Earlier, the newly renamed Bandai Namco Entertainment announced that the latest in the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm series was in the works. The fourth entry in the series is also its debut on the new generation of consoles, waving cheerio to the Xbox 360 and PS3 and being made exclusively for the PS4, Xbox One and PC.
At a press event Namco held earlier, I was able to have a quick sit down with this game among others at the event, which I’ll also share with you here on GGS shortly.
Anyways, Naruto!
I’ll apologise in advance to fans of the series, for my knowledge of the franchise is sadly limited. With that in mind, I can’t really comment on any story-related aspects. Thankfully it didn’t stop me from enjoying what is certainly an exceptionally pretty game and as downright wacky as I came to expect.
There were two builds that were set up. The first I played involved Naruto’s transformation into an enormous frog, wading through comparatively tiny humanoids en route to chasing down the larger prize.
There’s always something to be said about taking on the role of a supermassive beastie and ploughing through thousands of bad guys, eventually stopming down a big bad guy. All of this was done in an art style that befits its anime heritage, yet pushes the boat out with the boundaries of the art style whilst exercising a good chunk of the new generation’s horsepower.
Lines flow and fade as fists and bodies are flying, all with a few explosions added in for good measure. It didn’t take long for me to appreciate that this was easily one of the prettiest anime-based games that I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy.
As if to further hit this point home, the second build I played definitely confirmed my conclusion. Presenting Evidence B:
In this build, there were no tiny beasties. It was a straight up 1v1 duel which began with two humans but then evolved into full transformations into the monsters you see above. For some of the set pieces, QTEs provided the necessary punctuation, but beside that it was a massive free-for-all in mashing down the enemy before you got mashed yourself.
I say again… It was rather pretty.
So much so that I’m going to gift you with another screenie!
In terms of release, Naruto Shipudden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is pegged for public consumption this Autumn on PS4/Xbox One/PC. I may have to brush up on my Naruto lore ahead of that I think…
