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.
Gameplay
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.
PlayStation 2
ORIGINAL STORY AND ART ---------------------- Masashi Kishimoto
Weekly SHONEN JUMP
CAST ---- Naruto Uzumaki Maile Flanagan Sasuke Uchiha Yuri Lowenthal Sakura Haruno Kate Higgins
Kakashi Hatake Dave Wittenberg
Shikamaru Nara Tom Gibis Ino Yamanaka Collen O'Shaughnessey Choji Akimichi Robbie Rist
Rock Lee Brian Donovan Neji Hyuga Steve Staley Tenten Danielle Judovits
Kiba Inuzuka Kyle Hebert Hinata Hyuga Stephanie Sheh Shino Aburame Steve Prince
Gaara Liam O'Brien
Might Guy Skip Stellrecht
Itachi Uchiha Crispin Freeman
Kisame Hoshigaki Kirk Thornton
Orochimaru Steve Blum
Tsunade Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Jiraiya David Lodge
RECORDING PRODUCTION -------------------- Dialogue Production by STUDIOPOLIS
Casting Director Jamie Simone
Voice Director Mary Elizabeth McGlynn Engineers David W. Barr Eric Lewis Dialogue Editor Michael Garcia Dialogue Production Co- Ordinator Joe Moeller Casting Associate Laura Lopez
GAME DEVELOPED BY ----------------- Cyber Connect 2 Co., Ltd.
Graphics Team Yohei Ishibashi Masayuki Kawano Masayoshi Tokura Kumi Ishii Shunsuke Ashikari Yoshitaka Nakamura Kazunori Ueda Soichiro Iwasaki Shunji Kato Saori Hagiwara Production Head Director Hiroshi Matsuyama Planning Team Yuki Nishikawa Takahiro Yano
Sound Team Seizo Nakata Chikayo Fukuda Program Team Norikatsu Fukuda Production Assistants Shigeaki Fujino Hirofumi Tereda QA Support Human Academy Fukuoka Campus Yoyogi Animation Gakuin Campus Fukuoka Communication Arts Takuya Ishida Yuki Hamashima Miho Morimoto Mie Kotani Kaori Sadamastu
MiCRO ViSiON Inc. ----------------- Planning Team Hajime Takano Satoshi Akiyama Hironari Hashiya Keisuke Ichinoose Program Team Takashi Yoshida Satoshi Mamuro Kazuomi Toyoshi Taishi Tomono Graphics Team Masataro Shichijo Shinichi Kawaguchi Kazuyoshi Sato Hiroyuki Aoki
Supervision VIZ Media, LLC SHUEISHUA Inc. Weekly SHONEN JUMP Editoral Department Kosuke Yahagi Monthly V JUMP Editoral Department Masahiko Satio Jump Comic Publishing Kaorum Kusima Supervision Hayato Date
Licensing Department Kenichiro Ushiki
Hiroyukin Kouno
PIERROT Co., Ltd. Naoji Hohnokidani Kazumichi Ueda Akio Ito Chiaki Kakuma
TV TOKYO Corporation Takuyuki Hirobe Package Illustration Key Artwork
Minako Shiba Clean-Up Mieko Takai
PUBLISHED BY ------------ NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
Executive Producer Takahio Sasanoi Chief Producer Atsushi Minowa Producer Nobuaki Taguchi Assistant Producer Andrew Davis
Director of Marketing and PR Todd Thorson Product Marketing Manager In Joon Hwang PR Manager Arne Cual-Pedroso PR Specialist Robert Cogburn Director of Product Services Glen A. Cureton Video/Product Coordinator Darle Tumacder
QA and Customer Support Manager Chuck McFadden QA Lead Matt Peterson QA Assistant Lead Stephen Chin QA Testers Thomas Aftowicz Adam De Anda Phil Farkaly Saiho Kwan Thomas McKay Nelson Pineda Danielle Sears
Special Thanks --------------
Naruo "Naru" Uchida Brian Glazebrook Masahiro Knittel Wako Yokoyama Motohiro Iwahashi Kim Morgan
Kenirick Mah
Produced by NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. Executive Producers Shin Unozawa Takashi Shouji Chief Producer Tomoaki Imanishi Producers Daisuke Uchiyama Yusuke Sasaki
Associate Producer Naotaka Higashiyama Production Lead Andy Tsai
Production Assistant Seiji Sugimoto
Assistant Manager Lidsay Gray International Marketing Support Shinsuke Mori
DEDICATED TO ------------ Weekly SHONEN JUMP
Editorial Department Masahiko Ibaraki
NARUTO 2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO Program 2004-2007 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
Ultimate Ninja is a trademark of NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
NAMCO BANDAI Games logo is a trademark of NAMCO BANDAI. Published and distributed by NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.
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.[1]
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.
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 September 1, 2008 . This game features the second largest roster in the Ultimate Ninja series, with 42 characters, and follows the storyline up to and including 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.
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.
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] Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help)) 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.[2][3] 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.
PlayStation 3
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
PlayStation Portable
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes is an North American and European-exclusive fighting game.
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.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress (Naruto: Narutimate Portable: Mugenjou no Maki in Japan) was released in North America on June 24th, 2008 and will be released in Europe on July 8th. 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 23 total characters, including the Third Hokage, Shizune, and Kabuto Yakushi. This game is said to be almost exactly the same as the Japanese version but there will be some changes such as updated movesets and new secret techniques for some characters. There will be the choice to use Japanese or English voices. Jiraiya and Naruto can use Rasengan and Kakashi and Sasuke can use Chidori during the game, without the use of a secret technique.
Each character's secret technique will be the same to the first Ultimate Ninja Heroes, with the exceptions of some. There will be Power ups such as CS1 Sasuke and Naruto with Fox chakra or Neji with Byakugan mode.
Playable characters
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.
See also
References
- ^ "IGN release date for Ultimate Ninja 2". Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Spencer (2007-09-01). "Naruto Shippūden: Narutimate Accel 2 confirmed for this year". Siliconera. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
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(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Naruto: Ultimate Ninja English instruction manual. Namco Bandai. 2006. p. 26.
- ^ a b c d e Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual. Namco Bandai. 2007. pp. 1–10.
- ^ a b c d e f Naruto: Ultimate Ninja English instruction manual. Namco Bandai. 2006. p. 27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual. Namco Bandai. 2007. pp. 11–20.
- ^ a b c d Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual. Namco Bandai. 2007. pp. 31–34.
- ^ a b c d e f Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 English instruction manual. Namco Bandai. 2007. pp. 21–30.
External links
- Official Site for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (English)
- Official Site for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 (English)
- Official Site for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes (English)
- Hokage's Room: The Official Community for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2
- Official Site for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 (English)
- Official Site for Naruto: Narutimate Hero 3 (Japanese)
- Official Site for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (Japanese)
- Official site for Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress (English)
- Official Naruto website