Faced with the intensive rhythm of one episode per year, the CyberConnect2 studio found a technique to avoid overloading itself with work. The trick? Take the "Best Of Menu" formula from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, simply bypassing the story mode, where you follow the adventures of the manga as well as the epic Boss fights. By far the longest part in the development process. If for the previous opus we followed eleven different stories, it is quite different for Revolution. Indeed for this new episode, the player will be able to participate in the "World Ninja Tournament" in order to become the best... ninja. To achieve this you must become the champion of each category, ranging from D to A then S, by winning three fights with any character of your choice. Although the tournament is sorely lacking in scenario, it has the merit of introducing the great novelty of the Cyber Connect 2 Naruto games, four-player battles. Well known to players of Naruto Shippuden Clash of Ninja Revolutions on Wii, the fight pits you against three enemies simultaneously. Only difference, here the characters do not have life bars but an orb counter which once at zero prevents you from continuing the fight. To win, you must collect as many orbs as possible within the time limit.
Dream fighting
New on PS3, the 4-player mode brings a more strategic dimension to the fights, where it will be important to choose your opponents correctly and be careful not to become the enemy of the three participants. In addition, some fights are done in teams of 2 to 4 players where the orbs accumulate with each fight. It is therefore not because we lose the first round that the fight will necessarily be over. Only downside, the aiming system is still unstable and it is sometimes difficult to be able to switch between opponents. In addition, it often happens that the three enemies decide to attack you at the same time, which makes the fight difficult or even impossible. If the tournament can be finished quickly, the fact of having to carry out quests, to find suitable partners, as well as all the additional missions can significantly extend the life of the software. Treasure hunters will also be in heaven since the game offers a long list of objects to collect and you will have to hang on to hope to see the end of it.
On the scenario side, after winning category D of the "World Ninja Tournament", players can try their hand at the story of Mecha-Naruto, an original scenario validated by Kishimoto himself. In this mode, the player embodies Naruto who also participates in the world tournament. During a mission with Hinata, he discovers Mecha-Naruto, a machine which strangely resembles him and which seems to have a personality close to our hero. No longer having all its memory, the robot is forced to participate in the tournament with our two protagonists in order to find the missing part of its system. So much for the main plot which unfortunately ends very quickly and leaves the player with lots of questions. Nevertheless, it's a real pleasure to be able to move around the city of Konoha again, although it is not completely open, and the plethora of secondary missions will easily add a few hours to the Mecha-Naruto mode. Special mention to the end fight which is reminiscent of the big Boss fights present in the old episodes, while giving a nice nod to Gundam. Moreover, Mecha-Naruto is not a simple copy of Naruto and offers completely crazy attacks, like the Rocket Rasengan. For those who like scripted stories, you will be delighted with "Ninja Escapes", a mode composed of original stories that tie in with the manga. Thus, the player can discover the premises of the foundation of the Akatsuki as well as the recruitment methods operated by Konan and Pain. The second story focuses on the relationship between Itachi and Sasui, his childhood best friend. Each story is told through cinematics whose realization is equivalent to the anime and each fight fought is directly linked to the story.
Bigger, badder, better ?
Regarding the gameplay, the collaboration with freelancers specializing in fighting games seems to have paid off. As usual, it is possible to chain the blows by pressing like crazy on Circle or B, but the arrival of Guard Break Attacks and Counter Attacks makes the fights more technical. In addition, we are happy to find the swap bar which always brings so much spice to fights where it is important not to waste your substitutions unnecessarily. If the players will not really be disoriented by the combat system, the hundred playable characters should make it possible to renew the attention of the fans who will all be keen to play with each of the characters to discover the ultimate secret attacks of each, which remain always so beautiful for the eyes. Of course, there are variations in the roster like Naruto who has the right to three versions of the character (normal, hermit mode, Kyubi mode) but fortunately each one has their own special moves, Kyubi mode even allowing to transform into Kurama himself. Finally on the support side, it is now possible to use any cast character to support you. If we can create dream teams, it can be interesting to respect the story since by forming certain teams, the player will be able to benefit from bonuses during the fight. As useful as ever, support really helps the player get out of tight spots by protecting themselves from enemy attacks and can even allow you to turn the tide of a match. Be careful, however, not to abuse it too much in order to be able to use it at the most opportune moment.
But the real novelty this year is the appearance of a Storm Gauge bar (formerly team gauge) which fills up as the blows are given and received. Once full, the bar allows you to activate three new types of support attacks. Thus the player can choose between the Secret Technical Attack, the Total Awakening and the Automatic Support. The latter allows you to tell your team to attack or defend but also to create a seal to block the enemy for a moment. On the other hand, the secret attack allows you to launch your ultimate attack to which your supports add a few hits. The awakening mode allows you to offer the character different attacks and sometimes even to make it evolve like Sasuke who turns into Susanoo for a few moments. As with the match bonuses, the special attacks will benefit from unique cutscenes depending on the teams created and associating Naruto with Bee, for example, could give rise to nice cut-scenes.
