Despite a few minor flaws, this game is definitely worth importing, even if you cannot read a word of Japanese
The first Narutimate Hero had a great fighting engine, but bored people quickly due to the severe lack of content. The second game improved pretty much every aspect of the game, save the fact that the ougis, or special moves, have button mashing and analog stick twirling sequences, as opposed to the sequence inputting in the first game, which seriously annoyed many of the more serious gamers out there.
That, however, did not stop Narutimate Hero 2 from being an excellent game, which is played seriously at a competitive level by many gamers worldwide, despite being labelled as 'fanservice' by many of the more elitist-minded gamers.
Without a doubt, Narutimate Hero 3 became a highly anticipated game upon its announcement, and people have started counting down to its release months before its release date. And they were right to be excited. This game introduces many improvements from the previous one, and despite several minor flaws, will undoubtedly be loved by many gamers, regardless of whether they are fans of the anime and manga series or not.
Graphics - 8
Cel-shaded graphics have always looked good, save on a few rare occasions where people somehow mess it up. For one thing, it retains its two-dimensional comic 'feel' to it, despite being in full-blown 3D.
The character models are relatively detailed, and the vivid colours of their textures help them retain the feel of their anime and manga counterparts. The backgrounds are fully rendered in 3D, and are done very well, featuring locations familiar to those who have been following the Naruto series.
Sounds - 7
This is where the game sinks to an all-time low, seriously not doing this otherwise excellent game justice. Some of the voice actors, most noticeably Kakashi and Itachi, seem rather half hearted in doing their jobs. Kakashi's voice sounds much deeper and too aggressive for his personality, and it rather spoils the mood. The same goes for Itachi, where he loses his 'aura of overwhelming superiority' voice somewhat, and sounds rather hasty in some of his lines. Furthermore, the screams of the female characters when they are hit sound much more annoying and sometimes even scary. (Try Sakura or Temari for reference)
Another weak point of the game was the music. This time around, the music sounded unappealing, for some reason. A lot of the music, like those during the scene right after transformations and the one after each match, seem rather out of place and spoils the mood somewhat.
Another point where followers of the series will immediately notice the very first time they play the game is the intro movie. Whereas in the previous two games, opening music from the anime series was used, this time around they used music, which we have grown sick of hearing on the trailers. It's not actually a very serious flaw, but it's worth noting.
The only saving grace are the excellent sound effects returning from the previous games, dashing effects, shuriken and kunai clashing, the high-pitched buzzing and birdlike chirping of Chidori, and the occasional explosion or two makes this game feel very much like what any person would expect from a ninja game.
Gameplay - 9
This game retains most of the good old fighting engine in Narutimate Hero 2, which is a very good thing indeed, since it was a very good engine indeed.
You fight in a two dimensional plane like traditional fighting games, but there are two planes, the foreground and the background, one often different from the other. This will bring up strategic scenarios where players will oftentimes force opponents into walls, off ledges or into water.
The chakra bar replenishment is slowed down this time around, making chakra management a much more essential skill than before. Chakra is the word used in the Naruto series meaning 'energy'. It is used to perform Jutsus, which are special moves, and also Kawarimi no Jutsu, which is the famous replacement technique seen in many ninja movies. It automatically puts you behind the enemy, ready to counterattack.
The Ougis all have only one phase this time around, and sequence inputting makes a return, much to the delight of many players. Ougis, or often referred to as 'supers' on online messageboards, are moves that, when connected, will start a short cutscene where the attacking character will do some special moves. During this cutscene, both the attacking and defending player will input button sequences, mash buttons, or twirl the analog stick, depending on what was chosen beforehand.
If the defending player wins the sequence during the ougi, the entire ougi is cancelled with no damage to the defending player. This gives the defending player a reason to actually win a sequence even if he has one point of life left during and ougi, unlike in the previous game, where a certain amount of damage will hit the player anyway.
My biggest gripe about the whole ougi system is the fact that you can only do one ougi in a match, which is chosen beforehand, unlike the usual three in the previous two games.
One new feature, which is a major highlight during the previews, is the Jutsu-clash. When two Jutsus collide with one another, they will 'clash' and a bar will appear at the bottom of the screen for a set amount of time. Players will have to mash the buttons shown on the screen, and the one who mashes the most will win the clash and deal damage.
However, as cool as it looks, the clash system is not really that practical in actual serious matches, except for certain characters with defensive Jutsus like Neji. Even so, there are often times much better options to choose from, like jumping, for instance. Still, it's rather cool, so I won't complain much.
That is but the mere basics of the game however. It goes much deeper than Jutsus, shuriken and Ougis. With skill, one can exploit many of the implementations of the game and perform sick and wicked combos and set-ups that only a serious player will be able to see.
Fun Factor - 9
This is the part which sets this game apart from most other anime spinoffs.
First point, it's friendly. Its comic setting will appeal to many (except for elitists, but they have their 'serious' games, so let them be), ranging from little kids to senior citizens (I'm serious, my dad plays this game).
The second point is that it is very easy to pick up. Circle is attack, square is shuriken, X is jump. Even a six-year-old can enjoy playing this game without much effort.
It doesn't stop at that however. The solid fighting engine has enough substance to appeal to many serious gamers. From the all-essential cancels, to timed Kawarimis, to wall teching and all other sick and twisted things only a serious gamer can see, let alone attempt, this game is not only fun to play, but also fun to dissect.
Because of all that, this will be the game that people will pop out during parties without fail.
Overall - 9
This is a fun fighting game with an excellent engine to boot, and appeals to all ages due to its comic setting. Fighting game elitists used to Tekken and Soul Calibur may find this game rather hard to swallow due to the 'childish' theme of the game, however.
Despite a few minor flaws, this game is definitely worth importing, even if you cannot read a word of Japanese.
Pros
+ It's got ninjas.
+ Improved fighting engine.
+ Sequence input is back.
+ Ougis are now shorter.
+ Easy to pick up.
Cons
- Voice acting sounds half-hearted in some places
- Female screams are annoying and sometimes scary
- One level ougis...
- Lame music.