I haven’t touched a Naruto game since the titles back in the PS2 and GameCube days when I was first getting into the massive manga and anime series. As such, it was exciting getting to play the latest game, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, during a preview at Anime Expo 2023.
Set to have the largest roster of all time with more than 130 characters, this preview only included a handful of characters from both Naruto and its sequel Boruto. Immediately, I was taken back to my childhood with the brilliant cel-shaded style art that felt like the anime come to life in a 3D format.
Image via Bandai Namco
As with past games, this title features fighting-style gameplay in 3D arenas based on popular locations from the series. I had the option to play against the computer for the first two fights, letting me pick my starting fighter and two additional support ones.
For me, I went with characters that I currently love in the series, such as Kawaki, Sasuke, and Boruto, the latter of which is starting to grow on me. What I appreciate about this game is that it offers two distinct gameplay options: normal mode and simple mode.
Normal is what you expect with all of the various combo inputs and skills under your complete control. Maneuvering around the arena and using this method gave me the most bang for my buck. It allowed me to deal tons of damage to the enemy’s health bar and pull off some flashy anime-inspired moves.
However, the simple mode is also there for those like myself who may have never played a game like this or at least not in a very long time. You can essentially mash the Square button on the PS5 controller and the gamfe automatically does most of the combos for you.
Image via Bandai Namco
Combat Features are Plentiful
This is helpful considering there is a lot going on in the fights themselves. You have your basic attack, shurikens, dashes, guards, and the like. Plus, you also have a few signature moves you can use, in addition to commands that you can occasionally use like a dash attack at the enemy.
If that isn’t enough, there are transformations, support character moves, the ability to switch fighters, and special team moves. There is a lot to unpack in this gameplay and it led to some extraordinarily cinematic fights that I appreciated. Thankfully, I even won against the computer.
You only need to defeat two of the opponent’s fighters to win the whole match. After giving the CPU a go a couple of times, I ended my preview against a representative from Bandai Namco. I started out strong as Naruto, winning the first bout rather easily.
Image via Bandai Namco
Maybe it was beginner’s luck or I was given a free victory because I was then destroyed in the next two rounds for a resounding loss. Even still, it was a lot of fun that harkened back to my childhood and the fond memories I had of checking out Naruto for the first time.
With the promise of select scenes from the series for players to relive and a rather unique story mode, Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections has me much more interested than before I checked it out for myself.
Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections will release on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2023.
