Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections

Two words: the roster. Pulling more than 130 fighters from across the whole STORM history means almost any character you have a soft spot for is in here somewhere, complete with their signature ultimate jutsu. For a series that has always run on spectacle, having everybody in one package is a genuine draw.

History mode condenses Naruto and Sasuke's entire rivalry into a single run instead of retelling one arc, stitching anime scenes together with the STORM team's fight sequences. Never played the earlier games? It works as a way into the whole saga without buying four titles. Played them all? It is a highlight reel with better production than the originals had.

Boruto's Special Story mode is original material rather than an adaptation, which gives the next generation side of the cast something of their own to do. It runs lighter than the main campaign and it leans on the online game premise for its hook, but it is the only place where you get a new story rather than a retold one.

Getting into combat takes less effort than it used to. Simple mode lets you pull off ninjutsu combos without memorizing long inputs, so somebody who has never touched an arena fighter can sit down with a friend and still feel like they are doing something impressive. The full control scheme is still there for players who want it. Online play has had network improvements over previous entries, and local co-op covers anyone who would rather have the other player in the room. Cosmetic items earned as battle rewards run through all of it.

Reviews are mixed, though, and that deserves saying. Steam user reviews sit at around 57% positive overall, with recent reviews running warmer at Mostly Positive. Complaints tend to center on how much content is recycled from earlier STORM games and on the state of the port, though patches appear to have helped. Go in knowing this is a celebration of the series rather than a leap forward for it, and it delivers what it promises.

No. This is a paid game with a one-time purchase and no free-to-play version, though it does carry in-game purchases and a substantial amount of DLC.

Three editions exist. The standard edition is the base game. The Deluxe Edition bundles the game with the Season Pass plus two extra characters, Naruto Uzumaki in his Great Ninja War: End form and a maskless Kakashi Hatake. The Ultimate Edition includes everything in Deluxe and adds a Costume and Accessory Pack.

Separately, there are nine pieces of downloadable content, including five DLC character packs, a pre-order pack, and a Nostalgic Anime Song and Item Pack. The game is rated T for Teen by the ESRB for violence, mild blood, suggestive themes, and mild language, with in-game purchases flagged.

You can download the PC version from Steam, and Bandai Namco also lists it through its own European store. Console versions are available too. The Steam release includes 45 achievements, cloud saves, leaderboards, and Family Sharing, along with online PvP.

System requirements are modest by current standards. You need a 64-bit version of Windows 10 at minimum with an Intel Core i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 660 Ti, Radeon R9 270X, or Intel Arc A380, running DirectX 11. That setup targets 1080p at 60fps on low settings. For the same framerate on high, Bandai Namco recommends Windows 11 with a Core i7-11700K or Ryzen 5 3600 and a GeForce GTX 770, Radeon RX 480, or Arc A750. You need 30.36 GB of storage and a broadband connection. DirectX 12 needs Windows 10 version 1809 or later and a 4 GB VRAM card. Sixteen languages are supported, with full audio in English, French, German, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese.

DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO brings back the Budokai Tenkaichi format, with a huge roster of Dragon Ball fighters, destructible 3D arenas, and the same emphasis on recreating anime moments at full volume. Combat is deeper and more demanding than the STORM series, with more systems to learn, but the appeal is identical: pick your favorite character and let the spectacle do the rest. An easy download for anyone who came to Connections for the roster rather than the mechanics.

Invincible VS aims squarely at the competitive crowd. Quarter Up released it on April 30, 2026. The studio sits inside Skybound and is staffed by former members of the Killer Instinct team. What they built is a 3v3 tag fighter set in the Invincible universe, with a cinematic story mode scripted by one of the animated series writers, plus arcade, training, and ranked multiplayer. It is far more brutal in tone and built for tournament play rather than casual fan service. Worth playing if the tag team side of Connections interested you and you want something with real competitive depth.

Street Fighter 6 drops the anime license and leaves just the fighting. Capcom's entry has the World Tour single-player mode, the Battle Hub for online play, and a modern control scheme that lowers the input barrier much as Simple mode does in Connections, without hollowing out the game underneath. There is no anime license attached, so the draw is the fighting itself. Download it if Connections gave you a taste for the genre and you want to actually get good at one.