The third Ultimate Ninja Storm game is here with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations! This is the ultimate Naruto fan's fighting game, with over 80 characters appearing in the game, all the best jutsu from the series, online vs. play, Japanese and English voices, and over an hour's worth of original animation!

Battling in NS:UNSG is like reliving some of your favorite battles from the series. You can choose between one-on-one or team combat, but it's all about the team battles. In Team Battle, you select your ninja, and then choose one or two more support ninja. You can mix your team as you like, but combining characters that relate in the storyline will grant a bonus to your team. Support ninja can be called into the battle and perform their signature jutsu against your opponents. Call on your teammates enough and your team meter will fill up, at which point your support ninja will begin assisting you by joining in on combos and long-ranged attacks, guarding you while you charge up your chakra meter, and even taking the brunt of enemies' jutsu to protect you. Charging your team meter to the maximum unlocks the ability to perform a devastating team attack where your allies will rush your opponent until you're ready to release your Ultimate Jutsu.

Your standard buttons allow you to perform a combo string, long-range attack, dash/evade, chakra charge up, and substitution (the infamous ninja log transformation). These are the standard techniques for defeating your enemies, but if you get your health to around 40%, you can charge up your chakra and enter the Awakening state. In Awakening state, your abilities increase, new jutsu become unlocked and some characters transform, such as Biju mode Naruto, Susanoo Itachi, and Eight-Tails Bee. The downside to the Awakening state is the limited time that it's active and the inability to use support ninja and tools. Speaking of tools, before each battle you can select what ninja tools you wish to use for the match. From spell tags that lower your opponents stats and pills that boost your own abilities, each ninja has a default setup of tools to use. As you play, you unlock additional tools and then customize which and how many tools you wish to use and set presets for later use.

The story mode in Generations spans from the beginning of Naruto to today's story. Each chapter revolves around one main character and tells each of their tales with new animated cut scenes. Great scenes like Jiraiya vs Pain, Minato vs young Kakashi, the battle on Great Naruto Bridge with Zabuza and Haku, culminating in epic original scenes with Itachi vs Kisame and the astounding battle of The First Hokage and Madara Uchiha. The scenes were animated by Studio Pierrot, and are a must for any Naruto fan.

Generations will easily please Naruto fans. It's chalk full of eye-pleasing animation, has tons of trademark jutsu, 72 playable shinobi and a production value that goes far beyond most anime-based video games. Playing this game truly makes you feel like you are in Naruto's world.

Hint: Stick to your favorite character and stay with them until you master them. If all else fails, just use Kiba.

Related Links:
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations Landing Page
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations Hands-On
Official Video Game Website
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NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™:Ultimate Ninja STORM Generations™
game software © 2004-2012 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NAMCO BANDAI Games logo is a trademark of NAMCO BANDAI.
NARUTO artwork and elements © 2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN  All Rights Reserved.

by Reginald Rhoades