izigame.me

Naruto Storm Connections is a a bit of a let down. The game isn't bad (while some modes like online and Adventure Mode are), its just too bare bones to sell it as a full priced game.
Let me explain. What this game adds is a fun Special Story mode, great new fighting mechanics that overhauls the game, which makes it feels fresh and more competitive. But also, only 10 new characters. While the new characters are great, it's the lowest amount any Storm game ever received. Not only are 10 new characters far too few, they held off for some to sell them later as DLC. How do we have Baryon Mode Naruto, but not Isshiki, the enemy he used this form against? To sell it as DLC of course. That would be like Storm 2 having Sage Mode Naruto, but not Pain to sell him as DLC later.
But History Mode is just recycled battles from old Storm games, but cut out many iconic ones that don't resolve around Naruto and Sasuke like Jiraiya vs Pain. But they also removed the Storm 3 battle between Naruto and Sasuke for example. And it's got stupid anime slideshows as cutscenes. This mode is just plain bad, and if people start with this mode, they will feel ripped off. So I recommend starting with the new Special Story Mode.
Because the new Special Story Mode is actually fun, it's got a decent story. It starts out sluggish, but becomes good later on and actually have animated cutscenes as well. The marketing for this game was truly terrible, because not only did they make it feel like a remaster for many people, they also could've advertised this new mode better. It feels like Boruto enters a weird online mode at first, but it becomes much more than that later on, and I think they could've shown some of that in the marketing too.
While the new battle mechanics are awesome, every character now has 2 Jutsus which I like, but they took away tilts and Chakra Shuriken. This is because most old character's tilt moves became their second Jutsu instead of adding new ones for many characters. Itachi truly got 2 Jutsus like Amaterasu and Fireball which is great, but thanks to this, he lost his iconic crow tilt attack.They also removed the option to pick which Jutsus you want to use, and I do hope they'll add this back in. Because for example, Kakashi had access to many Jutsus in Storm 4, which was awesome.
Now, it all feels very rushed, because it is. Because you can’t even invite your friends to play online, it’s coming later down the line. How is this acceptable to release a game in this state? Bandai and CC2, you should do better and you know it. And if wasn't finished yet, or you want to implement something cooler for that, I can understand it. But then you should've delayed the game, or just implemented a basic menu so that you can atleast play with friends online.
But this all doesn't mean the game is bad, it's just too barebones at launch. Release some free DLC characters like Merz and Nanashi (they were awesome), more Team Ultimates (Team Taka, Itachi and Kisame, Indra and Ashura, etc.) and more stages. Because it's really great we got all the old stages back, but we only got 3 new ones. And of course, fix online invites ASAP. Also, many team ultimates don't work with certain costumes and or character variations. For example, Ino-Shika-Cho's team ultimate don't work in their Boruto outfits, or Team Boruto's team ultimate doesn't work with Karma Boruto's moveset. This is just dumb and it should just work with any character variation/costume.
So all in all, I do recommend this game if you didn't play a Naruto Storm game before, or atleast if you didn't own Storm 4. It's the ultimate package, and what's here is great. I can also recommend it in a sale, let's say the Deluxe Edition for €60. Because that's what should've been in the base game. You got over 130 fighters with unique movesets, and also a ton of customization features.
But I don't recommend this game if you own Storm 4 (especially if you also got its DLC). While the new story mode, new characters, and updates fighting mechanics are great, it's too barebones at launch. Only 10 new characters and 3 stages feels disappointing, they need to add more as well as more missing team ultimates. History Mode is just bad and recycled, and also because you can't release a fighting game where you can't invite your friends online at launch.
Again, this doesn't mean the game is bad, it's just too barebones for a full price game. Bandai and CC2, if you're reading this, you can fix this game, it isn't too late. The Storm franchise is truly awesome, but we deserve better, and just more content for €60. Start by adding Merz and Nanashi, unique story mode stages that aren't in free battle, and more missing team ultimates like I mentioned above for free. Because then, I do recommend this game.