Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

This is a Naruto game for the hardcore fans but can be enjoyed by everyone. Ever wanted to see what Naruto would look like as a robot? Ever wanted to see how exactly the Akatsuki formed? Perfect! Shōnen Jump right in to this fun, fight fuelled foray into this button bashing ninja nightmare in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution by CyberConnect2.

Story Mode

So this game has a story mode, set around a Tournament Arc. You fight your way through to Torunament as you’d expect but toward the beginning the player encounters a robot version of Naruto named “Mecha-Naruto” and that’s where the real hijinks ensue. There is a lot to this story mode and I’m not going to pretend there weren’t moments where I stared at the screen wondering what on earth was going on.

There’s robots and body switching and the plot was convoluted but it was also definitely designed with the concept of being a new side story that didn’t affect the greater plot of the show at all and that’s all fine. It didn’t take itself too seriously but still got an emotional reaction out of me. I still enjoyed the good treatment the story got from the great voice acting and underlining moral lessons that the show has taught its viewers over the years.

There are more than just the quick play battles and the main story. There are 3 original animated stories about the origin of the Akatsuki, the terrorist group and antagonists for the series. These segments are woven into the gameplay and allow you to play as members of the group who go out to recruit others. It’s a fun little side quests that add to the greater experience.

Gameplay

The gameplay revolved primarily around 3 main sections, watching cutscenes and conversation scenes, basic map traversal where you run around completing fetch quests and exploration, and finally the combat segments which can last a while depending on the difficulty. The combat is relatively simple and primarily consists of button bashing and special moves. The exploration was very straightforward and served its purpose.

One thing I enjoyed was the huge roster of characters to play as, around the 100 mark from Naruto to Neji to Might Guy and so on; more than enough ninjas to get your jutsu on.

Anime games have come a long way since this title was released in 2014. 2018s Black Clover: Quartet Knights, for instance, has less playable characters but far more character mobility and more robust and diverse combat options.

Art Style

The entire game was animated in a way that greatly resembles the original art style and I found it to be very aesthetically pleasing and immersive. Characters were excellently executed, thanks to facial expressions, body language and reactions from the characters, tied in with original voice actors that really helped me settle in to the IP I know and love.

Pros

• Lots of Characters
• Great art style
• Great voice acting

Cons

• Action can be hard to follow
• Very little world detail
• Main story was a little silly