate Hero (NARUTO－ナルト- ナルティメットヒーロー ?) is the first installment of the Ultimate Ninja series. It is now a Greatest Hits title. The game was released on October 23, 2003 in Japan, June 26, 2006 in North America, November 17, 2006 in Australia, and November 30, 2006 in Europe.

The game features a unique battle system with special techniques and jutsus that can be used. It also features several items, like shuriken and kunai. There are many multi-layered stages from around the Naruto universe, including the Hidden Leaf Village, the Chunin Exam arena, and the Forest of Death. In the original Japanese version, there were only 12 characters; however, NamcoBandai has added the ability to select both Curse Mark Sasuke and Nine-Tailed Naruto as bonus characters. Although both of these characters were already in the Japanese version as transformations, NamcoBandai chose to distinguish these four variations into their own playable characters. Due to this, both Naruto and Sasuke have lost their ability to transform into their stronger modes during battle. This is much like the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 transformation system. The game also features an arcade style story mode. The Story Mode consists of up to six battles divided by some dialogue in a manga style display, one of many homages to its source material.

Critical reception has been positive. But fans criticized the game and gameplay, especially the graphics. G4's X-Play gave Ultimate Ninja a three out of five for a creative comicbook feel and stylish cel-shaded graphics, but complained that the controls are too simple, and that the English voices are "slightly questionable."[1] Both IGN and GameSpot say that the game is easy, yet fun, to play, and praise the anime/manga-inspired graphics.[2][3]

[edit] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2, known in Japan as Naruto: Narutimate Hero 2 (ＮＡＲＵＴＯ-ナルト- ナルティメットヒーロー２?), is the second installment of the fighting game series Naruto: Ultimate Ninja. Like some other Naruto games in Japan, this one was available in two covers: one featuring Naruto Uzumaki along with several different characters in the background, and the other with Sasuke Uchiha and several other characters. The game was released on September 30, 2004 in Japan, June 13, 2007 in North America, and October 19, 2007 in Europe.[4]

Ultimate Ninja 2 features a similar gameplay experience to Ultimate Ninja, featuring many of the same gameplay elements and geography and mini games in the story mode. The game also features an RPG-esque story mode, the first half from the series, the second being an added story arc that takes place after the Tsunade Decision arc.

There is a total of 32 characters to choose from (33 in the Japanese version with the inclusion of Doto Kazahana). Some characters have also been fused together, so the player must use a certain special jutsu to activate them, such as Sasuke with his Curse Mark of Heaven, although the separate character of Nine-Tailed Naruto remains, this version of Naruto using his Level 3 Ultimate from the first Ultimate Ninja game.

[edit] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3

Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3, known as in Japan as Naruto: Narutimate Hero 3 (ＮＡＲＵＴＯ-ナルト- ナルティメットヒーロー3?), is the third installment of the fighting game series Naruto Ultimate Ninja. This game was released in Japan on December 22, 2005 and in North America on March 25, 2008, and is scheduled for a Europe release in September. This game features the second largest roster in the Ultimate Ninja series, with 42 characters, and follows the storyline up to the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. The player can use equippable jutsu like the second game. When two jutsu of the same strength clash, the game cuts to a jutsu clash, in which the player or players must press a button repeatedly, until either jutsu wins out over the other. In this installment, the player is to both induce temporary transformations (like Sasuke and the Sound 5's Curse Mark LV1 and Rock Lee's Eight Gates) through special jutsu, and other, more permanent ones, that last the entire rest of the fight (like One Tailed Kyuubi Naruto and Curse Mark LV2). Like the previous installment, this game also has an RPG mode, which is a sandbox type. But unlike Ultimate Ninja 2's RPG, this game's RPG enables you to jump on buildings and throw shuriken. It has a larger map, although the only place outside of Konoha that can be accessed is Tanzaku Town. This game was the first in the series to have CG cut scenes. It also introduces summonings(like Shukaku of the sand and Chief toad),although they only last a certain amount of time.

[edit] Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel

Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel (NARUTO-ナルト-疾風伝 ナルティメットアクセル Naruto Shippūden: Narutimetto Akuseru?) is currently a Japanese only game. This game story mode goes up to the first ten episodes in the shippuden anime. This is the first installment in the Narutimate Hero (Narutimate Accel) series. The game was released on April 5, 2007 in Japan. It is presumed set to be released in early-mid 2009 in North America.

[edit] Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 2

Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 2 (NARUTO-ナルト-疾風伝 ナルティメットアクセル Naruto Shippūden: Narutimetto Akuseru 2?) is the Second installment in the Narutimate Accel series. The game was released on December 20, 2007 In Japan. The Game features 62 playable characters and 24 stages.[5][6] Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 2 has an Adventure mode with a selection of characters to choose from, the ones being TS Naruto, TS Sakura, TS Sasuke, Kakashi, TS Neji, Yamato, Sai and many more. This game also has many Jutsu and Ōugi that feature two characters with a close relationship, officially called Narutimate Combinations, in which either characters of the Ōugi can use the technique. Another new feature is the character support, where by pressing R1 an unlocked character will appear and attack the opponent. Also, when a player activate a non-cut scene jutsu, some jutsu features button smash by increasing number of hits and damage, for example: TS Naruto's Ōdama Rasengan.

[edit] Playstation 3

[edit] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm

Main article: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm

[edit] PlayStation Portable

[edit] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes is an canadian-exclusive fighting game and is now the only English Naruto game on the PlayStation Portable so far.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes is essentially a scaled down version of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 and an edited version of Naruto: Narutimate Hero Portable. However, Ultimate Ninja Heroes is more of an action game whereas Narutimate Portable was more story oriented. Also, this game now has a 3-on-3 battle system, similar to The King of Fighters; where the first team to defeat all 3 members of the other team wins. The game also features 20 characters, 8 Stages, and several new features, such as a three-on-three fighting system, wireless two-player battles, and "Hidden Team Skills." One such skill is being able to increase your attack, defense, speed, and jump while playing as The Legendary Sannin (Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade). The game has 21 teams and hidden movies.

[edit] Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress (Naruto: Narutimate Portable: Mugenjou no Maki in Japan) will be released in North America on June 24th, 2008 and in Europe 18 July. In this Naruto game, you can equip skills and items to four characters of your choice in 100 levels. There will also be an addition of 3 other characters and plus there will be more than 20 characters,the Third Hokage, Shizune, and Kabuto Yakushi. But it's not yet confirmed if there will be other included characters. This game is said to be almost exactly the same as the Japanese version but their will be some changes. There will be the choice to use Japanese or English voices. Naruto and Jiraiya can use Rasengan and Sasuke and Kakashi can use Chidori during the game, without the use of an Ougi.

Each character's secret technique will be similar to the first Ultimate Ninja Heroes, with the exceptions of some, but at this point this is also unknown. The game will be similar to Ultimate Ninja 3 with Sasuke and Naruto also their demon forms and some other characters.

[edit] Playable characters

Character 1 2 3 Accel Accel 2 Heroes Heroes 2 Storm
Anko Mitarashi NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Asuma Sarutobi NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN ?
Chiyo NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Chiyo with Puppets NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Choji Akimichi NoN YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY ?
Butterfly Choji NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY NoN
TS Choji Akimichi NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Deidara NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
Doto Kazahana NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN
First Hokage NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
Gaara YesY[7] YesY[8] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
1/2-Shukaku Gaara NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY YesY
TS Gaara NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Haku YesY[9] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
Hinata Hyuga YesY[9] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
Byakugan Hinata NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY
TS Hinata Hyuga NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Ino Yamanaka NoN YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
TS Ino Yamanaka NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Itachi Uchiha NoN YesY[11] YesY YesY YesY[5] YesY YesY YesY
Jiraiya NoN YesY[12] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
Jirobo NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
CS2 Jirobo NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Kabuto Yakushi NoN YesY[12] YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY YesY
Kakashi Hatake YesY[9] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY[6] YesY YesY YesY
ANBU Kakashi NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN
Kankuro NoN YesY YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
TS Kankuro NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Kiba Inuzuka NoN YesY[12] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
TS Kiba Inuzuka NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Kidomaru NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
CS2 Kidomaru NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY
Kimimaro Kaguya NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
CS2 Kimimaro NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
Kisame Hoshigaki NoN YesY[11] YesY YesY YesY[5] YesY YesY ?
Konohamaru NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
The Yellow Flash NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
Kurenai Yuhi NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
Might Guy NoN YesY[12] YesY YesY YesY[5] YesY YesY ?
Neji Hyuga YesY[7] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
TS Neji Hyuga NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Naruto Uzumaki YesY[7] YesY[8] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
Kyubi Naruto YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY NoN YesY
One-Tailed Naruto Uzumaki NoN[7] NoN[8] YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY YesY
Taijutsu Naruto NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY
TS Naruto Uzumaki NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
TS One-Tailed Naruto Uzumaki NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN NoN
TS Four-Tailed Naruto Uzumaki NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Orochimaru YesY[9] YesY[12] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
Sealed Arms Orochimaru NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY
Rock Lee YesY[7] YesY[8] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
Drunk Lee NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY YesY
TS Rock Lee NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
Sai NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Sakon & Ukon NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
CS2 Sakon & Ukon NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
Sakura Haruno YesY[9] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY[5] YesY YesY YesY
TS Sakura Haruno NoN NoN[10] NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Sasori in Hiruko NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Sasori with Kazekage Puppet NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
True Form Sasori NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
Sasuke Uchiha YesY[7] YesY[8] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
CS Sasuke YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY NoN YesY
CS2 Sasuke NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY YesY
TS Sasuke Uchiha NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Second Hokage NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
Shino Aburame NoN YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
TS Shino Aburame NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Shizune NoN YesY[11] YesY YesY YesY NoN YesY YesY
Shikamaru Nara YesY[7] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
TS Shikamaru Nara NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
Tayuya NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY
CS2 Tayuya NoN NoN YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
Third Hokage NoN YesY[12] YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN YesY YesY
Temari NoN YesY YesY YesY YesY NoN NoN YesY
TS Temari NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN NoN
Tenten NoN YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
TS Tenten NoN NoN NoN YesY YesY NoN NoN NoN
Tsunade NoN YesY[11] YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY YesY
Yamato NoN NoN NoN NoN YesY NoN NoN NoN
Zabuza Momochi YesY[9] YesY[10] YesY YesY YesY[5] NoN NoN YesY

Notes:

1. Not all of the characters for Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm on the Playstation 3 have been announced yet.
2.CS is an abbreviation for Cursed Seal and signifies a characters form after activating said characters Curse Mark. In the case of Anko, it is an easter egg only achieved in Ultimate Ninja 3 by using Twin Snakes Mutual Death on Orochimaru.
3. TS is an abbreviation for Time-Skip and signifies a characters form after the two-and-a half year skip between the first part of the manga and the second part.
4. Doto Kazahana was in the Japanese version of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 but not in the US/PAL version.
5. Orochimaru is completely changed in the second Accel game even to the point that he doesn't use the Kusanagi Blade. Most characters are changed throughout each game, mainly the main characters that are included in a recent fight when the game is released.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ X-Play's review of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  2. ^ IGN's review of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  3. ^ GameSpot's review of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
  4. ^ IGN release date for Ultimate Ninja 2. Retrieved on 2007-04-10.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Weekly Shonen Jump reveals many playable characters for Accel 2.
  6. ^ a b Spencer (2007-09-01). Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 2 confirmed for this year. Siliconera. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g (2006) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja English instruction manual (in English). Namco Bandai, 26. 
  8. ^ a b c d e (2007) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual (in English). Namco Bandai, 1-10. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f (2006) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja English instruction manual (in English). Namco Bandai, 27. 
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j (2007) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual (in English). Namco Bandai, 11-20. 
  11. ^ a b c d (2007) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual (in English). Namco Bandai, 31-34. 
  12. ^ a b c d e f (2007) Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual (in English). Namco Bandai, 21-30. 

[edit] External links

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