The Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm series are some of the most popular Naruto games, which is why it was so disappointing for many fans when Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections was released to mixed reviews. Largely a rehash of old concepts, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections didn’t include nearly as much content from Boruto as it could have, instead reusing the same animations and characters from the previous installment in the series. In the years since then, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero has been released, and it received a far warmer reception.
Naruto fighting games need to keep up with the competition, which has proven to be a more formidable challenge with the release of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. The release of new anime fighting games gives Naruto a better idea of what heights it can scale to, but the Ultimate Ninja Storm formula of recycling animations, reusing its roster, and not delving into its storyline has proven to be detrimental in recent years. Naruto fighting games need to improve, and give the formula a shake-up, to compete with the current market.
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The Unwritten Rules of Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections Explained
Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is very similar to its predecessors but has some changes that players need to adapt to.
Comparing Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero to Naruto X Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections
Dragon Ball is an anime franchise in the same genre as Naruto, and yet it receives far more video game adaptations. Some of these video game adaptations don’t hit the mark, but Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero was widely praised for capturing Dragon Ball‘s spirit, for its character roster, and for its imaginative story mode. With a hit game under its belt, Dragon Ball‘s recent success highlights how far behind Naruto has lagged. This is especially unfortunate considering the potential Naruto has for a fighting game.
Coming off the success of Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Connections felt like a step backwards in many ways. That Connections is the only offering for Naruto fans, despite a massive roster, rich lore, and a dedicated fanbase that’s still active more than a decade after the manga’s conclusion, is a missed opportunity. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero‘s success in providing challenging gameplay, storylines that offer alternate realities based on different choices, a larger roster, and more gameplay mechanics and features, despite being a fighting game in the same genre as Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, highlights the Ultimate Ninja Storm series’ shortcomings.
How Naruto Games Can Create a New Identity
Instead of reiterating the same game, Naruto games should attempt to diversify by looking at the best features of Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero and translating those features to a Naruto game. The lackluster response to Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections was largely because of the same roster, animations, and storylines for multiple games in a row, which also failed to capture the spirit of both the Naruto and Boruto manga and anime series.
One way for a game to connect to its players, something that Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections didn’t succeed at doing, is a strong story mode. Despite being a game that also centered on the Boruto series, which was already several arcs into its main storyline, the story mode covered very little of Boruto‘s story. Instead, resources for Naruto x Boruto were spent on an original story with a new character that players had no connection to. Remaining true to the story, and giving players more from a series that they already enjoy, would be a better strategy than recycling old concepts and introducing completely new characters that they’ve never seen before.
- Released
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November 17, 2023
- ESRB
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T For Teen Due To Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
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