As much to say it right away, this Generations episode is not strictly speaking a third episode of Ninja Storm. Released only a year and a half after the previous part, it takes advantage of the runaway events of the manga to present itself as a huge mix, the main strength of which turns out to be the number of characters present. It's simple, no fighter has been forgotten and the cast is truly monstrous: 72 ninjas are playable, not counting the 15 shinobis who can only be selected as support. The concept of the title being to confront several generations of characters, some are available in several iterations. Naruto is therefore playable in its child and teen versions, just like his group of comrades. But this spatio-temporal fault also makes it possible to play with the young Kakashi, then without Sharingan, his teammate Obito, the First and the Second Hokage, but also Zabuza and Haku. Facing them will be the Council of Five Kage, Sasuke and his Susanô or even Kabuto/Orochimaru. A completeness which will inevitably delight fans of the series and which constitutes the real richness of this episode, insofar as the gameplay has not changed a bit.
"We are Fighting Dreamers"
The regulars will therefore find their marks from the first fight, even if the playing areas have been slightly enlarged. Unsurprisingly, we find the combos of physical attacks, the special techniques and the deadly Secret Techniques, which open onto very successful animation sequences. As such, the engine of CyberConnect2 is always the best to get closer to the rendering of a manga. The cel-shading is expressed with a rare finesse and everything is still extremely faithful to the anime. The execution of special attacks, very neat, quickly makes you want to discover the specific jutsus of each fighter. Only small downside: the frame-rate drops during certain animations, like Sasuke's Susanô, quite obvious while the rest of the game remains surprisingly fluid. If the recipe has not changed much, it has been expanded with the arrival of new characters who all benefit from personalized gameplay, with a particular fighting style and a speed of movement and execution specific to each. . No pale copies or skins of already existing characters, all are perfectly original, proof of the hard work of the Japanese studio; especially for the shinobis that we see very little in combat in the series. Reconstituting teams of ninjas by their affinities will, for example, give you a small combat bonus.
If the recipe has not changed much, it has been expanded with the arrival of new characters who all benefit from personalized gameplay, with a particular fighting style and a speed of movement and execution specific to each. ."
If the gameplay of the Ninja Storm series may seem somewhat simplistic at first glance – especially in comparison to the tenors of the fight – it gradually reveals an interesting depth. The management of the combat distance, for example, is essential to overcome your opponent. Confronting Naruto or the Raikage in a hand-to-hand fight is thus completely suicidal. This is where throwing objects and weapons become important, since they will allow you to keep your opponent away; time to gather enough chakra to chain it with a powerful technique. The only slight novelty of this Generations: the appearance of a permutation bar, which has been separated from the chakra bar. If this change may seem anecdotal, it removes a small tactical dimension and gives rise to funny situations where the two fighters chain the permutations until they empty their gauges and can put the first tatane. Support characters also play a more prominent role, as they appear more regularly and can join you in thrashing the opponent in a combo. During our play sessions, it was not uncommon to see opposing supports turn the tide of the fight. Luckily, despite the profusion of fighters, the balance of the game remains correct. Sasuke in Susanô mode, Naruto in any form, or even Minato the Fourth Hokage, will certainly be considered by some as largely favored, but they can cancel each other out, and can even be put in difficulty by others. other characters.
Fight this generation
But, saber de bois, where did the little guys from CyberConnect2 fish in this episode? Well, in its content, or rather in the form of its content. The "Story" mode has thus been reduced to its simplest expression: eleven scenarios supposed to follow the paths of different characters, whose QTE-based boss fights have been removed. These inevitably turn out to be unbalanced and rather poorly illustrated. Probably for licensing issues, the game does not benefit from the official illustrations and sequences of the anime: we are therefore entitled to sometimes quite clumsy copies, whose blood has obviously been banned, PEGI obliges. This mode is therefore no longer the heart of the title, as was the case in the second opus. However, we note the appearance of Tournaments and Survival in the "Free Combat" mode, which greatly, but artificially, lengthen the duration of the solo. The bonuses to be unlocked in the shop are always there and act as a reward, just to obtain new items for the swapping, but also titles and images for the playing cards. These are resurfacing with a new multiplayer feature, during which the player can compare his card with that of his opponent, and obtain the related bonuses during the fight. A little more a bit of a gadget in a very classic online mode, but which does not however offer a ranking by quality of connection or the possibility of rematch.
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN ULTIMATE NINJA STORM GENERATIONS VIDEO REVIEW
