NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM

My first time booting this up, I had to remind myself it started life as a PS3 exclusive in 2008 before CyberConnect2 remastered it for PC in 2017. That context matters, because a lot of what feels dated traces directly back to design decisions made before the series had found its footing. That said, the core combat still does something few arena fighters manage: it gives you actual reads to make. The substitution jutsu parry system demands you tap block at exactly the right moment rather than turtling behind a held guard, which builds up the Storm Gauge and eventually gets your defensive game broken anyway. Chakra management, support character placement, and the jutsu clash mini-game when two ultimate attacks collide at the same time all add layers that newer entries in the series quietly stripped out. The roster sits at 25 playable characters, each usable as a support as well, and the Awakening Mode adds a comeback mechanic where losing enough health triggers a transformation with new abilities and a full moveset overhaul for characters like Naruto in Nine-Tails form or Sasuke in Curse Seal Level 2. The PC port runs at 60fps, which is a genuine upgrade over the original, though fair warning: PCGamingWiki flags that running at 60fps doubles the button inputs required during quick-time events because the timing was baked in at 30fps. Not gamebreaking, but annoying when you hit a QTE blind for the first time. The PC version also has a quirk where the game can stay running in the background after you close it, and controller detection sometimes needs a full USB juggle to sort out. These are 2008-era rough edges that never got a clean patch. The multiplayer situation is the real sticking point for anyone coming here looking for online play. There is none. The PC version supports local Free Battle mode and Steam Remote Play for couch co-op at a distance, but there is no dedicated online matchmaking, no ranked ladder, nothing. For a shooter specialist like me who evaluates games on whether there is a reason to keep playing past the first weekend, that is a hard limit. The story mode that makes up most of the single-player content covers the original Naruto arc up to roughly episode 135, set across an explorable Hidden Leaf Village hub. The exploration is thin, the cutscenes are sparse, and the side missions you are required to grind before advancing the main story add padding without substance. Where this game still earns its place is as a nostalgia object and a series entry point. The cel-shaded visuals hold up remarkably well. Character movesets here are unique in ways later games dropped, including side combos and manual button inputs for Ultimate Jutsus that actually require you to out-press your opponent in a clash. If you came in from Storm 4 and find it too Chakra-Dash-spammy, Storm 1's slower, more deliberate pace will either frustrate you or reframe what the series was trying to be. Veterans of the franchise who never played this original entry will find genuine mechanical curiosity here. Newcomers to Naruto games without a co-op partner to drag through it will bounce off the story mode fast.

Fred · Scout Team

Shooters

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