TheNaruto: Ultimate Ninja Stormseries are some of the most popularNarutogames, which is why it was so disappointing for many fans whenNaruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionswas released to mixed reviews. Largely a rehash of old concepts,Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionsdidn’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! Zerohas been released, and it received a far warmer reception.
Narutofighting games need to keep up with the competition, which has proven to be a more formidable challenge with the release ofDragon Ball: Sparking! Zero. The release of new anime fighting games givesNarutoa better idea of what heights it can scale to, but theUltimate Ninja Stormformula of recycling animations, reusing its roster, and not delving into its storyline has proven to be detrimental in recent years.Narutofighting games need to improve, and give the formula a shake-up, to compete with the current market.
Comparing Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero to Naruto X Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections
Dragon Ballis an anime franchise in the same genre asNaruto, and yet it receives far more video game adaptations. Some of these video game adaptations don’t hit the mark, butDragon Ball: Sparking! Zerowas widely praisedfor capturingDragon 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 behindNarutohas lagged. This is especially unfortunate considering the potentialNarutohas for a fighting game.
Coming off the success ofNaruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4,Connectionsfelt like a step backwards in many ways. ThatConnectionsis the only offering forNarutofans, 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 asNaruto Ultimate Ninja Storm,highlights theUltimate Ninja Stormseries' shortcomings.
How Naruto Games Can Create a New Identity
Instead of reiterating the same game,Narutogames should attempt to diversify by looking at the best features ofDragon Ball: Sparking! Zeroand translating those features to aNarutogame. The lackluster response toNaruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionswas largely because of the same roster, animations, and storylines for multiple games in a row, which also failed to capture the spirit of both theNarutoandBorutomanga and anime series.
One way for a game to connect to its players, something thatNaruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionsdidn’t succeed at doing, is a strong story mode. Despite being a game that also centered on theBorutoseries, which was already several arcs into its main storyline, the story mode covered very little ofBoruto’s story. Instead, resources forNaruto x Borutowere spent on an original story with a new characterthat 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.
