Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm arrived in 2008 as the first entry in what became a long-running fighting series, and it made one change that mattered more than any other. CyberConnect2’s game took the Ultimate Ninja series off its flat 2D planes and put it in full 3D. Namco Bandai Games published it for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It has since been remastered for newer platforms in 2017 as part of a trilogy, and for mobile in 2024.
Trailer, via Bandai Namco Entertainment America.
From 2D Planes to the Hidden Leaf Village
The earlier Ultimate Ninja games played much like Street Fighter II — 2D fighting games built mostly around the fighting itself. Ultimate Ninja Storm keeps many of those elements but drops players into three-dimensional environments where they can run up walls and over water while chasing an opponent.
The roster holds 25 characters from the Naruto animated series. Each one can trigger an Awakening under certain gameplay conditions, gaining new traits and talents. The health needed to activate Awakening differs by character, based on how powerful the transformation is. Some characters get entirely new movesets after transforming.
Battles also let players customize a character’s fighting style and recruit up to two support characters. With the d-pad, preset items can damage an opponent or apply status effects — raising attack power, lowering defense.
Jutsu Clashes and Button Mashing
Returning from earlier installments is jutsu clash mode. It starts when both players fire their special attack at the same time. Both then press the corresponding button as fast as possible to knock the other away.
Every character has an ultimate jutsu. When it lands, both players either input button commands, mash a button, or spin the analogue stick fastest before the time limit runs out. If the attacker wins, the ultimate hits, typically taking around a third to a full bar of health.
Free Roaming and 100 Missions
Ultimate Ninja Storm adds free-roaming exploration across the Hidden Leaf Village and the Forest of Death. Players can search both environments for more than 100 unique missions, collect scrolls and interact with other characters from the animated series.
The missions add variety beyond head-to-head combat. They include:
- races
- special deliveries
- large-scale battles against massive opponents
Multiplayer supports two players fighting head-to-head. Single player and multiplayer are both listed modes, played from a third-person, side-view perspective.
What Holds Up and What Doesn’t
The move to 3D is the whole story here, and it is the right one. Awakening Mode gives a match a second act, and the health threshold per character is a smart way to tie transformation strength to cost. Jutsu clashes and ultimate jutsu turn a single exchange into a contest of reflexes, which is where the game is at its most convincing.
The free-roaming sections are the weaker half. More than 100 missions sounds generous, but races and deliveries do not carry the same weight as a fight, and the Hidden Leaf Village and Forest of Death have to do a lot of work as the only two named areas. Exploration is a break from combat, not a replacement for it.
The roster of 25 is solid without being deep by later standards, and the 2017 trilogy remaster and 2024 mobile release show the game outlasted its original PlayStation 3 debut.
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm is a fighting game that fixed its own foundation and then filled it out unevenly. The combat earns its place. The wandering does not.
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