Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
Our interview reveals Naruto's most significant evolution in years
GR: So are the cinemas rendered in-game or are they actually anime?
HM: Instead of actually showing simple cinematics, or just showing maybe like an anime just to show where you’re progressing ours will be a lot more interactive, where you’re actually in the actual sequences where you’re actually physically partaking in that certain storyline. So as you complete these missions you’re actually following through according to the storyline, but you’re just actually navigating through it as an actual character.
And there’s a lot of missions that we have. One of the one’s we like to show is a boss battle. It’s just of the many that we have. This one is something that you’ll see more early on in the stage, but maybe I could just kind of introduce that to you. So you can use your items in the boss battle. And this is an actual scene in the show
GR: Are you actually going to fight all the bosses that are in the anime?
HM: Basically everybody within the lineup in the anime, within the actual plot, will be planned.
GR: Is this the whole series?
HM: In the relations to the 135, up to the 135th episode of the TV anime series, the giant boss battle that he fought will be... For example after you apply certain missions it’ll move to an interaction mode. If he succeeds, he continues onward in the process of action. And again this is for the interaction which you see in the actual anime.
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GR: And this is a PS3 exclusive?
HM: Yes, for the PS3.
GR: Are there any plans for... normally the other Ultimate Ninjas have exclusive storylines. Any chance of getting them by DLC?
HM: Although this time we don’t have any specific online match competitions for the game, we do have DLC planned for the game, which will hopefully recompensate [sic].
GR: So there’s no online multiplayer?
HM: Not in this series.
GR: Any co-op?
HM: Basically the core concept of the game is actually a one on one battle. So in the sense of co-op it’s more rather just in the sense of one person. We do have a few missions a few gameplay styles in there which would accommodate the co-op thing, but it’s more in the sense of a one on one battle.
GR: This does cover more of the storyline than any other game before, does it not?
HM: This has up until the point where Naruto is trying to get Sasuke back. So it has up until the boss before it goes into the next series.
GR: During the missions are you going to gain the skills the same way that Naruto does? Like in the plot points where he learns something cool?
HM: It will follow the story plot where as Naurto progresses. The game will actually show the progression.
GR: In the combat?
HM: Yes. So for example in Naruto’s case, when he first was introduced, he obviously didn’t have too many moves himself but towards the story progression as you notice, he gains the special Rasengan and that appears along the process of the storyline and we may have more in store for it… but yes, there is a progression occurring according to the story.
GR: So there’s mission mode, which you’ve described and there’s Battle mode. You said the focus is on one versus one. Is there two versus two at all or one versus two?
HM: No.
GR: So it’s all for just one versus one?
HM: Yes, just one versus one.
GR: And the most you could have playing is two people playing against each other.
HM: Yes.