Budokai?...what's that?
Much different from other anime fighters like the Budokai series, the Narutimate Hero series is different because of its unique controls and style of gameplay. The third installment is no exception. We get a whole new cast of characters, replacing some of the old with new. Every character now has at least one ougi(special jutsu) and a new one at that. The normal jutsus have all been updated as well. In terms of a story mode we now have two options. There is the traditional sotry mode witch goes through each significant battle with a little but of character dialogue and a few cut-scenes here and there. In addition, the rpg-style mode from NH2 returns but this time creates its own filler story that is not exactly amazing, but still entertaining and will keep u playing for hours.
In terms of actual gameplay, it is mostly the same. All the controls and ways of activating jutsus remain the same except now you choose which ougi and jutsu you will be using before the battle. This adds to the diversity of each battle and is a great feature. The buddy system from NH2 has been removed and is missed, but makes no major dent. Aside from all the wonderful new ougi's all featuring new cut-scenes, there are new farms and many new characters. We get to see Drunken Lee, 1 Tail Naruto, and even the Konohamaru Corps.!
The old special goodies store is still in and there are many new mini-games that add for some more fun. The music has been updated with new tracks and many new levels of play have been added as well.
However, on to the complaints I had. Firstly, the game seems to go by too fast and too easily. Even with the game on the hardest difficulty, it is still not very hard and only affects VS mode. Secondly, I would have like to see updated graphics for the released seal level 1 versions of the sound nin and Sasuke. Even Naruto could use a little facial change when releasing his Kyuubi chakra. Another complaint would be alternate costumes. They have many in game models that could be used as alternate costumes like Sasuke's outfit during the Chuunin exam and **** black robe. They appear in story mode but cannot be selected. The pallet changes themselves are not even good. Lastly, I would really have loved to have the OST and music from the anime series in this game. Its music is fine, but the real stuff would have been way better.
Aside from this the character models and attacks have been slightly updated graphically and the cell shading looks stunning, for the most part. Overall the game IS an improvement from NH2 even though it left me wanting a little more too it. We now just have to hope they dont follow the Budokai way and re-use everything over and over making it the same thing over and over with 1 or 2 updates and then sell it at full price.
If your going for any imports this year, this is definitely one to pick up!
P.S. THIS GAME IS NOT AN AMERICAN RELEASE!!! Some people continue asking if this game is available in america. It is not. Naruto was only recently liscensed in the USA so you will have to wait several years if you wish for the english version of this. In my opinion, the dubb is horrible so I would not wait. If you don't know Japanese, you should still be able to figure the game out with help from faqs and if you an avid anime fan, you should have picked up a bit of japanese knowledge here and there you can use. To find this game for purchase you will have to head to an import site like http://www.play-asia.com/