One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 and Saint Seiya Soldiers' Soul Coming to PC

So, it seems like Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst, as buggy and unoptimized as it is, actually did a lot of good as it finally convinced Japanese devs that there's a lot of money to be made on the PC platform regardless of the piracy problem.

And it's not no-name devs that produce non-licensed games either. We're talking big names here. Bandai Namco has been releasing games for the PC platform since ever, but they're now releasing anime and manga-based games that in the old days would have been exclusive to consoles. OTOH, One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 has been confirmed to be coming out on PC a few months ago, but it's exciting to know that the Steam store page is already live.

We also have the less popular in the West, but generally more popular and iconic Saint Seiya coming via Saint Seiya Soldier's Soul:

So right now we have Dragonball Xenoverse, two Naruto Games, a Saint Seiya, and a One Piece game coming up? It seems like the next couple of years is a good time to be a PC gamer and a manga/anime fan at the same time. That's just the confirmed games, though. Rise of Incarnates, if it's successful, may finally convince BAMCO to bring the Gundam VS games to the PC. And what about Bleach? Surely whoever is the license holder right now will see how successful Xenoverse and the Storm series is even if they're buggy messes? Come on, devs. Our wallets are ready. Get to porting.

Official Trailer for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

Bamco Games has just released the first official trailer for CyberConnect2's Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 during Jump Festa. The trailer is more cinematic than gameplay footage-y, but considering that the game is known for gameplay that looks like anime scenes, it can be hard to tell. All you should know is that it focuses mainly on the fight between Hashirama and Madara, and judging by their looks and dialogue - it is set during their final duel when they were still alive.

You can check out the trailer after the cut:

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution (PC)

This covers the Steam release of CyberConnect2’s Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution instead of the console versions because of two very simple reasons: first is that I don’t have an Xbox 360 or a Playstation 3, and second is because the PC port of the previous game in the series had so many technical problems that there may be a lot of readers wondering if the PC port is worth buying this time.

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.

Unfortunately for the PC Master race, the frame rate is still capped at 30 fps. You’ll just have to grin and bear it as they’re probably keeping it uniform with the console versions in order to ease porting. Anyway, even at 30 fps the game still feels smoother than Full Burst, owing to a few tweaks in combat (which we’ll tackle later.)

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.

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst (PC)

If the title hasn’t made it clear yet, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst isn’t the first entry in the series. In fact, it isn’t the 3rd one either as the series goes way, way back as it traces its roots to the Clash of Ninja series on the Gamecube. However, it is worth tackling because it is the first one to be ported to the PC, which is amazing because the PC isn’t the platform of choice when it comes to fighting games and games based on anime/manga franchises. Yet here we are, UNS3FB for the PC, with UNS Revolution reportedly following suit.

The Story

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst is a 3D cel-shaded fighting game based on Masashi Kishimoto’s extremely popular shonen franchise, featuring a story mode that takes you from the first appearance of the masked man (spoiler: who claims to be Madara Uchiha but is eventually revealed to be someone else) all the way to the fourth great ninja war.

The progression of the story isn’t linear, as it uses flashbacks to tackle key points from the past (pre-timeskip stories are only addressed in flashbacks.) Additionally, the ending deviates from the story in the manga and anime, probably to give it a proper ending – which it can’t if it tries to remain true to the manga’s (which is still unfinished.)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact (PSP)

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact is a 3rd person crowd-brawling game for the PSP, following Kizuna Drive and Akatsuki Rising. The main difference between Ultimate Ninja Impact and its predecessors, besides tweaks under the hood and roster updates, is the use of cel-shading in order to provide anime-like visuals.

For the uninitiated, 3rd person crowd-brawling games give you a character, an expansive stage to run around in, and waves upon waves of enemies that you have to wipe out. Sometimes you also get a boss fight at the end. If you’ve ever played any of Tecmo Koei’s –Warriors series of games, then you know what crowd brawler game is like. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Impact is basically like that – Dynasty Warriors with Naruto Shippuden themes.

The bad things first, because they’re few and far in between: the game is lengthy and takes you from the rescue Gaara arc all the way to the Ninja summit, but once you’ve finished the story mode, the extra missions won’t be that appealing.

There is a tendency for the combat itself to be repetitive, but this is more a flaw of the genre than the game. I mean, crowd brawlers by design will have you fighting tons of cannon fodder over and over again; complaining about it is like complaining that water is too wet. Lastly, the extra modes, as mentioned, isn’t that different from the story mode so there’s very little incentive to take them on once you’ve had your fill of the main game. It would have been better if they included a 1 on 1 vs mode against the CPU.

Now we get to the good parts:

New Gameplay Trailer for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

A new gameplay trailer has just been released for CyberConnect2’s upcoming 3D Fighter, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution. The gameplay trailer will focus on one of the characters demanded by fans of the previous game, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst. It’s none other than the former leader of Kirikagure and member of the Hozuki clan, the 2nd Mizukage:

New Batch of Screenshots for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

Yet another batch of screenshots has been released for CyberConnect2’s next installment in the Ultimate Ninja Storm franchise, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution. This time around, it features the Akatsuki. It is said that the screenshots came from the original animation that Studio Pierrot created for the game, which is rather lengthy as it clocks in at over 50 minutes – enough to fill at least 2 anime episodes.

Far from being a mere retelling of the story, the animation will delve into the origins of the Akatsuki, with series creator Masashi Kishimoto admitting that some of the characters have new outfits designed specifically for the game. Judging by the screenshots, both Sasori and Kakuu have the aforementioned new costume designs.

You can check out the screenshots below:

Naruto: Ninja Destiny (Nintendo DS)

Naruto: Ninja Destiny is a 3D fighting game for the Nintendo DS based on Masashi Kishimoto’s extremely popular shonen manga and anime franchise, Naruto. It tackles the first part of the series – with pre-timeskip characters – and uses an engine that is similar in principle to the Gamecube clash of Ninja games. The main difference is that aside from the button controls, players can also use the touchscreen to launch special moves and use power-up items.

Now that we’ve got the basic introduction out of the way, it’s safe to say that Naruto: Ninja Destiny for the Nintendo DS doesn’t even warrant a full length review. It’s a really terrible game that has no redeeming value whatsoever. Or at least none that are worth the asking price for the game cart.

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 (PSP)

At first glance, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 looks like it’s a significant upgrade to its predecessors, Ultimate Ninja Heroes and Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2. The graphics and presentation look sleeker, it’s got an updated roster, and it finally has 4-way free for alls. Unfortunately, all of the improvements are superficial at best, and once you actually get around to playing the game, you’ll get the feeling that Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 is a step backwards for the franchise.

The character models in UNH 3 is indeed smoother and there’s less jaggies noticeable, but the character animation is jerky, like it was made with less frames. Most PSP games run at 30fps, but UNH 3 looks jerky even when compared to other PSP games (worse still is the fact that its predecessors ran at 60fps). We’re assuming that similar to the latter Bleach Heat the Soul games, the FPS was cut down in order to accommodate more complex visual effects. Except that’s not the case here.

UNH 3 seems to have skimped down on the use of transparencies and FBO effects, resulting in some effects – particularly Kakashi Hatake’s Mangekyo Sharingan super – looking a little bit rough around the edges.

But gameplay is still king, right?

Japan Will Get a New Naruto Mobile Social Game Soon

Social game publisher GREE is planning to shut down the Naruto: Shinobi Masters social game this spring, but fans of the game should not despair, because GREE is already working on a replacement, alongside developer ForGroove.

The new Naruto mobile social game is still untitled for now (or at least, the official name has not been announced to the public), but there’s been word that existing players of Naruto: Shinobi Masters don’t need to worry about losing all of their hard work, as their existing items will be transferable to the new game, or will be converted to the equivalent items. More details will be announced by March.

New Character Videos for J-Stars Victory Vs.: Naruto, Yuusuke, and Kenshiro

A new batch of character videos has just been released for the upcoming inter-franchise 3D brawler, J-Stars Victory Vs., which is designed to commemorate Shonen Jump magazine’s 45th anniversary. The new videos feature Naruto Uzumaki from Naruto, Yuusuke Urameshi from Yu Yu Hakusho, and Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken.

You can watch the videos below:

New J-Stars Victory VS. Video Features Fist of the North Star’s Kenshiro

Namco Bandai has just posted a new promotional video for their upcoming 3D brawler, J-Stars Victory Vs. This time around, it focuses on a bunch of its playable characters facing off against their respective adversaries. One of the more interesting parts here is the sequence featuring the characters Kenshiro and Raoh, the protagonist and main antagonist from Fist of the North Star.

You can check out the video below:

New Screenies for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution

Namco Bandai has recently posted a new batch of screenshots for the upcoming update to the Ultimate Ninja Storm franchise, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution. Judging by the screenshots, graphics-wise it’s not going to offer much in the way of upgrades compared to Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 Full Burst, especially since Full Burst didn’t offer any visual upgrades to UNS 3 and UNS2 (save for a few bug fixes and tweaks pertaining to the frame rate.)

However, we all know that people are already satisfied with the graphics engine of the Ultimate Ninja Storm franchise and don’t really mind not having extra bells and whistles. The true selling point of Revolution is gameplay tweaks and additional characters. There’s no concrete details about the gameplay tweaks yet, but info about additional characters have already been provided by Namco Bandai.

Naruto Shippuden Gekitou Ninja Taisen Special (Wii)

Naruto Shippuden: Gekito Ninja Taisen Special is the fourth Naruto fighting game on the Nintendo Wii (7th, actually, if you consider the changes between the English and Japanese releases to warrant separate mentions). It’s a Japanese-only release, but it’s a fighting game so there’s really no need to understand the story in order to enjoy the game, especially considering that anybody who’s interested in the story of Naruto Shippuden already has the anime and the mangas.

The menus in Naruto Shippuden: Gekito Ninja Taisen Special are in Japanese, but a little bit of exploring and looking at the icons will allow anyone to memorize how to navigate the game and get into fights. So basically, if you have a Wii that can play Japanese imports (remember that the Wii is region-locked), you’ll be able to enjoy the game to its fullest.

Battle Stadium D.O.N. (PS2)

Battle Stadium D.O.N. is basically Super Smash Bros. with anime characters. What makes it special is the franchises that were included in this crossover fighting game – D.O.N. stands for Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto.

Don’t expect accurate representations of power levels, as the game is balanced so that no single character will be overwhelmingly stronger than the rest (which is what would happen if they stayed true to the power levels in their respective franchises – characters from Dragon Ball will destroy everyone else). But the visuals do look like they came out of the series (though they are modeled more after the manga than the anime), as the characters use their trademark screen-filling attacks and all have transformations. The stages may be constrained but they do capture the look and feel of their respective franchises.