On that note, everyone should relax and be glad that CyberConnect 2 seems to have learned from their past mistakes. Unlike the poorly optimized Full Burst, Revolution works right out of the proverbial box. I’m still using the low-end PC (Pentium G2020, 4GB RAM, nVidia GT240) that had problems running Full Burst in full speed at the lowest resolution, yet Revolution ran like a champ at 1080p with a few dips in fps here and there (as I said, I’m running a PC that would be considered low-end 3 years ago so we shouldn’t be expecting miracles.)Additionally, it seems like they’re no longer using frame-dependent timing because even at times when my PC struggled to maintain full frame rate (I got dips as low as 25 fps, according to FRAPS), the game didn’t feel slow-motion at all. Maybe they’re properly skipping frames this time around.
As for a review of the game itself, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is basically an upgraded version of Full Burst, and is probably using a modified version of its engine so there’s really no point in a standard review of the game. You can refer to the Full Burst review here if you want the basics. Instead, we’ll just outline some of the more noticeable changes (and whether they’re good or bad.)
Presentation
The first change that will hit you is the tweak to the presentation. It’s a minor tweak but helps a ton in making the user experience better – they simply sped up the time it takes for menu items to load. Most of you will remember that Full Burst’s menu required patience as it takes a few seconds too long before you can get it to do what you want. Moving from one section to the next is instantaneous now.
Visuals
Next is the visuals: they remain the same (it’s the same engine, after all), but the colors are somehow more vivid. You might not notice it but the colors during a match in Full Burst was predominantly slathered with blue, red, and orange. Now you can see some greens in the attack effects (check out Usui Uchiha’s spear-wielding Susano’o!)
Audio
The audio part is hardly worth mentioning these days. There’s nothing special, it’s still the same mix of oriental and industrial rock and sounds that are recognizable enough to make you think that you’re watching the anime. One minor thing, though: the FMV sounds do stutter at the start, but I’m chalking it up to my weak PC. Maybe those of you with Skynet Junior PCs will have no problems.
Content
There are several modes available right off the bat: Ninja Tournament, Online, Free Battle, and Ninja Escapades.
Novices might be thrown out for a loop because the standard story mode has been replaced by Ninja Tournament, which might be a misnomer because it isn’t a Tournament Mode per se but an actual story mode that uses a martial arts tournament as the backdrop. This mode lets you pick one character as your main avatar and then allows you to go around recruiting other shinobi. Recruiting has you go through minigames and quizzes before a shinobi successfully joins. A character that joins your group will be unlocked in the VS Mode as well if he or she hasn’t been unlocked through some other means yet.
Ninja Escapades is sort of a bonus mode that lets you go through stand alone chapters that cover events in the series that weren’t tackled in the manga or anime, such as the formation of Akatsuki, Danzo, Itachi, and Shisui’s story, and even Kushina and Obito’s interactions. The mode is supported by FMV cutscenes that were created specifically for the game.
Roster-wise, there’s a lot more to go around now – over 100 compared to Full Burst’s already-impressive 80. As expected, majority of these characters need to be unlocked. You only get access to the main cast when you start. The roster is updated to match the manga around the time the game was made (it’s outdated now but you already know that) – you get Naruto’s trenchcoat-wearing chakra cloak mode, which can awaken into a full-on Tailed Beast mode (finally, you get to play as Kurama!)
There are several ways to unlock characters – by recruiting them in the Ninja Tournament mode, by finishing the stand alone chapters in Ninja Escapades, and similar to Full Burst – simply by earning enough Ryo (which can be earned through playing or by completing goals in Ninja Tournament.)
Gameplay
As mentioned above, everything seems more streamlined now. Dashes were made slow but still felt as responsive (or as floaty, rather) as the previous game. The slowed down dashes just made it easier to maneuver mid or after the dash, allowing for more dynamic rushes.
The biggest change to gameplay is that the modes are now separated into awakening, ultimate jutsu, and drive. In the previous game, all characters had an Ultimate Jutsu while some select characters have instant awakenings and true awakenings (the former can be toggled anytime, while the latter can only be enabled near death.) With the new mechanics, you can select from the start of the match whether you want a character that only has an Ultimate Jutsu, a character that focuses on Awakenings (has both Instant and True Awakenings but no Ultimate Jutsu), or a Drive type characters, which focuses on team up moves. This change simplifies gameplay while also making it more flexible, as paradoxical as that may seem.
The game is still new so the issue of balance can’t be addressed yet. We’ll have to wait until the fans have enough time to play and see if there are characters that completely suck or characters that can dominate matches without requiring any skill whatsoever.
Conclusion
If you like the Naruto franchise, definitely get this game. It’s too simplistic to be considered as a good fighting game but it is a really, really great Naruto Shippuden simulator – if you can understand the distinction. It’s flashy, it’s full of fan service, and provides a lot of fun in short bursts of play. Additionally, if Full Burst burned you out due to all the technical problems it brought, you can rest assured that CyberConnect 2 has addressed most of the game breaking problems, finally showing what the game should have been from the start. Latency, though – that’s something that you’ll have to figure out yourself (I live in a place where the term “broadband” is subject to several different interpretations, so my experiences in online play have no weight.)
