Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is perhaps what may be the very last installment of the series  on last-gen before Bandai Namco and CyberConnect2 move development forward with the Playstation 4 and Xbox One consoles. With tweaked and improved gameplay mechanics and graphics that continue to push the boundaries of the remaining years of last-gen, Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is perhaps the best entry in the series.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is an 2014 fighting game, it is developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco. It is available on PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360.

I’ve been a fan of the Ultimate Ninja series since it’s initial release on Playstation 2. With each game released by Bandai and developed by CyberConnect, effort to get it as realistic as possible in relation to the anime series has always been seemed like a priority, however the visible limitations of the current technology would often daft some fans hopes. That isn’t necessarily a problem with Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution.

Mecha Naruto, designed by Naruto mangaka Masashi Kishimoto makes his debut.

THE GOOD: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Revolution is perhaps the most realistic looking game in comparison to the anime series. The tweaked and re-worked gameplay mechanics made the game feel like you were watching an episode of the anime. Most specifically the tweak support system, with the addition of a new support drive which allows players to combine their characters respective jutsu for a big attack, it made things feel unpredictable.

Mecha-Naruto in Kyubi mode.

Players have to keep in mind that like Generations, Revolution is a bit of an spin-off than an actual full-fledged game. The 100+ players makes for a vast roster and is certain to contain at least one fan favorite side character in playable form. I also dug the inclusion of part I incarnations to the roster. I did find there being 3 different playable versions of Part II Naruto & Sasuke a bit annoying, it seemed pretty unnecessary given that there was no actual story mode covering the arcs the respective versions represented. Ninja Tournament acts as the past story mode where players can travel through a large map for secrets while also battling it out for battle orbs in the titular event. And the fantastic OST once again composed by the amazing work of Chkayo Fukuda is always a treat to listen to.

Ninja World Tournament in action.

The three part Ninja Escapades mode included over 50+ minutes of new anime footage from Naruto & Naruto Shippuden animation studio; Studio Pierrot. This mode also covered the origins of the Akatsuki for the very first time, this mode was basically a mini story mode with basic gameplay used for fights involved.

The new support system helped make Revolution an amazing experience.

THE BAD: Three or so playable modes kind of scaled back the replay value of the game. Once you complete the three Ninja Escapes that’s it for the mode, and there’s only two Ninja Tournament modes, the original, and the Mecha Naruto version, while you can fight from D ranked battles on up with each completed tournament, it still fell short to an actual campaign mode.

The Akutski origins will be told.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is going to be the most realistic Naruto experience we have until the official jump to next gen, which likely starts with the follow-up title. The new tweaks and awesome work done to the support system helped bring out realism that helped feel as if you’re watching an episode of the anime. The lack of modes scaled back the usual replay value, but Ninja Tournament is a pretty fun and wild experience to tide you over, along with the beautiful OST.