Our third edition of "the abridged version of Naruto's plot from the anime that I still haven't watched to completion in video game form" has us with this game. For the most part, I really don't have much to say about general "fighting in the fighting game" gameplay this time, since most things from Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 were carried over to this game, just with a bigger character roster.
That's not to say there aren't differences, though. Gone are the days of spamming the substitution jutsu, because now there's a meter limiting how many times you can use it at once before it goes on cooldown. Guarding still exists, and in your usual 1v1, it's about as useful as it always is in a fighting game, but put a pin in that.
One of the other main major changes is how they changed Ninja Tools. Bots can't use them anymore, but instead of getting the items to make them one time and you have them forever, they're a 1 time use resource you have to buy multiples of at a shop. While this isn't the biggest deal since the game showers you in money, more than enough to keep you stockpiled on your favorite stuff, there's another system in place that limits things.
Unlike Ninja Storm 2, tools are put into two categories, Hero and Legend. Only Hero items can be put in the Hero tool set while Legend items can only be put along with other Legend items. Hero items are primarily heals and buff items along with some debuffs while Legend is pretty much all attack items with one or two things that aren't just for damaging the enemy. On top of this, you can only have 1 of each item on at a time unless you level up your Hero or Legend level to either let you use higher level items (because they have levels too, because why not) or more than 1 item.
So how do you level them up, you ask? Well, both sides get points after winning fights, but the big gains from Ultimate Decisions. These are usually decisive moments in major story battles with big significance, allowing you to choose an easier or harder encounter. Even though I spent pretty much the entire game only using Hero items, because I'm bad at fighting games and needed the healing items mid-fight, I always picked the Legend path for the coolness factor. In this final chapter, this would turn into a critical mistake.
Before I get to that, Ninja Storm 3 adds a new feature. Mob battles, where, as the name implies, you fight a mob of enemies. They're usually easier to handle than in a 1v1 encounter, but it is nice they're trying out something new even though I think they've already got a pretty good gameplay formula going here.
One thing that did disappoint me, however, was the sheer lack of side content during the main story. I get that, in the context of the plot, there wasn't much room for sidequesting, especially in the second half, but even the first half of the game has borderline no sidequests or bonus content. Sure, you can play some fights in the Ninja World Timeline, but you need timeline pages that are locked behind the main story, and some are just cutscenes with no fight. There is apparently a loose plot end left behind that can be accessed by doing a bunch of sidequests after the main story, but I'm probably not going to do it.
Now, the part of the game that began to sway my opinion towards the negative happened at the very tail end of the game. I know this game was made before the manga finished, so the end events aren't canon (and Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 exists, so it's clear the story's not over), but I did enjoy the spectacle of the 5 Kage vs. Madara fight. Everything after that was where the problems began, and part of it was self inflicted. The Legend choice of the first part of the final battle is a (borderline 1, but) 2v6 (3 at a time) battle, where the camera is jank, you're getting swarmed by attacks from all sides, and they can borderline just combo you to oblivion.
This leads into the second phase, where you are put up against 6 giant enemies (2 at a time) + 1 dude who you fight after each two giant enemies. Did I forget to mention you not only DON'T get healed between these fights, but you also, for some ungodly reasons, can't use or refresh your Ninja Tools for this section. If your health is already low from the beatdown in the first fight, you're fighting an uphill battle. You can heal and reset, but it tanks your battle rank. One of the giants is a spam happy flying enemy, which isn't the easiest to hit, and you still have to worry about the regular dude between these giant fights too.
I thought Pain in Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 was bad, but this fight was honestly the single worst fight in all 3 of these Ultimate Ninja Storm games I've played so far. The third phase wasn't as bad, mostly because you get healed, and the final phase is just a good old, no gimmicks 1v1, which was totally fine. It was a cakewalk compared to the first two phases.
The ending does leave the feeling of "this isn't over yet," which, once again, Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 exists, so of course it's not over. I'll probably get around to it...eventually.
