Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is the best fighting game I’ve ever played

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SHOULD I PLAY NARUTO X BORUTO ULTIMATE NINJA STORM CONNECTIONS

Absolutely play it, especially if you like the Naruto series. Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections builds on the fundamental gameplay that I’ve grown to love from other titles in the franchise and refines those mechanics and designs to create the perfect combat experience. With the only caveat being a poorly-thought-out side story mode, Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections has officially become the best fighting game I’ve ever played.

TIME PLAYED

I played Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections for ten and a half hours. I’ve spent six hours playing the multiplayer mode with friends and four and a half hours completing the new story mode.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT NARUTO X BORUTO ULTIMATE NINJA STORM CONNECTIONS?

• The perfect combat experience. Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections builds on Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4’s gameplay and refines mechanics like attacking, blocking, and dashing to make combat more intense, intuitive, and dynamic. Now there are more ways to dodge, strike, and unleash devastating attacks. Add in over 130 characters, and there’s almost an infinite number of ways to play and enjoy Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, which is both freakin’ awesome and extremely impressive.

• Ninja tools replenish over time. Unlike the older games where ninja tools could only be used once or twice, Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections features a cooldown system that let me use them repeatedly. This feature has completely revolutionized ninja tools in the game and given birth to new combos, counterattacks, and strategies.

• Way more characters now. The game features an extensive list of characters both from the Naruto and Naruto Shippuden series, as well as the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime and manga. This is a massive achievement for the franchise as it’s finally caught up to the current events in the show, which means players like me can officially indulge in high-speed battles using some of the newer characters like Jigen and Koji Kashin.

• Simple combat setting. For all the newbies out there, Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections has a gameplay setting that automatically handles mechanics like chakra charging and combo hitting, which helps players settle into the game more comfortably. While I didn’t really need to use this setting and I could just switch back to the normal layout, it’s great to know that there’s a simple way to make battles easier for newcomers.

• Skipping the story. As someone who’s seen almost every episode across this franchise multiple times over, I can’t stress enough how grateful I am to know I can skip story scenes. This saved me a lot of time when I already knew what was going to happen and all I wanted to do was get into the action and throw fists.

• It’s a totally new battlefield. While Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections still feels like part of the franchise with its design and look, it definitely seems way more polished than its predecessors—and it’s absolutely beautiful. From the interface to the gameplay and environments, everything looks extremely crisp and clean. Even the story cutscenes and battles look out of this world.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT NARUTO X BORUTO ULTIMATE NINJA STORM CONNECTIONS?

• A poorly executed side story. Besides the whole Naruto to Naruto Shippuden timeline being compacted into this perfect, digestible campaign, the game also features a special story mode expanding on the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations universe with new characters and plotlines. The problem is though, it’s so weird and random. Without going into any big spoilers, it feels like the developers just added a side campaign for the sake of it.

The actual story fits in within the timeline, but it doesn’t make any sense logically, and there’s no significant talk of it in the main show. It just feels like the developers decided to create a spin-off story for the game to drag in more attention, which feels very lazy and predatory. I understand the appeal of adventures like this—and I’ve seen similar examples of it across movies in the franchise—but this could’ve been made better if it were either integrated more seamlessly with the actual events in the show or separated entirely to make the story feel standalone.

• Speed always wins. Because battles are a lot more intense now, some characters like Minato Namikaze or Killer Bee are just a little too quick. The game could benefit from a hotfix update that balances out the speed across some of the more agile characters in the game.

• Can only change settings in the main lobby menu. It’s really annoying that I can’t change the gameplay settings in any other mode or place besides the main lobby menu. It would’ve saved me so much time if the settings menu was accessible everywhere.

PLATFORM TESTED

PC via Steam and played with Xbox controller