It feels like more and more Ultimate Ninja Storm games are being released, but it’s been seven years since the last decent game was released. Meanwhile, the torch passed from Boruto’s father to Boruto himself, with anime and manga carrying on that legacy. As the anime’s popularity has grown, people have gradually become accustomed to his BORUTO, but BORUTO also ushers in a new generation of fans. That’s where NARUTO X BORUTO: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections comes in, picking up where the 3D arena fighting series left off.
This new entry is sort of the “biggest hit” of the Ultimate Ninja Storm game, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of Naruto’s anime. It features an expansive roster of over 130 characters from across Naruto’s history and his two story modes that blend the old and new of the series. When I got my hands on this latest installment at Summer Game Fest, it delivered a strong sense of intimacy while delivering the same energy you’d expect from a fast, flashy pick-up-and-play arena-style fighter. Towards a new era.
Mechanically, NARUTO X BORUTO, like previous games in the series, pits two players against each other in a 3D arena using basic attacks, combos, proxy dodges, and a variety of wild jutsu. It’s also a tag-fighter, with each player having his team of three characters that he can switch between during battle. The system allows you to mix and match your favorite characters to suit different team compositions, but what you really want to do is prepare the ultimate combination jutsu. These were in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, but now with BORUTO’s roster of characters you can run a whole new breed of characters. For example, I had Boruto and Kawaki attack at the same time, and Kawaki helped Boruto power up Rasengan, causing a ton of damage.
Once your chakra meter is full and your health bar is red, you can re-enter awakening mode, which acts as a nice spectacle as well as a comeback mechanism. Especially Naruto’s new Nine-Tailed Fox transformation is truly awful. Accomplishing the ultimate jutsu solo is a staple of the series, and it’s pretty awesome to do it with a new character – new villain Jigen joins the mix as he uses Otsutsuki’s powers to summon the Disruption Cube. And watching your enemies smash is a reminder of that – top talent, these games work so well.
Aside from the over-the-top anime-inspired spectacle, the new, simplified control scheme allows newbies to jump right in without any technical learning to do some cool work. During the demo, I mostly used simplified controls to get a feel for it, but how this simple control makes the game more approachable, especially for those new to fighters and action games. I know there are. Originally, the series was not well known for its complexity, but according to producer Masaya Yoshizawa, it made sense to have options like this to reach a wider audience, and this He was one of the big development goals.
Besides new characters and gameplay tweaks, Boruto X Naruto features two story modes. There’s a history mode for old folks like me, and a special story mode that pushes Bolt to the fore. History Mode is positioned as a playable campaign that captures key moments from the original version of Naruto, the battles experienced in previous games in the series, and for anyone who may be joining the series in the future, You can also get a glimpse into the past of the series. I play this game purely as a BORUTO fan. Meanwhile, a special story mode takes you through key battles seen in the anime BORUTO and highlights what happened so far. And as someone who’s been on the sidelines of this new generation of series, this is a fascinating entry point.
Related to that topic, I also asked Mr. Yoshizawa about his perception of the BORUTO series, its steady growth, and living in Naruto’s shadow. He said one of the goals of the Special Story Mode is to get players to “get to know about BORUTO and get interested in watching anime and reading manga.” Yoshizawa also said, “As a team, we think like this.” [Boruto’s story] It is gradually gaining popularity. Of course, compared to Naruto, maybe not so much.But I think it’s become popular. [enough]That’s why there’s a special story mode [in addition to] history mode. ”
Regardless of what you think of the 3D arena fighter subgenre, this has been a reliable platform for animating the most famous shōnen anime, with varying degrees of quality, but it has certainly led to some success. . Boku no Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Kill la Kill, and the Shonen Jump All-Stars Recap of Jump Force are all established by the Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi games and the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm series. It employs a similar foundation evolved by These may not be innovative, or add much to the anime canon you know and love, but they are a few rounds of fun action with characters playing true to the source material. is created.
Based on my hands-on experience, that seems to be the case with Boruto X Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, coming to PlayStation platforms, Xbox consoles, PC, and Nintendo Switch later this year.
The products described here have been independently selected by the editors. GameSpot may receive a portion of the proceeds from purchases featured on our site.
