Alright, this one is personal, as I grew up with the Storm series. Bandai Namco announced the “next installment of the Storm series” with NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS and already it’s met with mixed receptions. However, I’m willing to give this game the benefit of the doubt if it does the following things.
So the idea behind NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS is that it’s the 20th anniversary of Naruto’s anime debut and as such fans get to relive selected scenes from Naruto’s childhood until his final battle with Sasuke through anime scenes and in-game battles with updated graphics and a new story exclusive to the game. It all sounds good and well until you remember that Bandai Namco already did something like this with NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM LEGACY.
With that being said NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS will have to justify its $59.99 price tag to veteran fans. For new fans of the Boruto series and maybe even Naruto, if they haven’t already picked up Legacy, this might sound like a fair deal, but for the OG’s it feels like a cheap cash grab. However, I get the feeling that NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS will not be a simple trilogy collection like Legacy but something a bit more. So what can NARUTO X BORUTO Ultimate Ninja STORM CONNECTIONS do to ensure the money is worth it, well I have some ideas.
- First and foremost. if this is a true one-game package of all the series, I expect all the features of previous games to be accessible. That means, for example, Storm 1 had unique intros that made each fight fun to engage in, I expect every character to have an intro before each fight.
- Bring back the side combos. For whatever reason CC2 took out the side combos in later games, given that this is all the series in one game, side combos need to make a return as they had more flavor to the fights.
- Bring back three-dimensional free roaming in Konoha and expand on it.
- Bring back longer ultimate animations.
- Jutsu clash
- A rollback would be nice
- Cross-play is a must, this will ensure the game’s longevity is Healthy
- Anti-cheating mechanics need to be a primary focus. Rage quitters never felt like they were punched enough.
- Bring back Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolutions 4-PLAYER mode called Ninja World Tournament and make it online, which would have more replaybilities
- For the love of God, bring back a proper Tournament Mode WITH SPECTATING.
- Get rid of those flashcards in Storm 4 story mode, and animate those to add value. Yes, that includes those secret finishing battle ones too
- Every character needs to be back, ALL OF THEM!
- Character creation using the Soul Calibur method, meaning you can online customize your look but your entire moveset is present of an existing character that way you can’t create a broken character.
- Bring EVERY GAME MODE ACROSS THE FOUR GAMES BACK!
- In the first fight in Naruto Storm 4, the introduced hazards such as Kuruma attacking, extend that to most stages.
Well, that’s all I got, hopefully, we’ll see half of what I mentioned in the game if CC2 cares enough. New characters are great but if that’s all it’s got, they may as well just be DLC.
