Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes: the story, or lack thereof

In a recent conference call with Namco Bandai, we learned new details about the upcoming PSP-exclusive Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes. We enjoyed our brief time with the game at E3, and wanted to learn more about why it's being exclusively distributed in the US and Europe. The decision to make a new game for the English language audience came about because the story of the Japanese anime had progressed too far to make the Japanese PSP game relevant.

However, we're puzzled -- according to the localization director at Namco Bandai, "there isn't really a story" in the game. Beyond the fighting, there isn't much else to do, although he noted that there's Naruto's Room --a place where collectible images and videos can be viewed.

Supposed "technical limitations" prevented the game from getting Infrastructure multiplayer, something that we would've loved to see in the game. However, the Game Sharing feature seems to be fairly advanced, giving players with access to the game "as normal."

We're a little disappointed to see the game doesn't have a fleshed out story, as the original PS2 series. Hopefully, the gameplay will make that point irrelevant. For now, enjoy the new screenshots we've secured in our updated gallery below:

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