Greetings Gamers, Greg here from Gaming Cypher to discuss the new Storm game: NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS brings New and Old things to the beloved anime world of Naruto and Boruto to the PlayStation 5, offering a new fighting game experience for fans of the series: EASY MODE. While the game succeeds in catering to new players with its accessible mechanics, adjustable assist settings, and dazzling anime goodness It falls short in providing the depth and technique that returning gamers may have anticipated. Where many fighting games being released recently like Mortal Kombat 1 , Street Fighter 6 , or even Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 are pushing the whole genre forward NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS is taking a different approach.
For newcomers to the Naruto and fighting game universe, NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS is just about the easiest place to start on a fighting game journey. The controls are intuitive, making it easy to execute flashy and powerful ninja moves with just a few button presses. The fighting mechanics are streamlined to help newer gamers focus on less all at once ensuring that even players unfamiliar with the genre can enjoy the game. It almost becomes a game of resource management and less about dealing blows back and forth.
But for veteran players who have followed the series through its various iterations, the gameplay may feel repetitive, lacking in innovation, and even cheap. While the core mechanics remain mostly the same the most stand out change is with the second Jutsu. The absence of significant advancements, new features, or new characters may leave seasoned players yearning for more than what feels like an expensive DLC. I am a big Naruto and so maybe I am a bit critical but I just want a flawless Naruto game is that too much to ask?
Like many animes, Naruto has some extremely cool fight scenes that are represented in a few ways in this game between the cut scenes for the moves, full on graphic reimagenings, or simply screenshots from the show then don’t disappoint. Okay… Maybe the still frame telling of the Naruto universe history falls flat but its a huge story to tell and I can understand that they may have bite off more than they can chew. The character models are highly detailed, and the vibrant, dynamic environments capture the essence of the Naruto and Boruto universes. The game truly shines during special moves and ultimate jutsu animations, immersing players in ninjutsu and their character combinations as well.
There are two types of story modes though History mode with the still frames from the anime and a lovingly crafted independent special story mode. I would have loved for the whole game to be lovingly crafted like this one section of the game. It seems like this might have been the one part of this installment the creators were most excited about and so it became what they worked on the most leaving the rest to the wayside. Even just the menus can be overwhelming why are there two story modes? Why are there six versions of the same character? Why not have easy online battles figured out?
NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS for the PS5 is a mixed bag, offering a fine entry point for newcomers to the series but failing to meet the expectations of returning gamers. The accessible gameplay, stunning graphics, and nostalgia make it an enjoyable experience for those familiar with the Naruto and Boruto universes. But this doesn’t seem like a game that would be someones entrance point into the Naruto world. That seems like more of a job for something like Jump Force with many characters to pull in all sorts of anime fans. The lack of innovation between games seems to be a big problem here. Ultimately, while the game succeeds in certain aspects, it falls short of establishing itself as a must-play title for seasoned Naruto gamers on the PlayStation 5.
NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS Earns a 6/10 Hopefully there will be many patches and fixes to correct many of these weaknesses.
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Related: Reviews by Greg Vander Velde
I've been a life long nerd and video game junkie known to associate with the likes of Link, Nathan Drake, Batman, and Master Chief. I'm a filmmaker by profession, but spend lots of time behind a controller escaping the real world. @GregVelde on Instagram/Twitter/YouTube
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