Nearly one year ago, CyberConnect 2 brought fans of the Naruto series of the best games based on the brand to date with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 in their supposed swan song with the franchise. This game managed to wrap up the story arc of Naruto and company that was seen through the end of Naruto Shippuden, along with a tease of Naruto’s son Boruto, which has now gotten his DLC expansion in the aptly named Road to Boruto.
Following the conclusion of the long running anime between both Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, Boruto: Naruto the Movie was released to tell the story of the children of the beloved characters from the original. Boruto is introduced as the son of Naruto, the now Seventh Hokage, though he is not exactly happy with his father currently. Like Naruto though, Boruto is a very likeable lead you get to see grow throughout this new DLC.
Rather than just tacking this onto the existing story mode in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm however, Boruto gets his own adventure mode that can be chosen from the game’s main menu. This was a great decision by the development team as it stretches out the experience much further, while also being able to flesh out the story more so than just through a few cutscenes here and there.
Road to Boruto mode consists of a few different objectives to keep you busy. The first of these is obviously the main story, which takes some notes from the game’s story mode with the gorgeous fully animated cutscenes. These do a superb job at recreating the action scenes from the movie, while also integrating the array of different fights that you take part in. What is really great here is that unlike story mode that has to gloss over many parts of the story to fit so much in, having an entire game mode based around one movie allows the story to breathe a little and be a very impressive representation of what was a fantastic movie.
In between these various cutscenes, you will actually get to explore Hidden Leaf Village like in the base game’s Adventure Mode. Through this, you will find side missions that are known as sub-events that do a decent job at adding more to the lore of Boruto. Specifically, there are 10 side missions for you to take part in here, though they are not all just simple tasks. For instance, the first one you will unlock is known as Boruto’s 10 tasks, which consists of some side missions themselves. These include completing multiple help missions or sudden battles, which also help to extend the length of the game further without feeling like they are there simply for that reason.
Very impressive representation of what was a fantastic movie
The story mode also has a few moments that are pretty fun, including getting to actually take the Chunin Exam in the game. The first part is a written test that would be difficult, but you can get help by talking to people across Hidden Leaf Village. This is followed by a flag gathering missions throughout Hidden Leaf Village, though the control of Boruto running here is a pain at times. The two of these are a nice change of pace that go well between the other cutscenes and fights.
Even though it is named after him, Boruto is not the only character you will be playing with in this DLC as well. He definitely is the main focus, but there are also times you get to take control of characters like Sasuke, Naruto, as well as Sasuke and Sakura’s daughter Sarada. Shifting between the characters helps to keep the gameplay all the more interesting here, as each one plays very differently. Most of the actual running around in Hidden Leaf Village will be done by Boruto, though one segment has you controlling Sarada for a short time.
The gameplay found in Road to Boruto is as you would expect from playing the base version of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, with it still being the best in the series to date. Whether using regular attacks or implementing ninjutsu or secret techniques, most every character plays very differently. Boruto is especially fun to use, as he has two distinct gameplay styles via either his regular move set or the one based around a tech device given to him.
The Verdict
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 went out on top when it released last year and Road to Boruto is an extension of that finale from CyberConnect 2. The price may be a little hefty at $19.99, but the content found in Road to Boruto brings the series full circle in with a solid amount of content. There is also the combined Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto collection that includes the original game, all its previous DLC and Road to Boruto, which is definitely a must buy for anybody that missed out on the initial release.
Published: Feb 3, 2017 11:50 am