If you are responsible for one of the above issues.
BlazBlue, for example, had a PSP offering that ran extremely smoothly and controlled very well, but Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 is stiff. I'm glad that CyberConnect2 implemented four-player options in Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3, but this game feels clumsy and nowhere near as precise as its fighting game peers. This mode also tells some of the Naruto Shippuden stories, including the Gaara abduction arc. These missions go down in the Master Road mode, which features a variety of traditional battles as well as side-scrolling platforming with a bit of brawling mixed in. The main difference here is that players can now participate in four-player battles as well as work cooperatively during some of the story-based missions. It's+the+Master+Road! This system is basically the same gameplay we've all seen in the previous CyberConnect2 offerings. Even special moves can be executed by hitting Triangle first, then Circle. Besides basic movement, jumps and wall runs, players can perform all their attacks simply by pressing the Circle button. Although the game takes place on a 2D plane, players can teleport between the foreground and background at their leisure.
In Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3, players select one of their favorite characters out of the Naruto Shippuden story arc and battle on a series of dual-stage arenas.
But there have been some fantastic fighting games that have launched since then (including some notable portable ones), and Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 just doesn't seem to cut it.
When I originally reviewed the first Ultimate Ninja Heroes, I was impressed by the approachable fighting system and the amount of unlockables that enticed players to keep on playing. The Ultimate Ninja Heroes games have been solid offerings on Sony's portable over the past few years, but Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 feels clumsy. Japanese developer CyberConnect2 has handled a number of Naruto games in the past, including my personal favorite, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3.
It's no wonder the Naruto license is so popular, considering how all the characters have awesome ninja powers and can run along walls like it's their job. In the world of Naruto, ninja are about as common as McDonalds in the United States - and that's saying something. I highly doubt you need a refresher course on the Naruto franchise, but I'll give you one just to be safe: Naruto is a long-running, well-known manga and anime that has made the jump into the videogame landscape more times than I can count.