Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst is the latest in the long line of games based on the hit Naruto anime series. This entry is the same game as Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 but it comes packaged in with all the DLC that was released for the original. While that may make this seem like an entry you can skip, there are plenty of things that make this entry into the series well worth checking out.

The game begins with the player being thrust into a flashback before the beginning of the series where you get to play through the monstrous Nine-Tailed-Foxes attack on the Hidden Leaf Village, you’ll control the Third Hokage and then Minato before you actually pick up the games main story, which begins at Five Kage Summit act and goes through the Shinobi War. While the game beautifully recreates the scenes and environments it does throw the player straight into the world where if the player is not familiar with the Naruto franchise they will definitely be a little lost especially when it comes to names and locations, and of course past events but there are plenty (at times too many) cutscenes and flashbacks to explain things and there is a timeline available in the pause menu of the story mode that explains the basic concepts.

The game itself has several different game modes: Ultimate Adventure, which is essentially story mode, Free Battle which is basically versus mode, and online battle where you can fight against other players online. The gameplay mechanics are pretty solid and don’t really deviate much from the other Naruto games, most battles are one on one in some form (though you do have ‘support’ characters you can call in for help during battle) or in some areas the game takes a ‘beat em up’ style where you run around the map and face mobs of enemies, clearing them to move on to the next part. Between the fighting there is also a limited map that you can rome around, though it seems they give you a large map to explore, you can’t really explore too much due to invisible walls, so it is pretty much there for looks with there being only a few buildings you can actually go into. Having the combination of these elements helps make the story mode somewhat non repetitive which is a nice change from other fighting games. The other nice thing is that the ‘chapters’ are not very long and you get to play as many different characters throughout the main story. One issue I had as I mentioned above is that there are a LOT of cut scenes and I mean A LOT especially in the Full Burst edition that adds in over an hour of new footage, and while they are beautifully animated sometimes you just want to get to the fighting.

The Controls are pretty standard for a fighting game and easy to pick up, what differentiates this game from other fighters is that in battle you can also purchase items to use in battle ranging from weapons to potions that can restore health or Chakra. Special moves are called ‘jutsus’ and take up Chakra to perform, you can restore chakra by charging up holding the Y button, and when you have enough stored up you can perform the powerful (and very nice looking) ultimate jutsus. The controls when roaming the map are again fairly simple, you can walk around, jump, examine items, and that’s pretty much it, I’d love to see them expand on this in future games. The controls are simple and easy enough for anyone to pick up which is definitely a plus and makes the game fun for anyone interested to pick up and play.

The Graphics in Ultimate Ninja 3 Full Burst are beautiful, so much so that the cutscenes almost seem like in game footage, the style really fits the series tone well, and I really look forward to seeing that they can do with the graphics going into the next gen consoles. There are tons of costumes to pick from especially with the DLC made available in Full Burst, though when using some of the alternate costumes if you use an ultimate jutsu, during the cutscene your character will be wearing their original costume which is understandable but still something that could probably be gotten around with a little work. Overall the graphics are beautiful and can hold up to just about any fighting game in my opinion.

The music in the game fits the game pretty well; I am especially a fan of the track that plays at the start menu. The music used during cutscenes and battles all seem to fit the scene or fight that they are being used for, something that many games now seem to be having trouble with. While the soundtrack may not be award winning it definitely works for the game itself.

I feel that the DLC or additional content deserves its own spot in this review because having it readily available is what deviates this version from the regular Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 game. The DLC isn’t something that will revolutionize your gaming experience necessarily but it is a very nice addition and fans of the series will definitely appreciate it. First there are 38 costumes that come from the DLC packs that were made available, additionally you also get Kabutos ‘sage’ snake form character, and close to 100 new missions added in that were previously unavailable without the DLC as well as an additional chapter to the games story featuring Sasuke and Itachi fighting Kabuto. The final plus to the ‘Full Burst’ edition is the ‘Directors Cut’ which basically is enhanced and new cinematic cutscenes added to the game. The DLC will probably only appeal to major fans of the series but for those fans it will definitely be worth it.

All in all Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is not only a mouthful to say but it is a solid game as well. The Graphics, Audio, and Gameplay are all worthy of the Naruto franchise and while I would say that $60 would be a little high of a price, it is definitely a game that fans of the series can play and enjoy, and that new players can pick up and play with ease. My suggestion would be if you already have the regular version of the game and want the extras, I’d probably just download the DLC but if you do not already own the game and are a fan of the Naruto franchise, definitely go with the Full Burst version or you will be missing out on a fun gaming experience.

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