Highlights

  • Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections celebrates the series with a massive roster and new story modes.
  • With over 130 characters, the game highlights the need for quality over quantity in future Naruto titles.
  • The next Naruto game should pivot from the Ultimate Ninja Storm series to keep the franchise fresh and engaging, focusing on deep gameplay for each member of the cast instead of a staggering character count.

The Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm franchise has had a good run overall, providing fans with some of the most thorough fan service in all licensed Shonen Jump games. Even Naruto's author Masashi Kishimoto has acknowledged CyberConnect2’s arena fighters as being one of the best ways to consume Naruto's story, thanks to their dense story modes and gorgeous cinematics. Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections is the latest of these, and is arguably a celebration of the UNS series itself rather than Naruto. If any licensed game series deserves that, it's this one, and Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections demonstrates why that is.

Every playable character from across the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, except for certain special cases like the Tekken guest character Lars Alexandersson, is playable in Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections. Highlight fights featuring them can be replayed in its condensed campaign, and there's even a new story mode featuring Boruto's cast and some original characters. Throw in custom costumes and another pass on the battle mechanics, and it's plain to see why Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections could be considered the ultimate Naruto game. It's also why Naruto games may want to quit while they're ahead and scale back their next title’s roster.

Indra, Naruto, and Obito
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Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections: 10 Best Characters, Ranked

These characters stand out among the rest in Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections.

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Can’t Keep Its Roster Stable For Much Longer

Over 130 characters, with more coming as DLC, is an impressive achievement, and represents the highest roster count in Naruto games so far. Fans can craft almost any battle scenario in Naruto that they can imagine, throwing out the signature Jutsu's in their best animated forms yet. However, all of those characters come at a price, and it's been showing through in the gameplay since the beginning. Ultimate Ninja Storm already started with simpler basic controls than the Naruto games before it, and it lost more mechanics and attacks over time, even as others rose to take their place.

The Next Naruto Game Can’t Be Another Ninja Storm

With Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections being the grand celebration it is, it’s the ideal time to start over. Fans have wanted something new out of Naruto games for a while now, and even the long-running Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker is getting too long in the tooth. Whether that means it's time to finally pivot back to a traditional fighting game, try a different arena fighter approach, or do something completely different, Ultimate Ninja Storm’s roster will need to be pared down.

Future Naruto Games Have Plenty Of Reasons To Shrink Their Rosters

Pivoting to a focus on quality character design over quantity may be risky, but it could be better received than the past decade of Naruto games, and that's not all. A smaller roster wouldn't just stand out from prior Naruto games, but from other major players in the anime game space as well. In particular, the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero and its 164-character launch roster should be more than enough to satiate any shonen game fans who want that. Sparking Zero might push back other Dragon Ball games with its sheer scope, so having another licensed giant to contrast it could be good for both.

Fewer Characters Would Put Less Pressure On A Boruto Game

Then there's the matter of justifying this smaller roster. Despite having taken over the Naruto franchise for several years running, Boruto doesn't have a big-budget game adaptation. Even if the resulting title is focused purely on adapting material from before Boruto's timeskip, there should be more than enough to match the campaign of the first Ultimate Ninja Storm, while also keeping the roster humble compared to the last UNS. Whatever the case may be, Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections has pushed Naruto's roster far enough, and the next Naruto game has everything to gain from changing directions.