Many of the smaller details and characterizations will fall flat unless you have at least some level of investment in the Naruto universe and its dozens-strong cast. Imagine starting on the Mass Effect series with Mass Effect 3, and you’ll be close to the level of prior knowledge Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 can’t help but assume the player possesses. That’s mostly due to the game’s placement in the overall Naruto canon, which is still a long way from over. If all of that sounds like gibberish to you (or if this is your first time with Naruto), you’ll be out of luck hoping everything will be explained to you in Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. Players can expect to power through a ten-to-twelve hour “Ultimate Adventure” story mode, covering the core plot of Naruto Shippuden following Naruto’s battle with Pain (the endpoint of Ultimate Ninja Storm 2), then recounting most of the major events of the Fourth Ninja World War, with brief flashback missions featuring Naruto’s parents. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)Īs a direct sequel to 2010’s Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 retains most of that game’s structure while incorporating some of the mechanical refinements introduced in last year’s Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations. Nevertheless, it, like its peers, remains a grand spectacle, capturing the best in anime excess and standing tall as one of the few, proud proofs that it is in fact possible to make a triple-A “anime game.” Indeed, like a stereotypical Hollywood adaptation of some geek-favorite franchise, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is bigger, glitzier, faster, louder, and more colorful than its manga source, but it’s also simpler, shallower, and even a tad sanitized. As with its brethren in the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3‘s approach to depicting super-powered ninja action is best described as a bit “Hollywood,” with all pros and cons that such a descriptor might attach.