I myself have a few pros and cons for this game.
PROS
Gameplay= The enhanced fighting mechanics in my opinion greatly augment the versitility of the fighting styles. The substitution meter is a good feature in my opinion, because it eliminates substitution spam, and forces you to strategise a bit instead of just sub -> grab, primary ninjutsu, ultimate jutsu. The combo cancel option allows for some monsterous combo options for those who are able to wield it correctly.
Characters= The cast of characters is pretty. . . Well. . . ok, it KICKS ASS!!! All of the younger and older characters in one game, with the addition of the newer characters like Haku Yuki, Zabuza Momochi, Hashirama Senju, A, Danzo Shimura, and many more. I may not have Rinnegan Tobi, Zetsu, or Edo Madara Uchiha, but if you were honestly expected them to be in the game AT ALL, then you were obviously in the Twilight Zone, because the story mode doesn't even
REMOTELY cover their time periods! Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to see them, but I knew that it was a costume swap at best, and that's still a long-shot.
Story Mode= The story mode takes a bit of a back seat position, but I love the original animated cutscenes.
Online= Must I say it? SPOT ON! So many different options to choose from, and the newly implanted gameplay will drastically cut down (but not completely eliminate) the nomber of spammers.
CONS
Gameplay= Although the gameplay has gotten SIGNIFICANTLY better, it isn't perfect. I believe making a weaker guard was a good idea, but I believe that the guard is just a bit too feeble.
Characters= Well I usually don't side with fanboys, but the only few complaints about characters are about a few of the support cast. I believe the Sound Ninja 4, Kurenai Yuhi, Darui, and possibly Chojuro should have been fully playable. Although I probably wouldn't have chosen any of them, it would have been a very good addition to the cast. Kidomaru and Tayuya of the Sound Ninja 4 and Chojuro may have been a challenge, but if they got a moveset for Karin (and a pretty damn good one at that), they should have been able to rise up to the challenge. The only thing holding Darui back is that his Black lightning ability may be a bit of a spoiler and hasn't been animated yet.
Another thing is the awakenings and ultimate jutsus. I agree with some people that Jugo and young Choji Akimichi should have had a better awakening (Curse Mark Second State and Calorie Controle respectively). Not to mention that the returning cast from Storm 2 should have gotten a slightly more updated moveset and a more badass ultimate. It was but an experiment in Storm 2, so it was excusable, :flaw:but the excuses are
TOTALLY INVALID :flaw:in Storm Generations.
Story Mode= I am completely aware that fighting games are not really known to be played for the story mode/campaign mode. I still think that the story mode style of Storm 2, the free roaming ability from Storm 1, and the anime-style cinematics could have been combined greatly to make an absolutely breathtaking story mode. The Hidden Leaf Villiage, Sand villiage, Rain villiage. and possibly the Cloud villiage should be in a full roam style, while the connecting pathways for each should have been on rails. Character to character diologues from Storm 2 and the anime cinematics
TOGETHER would have beautifully told the story.
Boss battles are a total no-show, which was a
HUGE dissapointment for me, but I can due without.
Online= This is a personal opinion, but with al of the online selections, playing ranked battle and tournament battle with NO SUPPORT CHARACTERS should be available for those of us who
PREFER to play one-on-one matches.
PERSONAL COMPLAINTS
Characters & Gameplay= Don't flame me for this, but I believe that they could have added a few more characters to the roster. Madara Uchiha FROM THE PAST, AS IN NO RINNEGAN OR WOOD STYLE would have been completely acceptable, since they put in Hashirama and Tobirama, who have shown close to nothing of their true abilities. Since he had Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, we know that he could use Tsukuyomi, Amatarasu, and mastered Susano'o, plus he had a warfan (could have been for striking and wind-based tecniques), Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu (Uchiha Clan Signiture Jutsu), and Controle over Kurama (the NINE-Tailed Fox). That is MORE than enough to complete a decent moveset.:sy: All they really need to do is find a decent Voice Actor to dub him.
There were 2 characters I see a bit of a problem with, 6 Paths of Pain and Snake Cloak Kabuto Yakushi (Kabutomaru if you prefer). Kabuto was obviously a last-minute character in order to please the unsatisfyable fans, but some things were completely inexcusable. I have NO problem with his moveset, since he hasn't actually been shown to be able to do anything, but mainly his design. It should be obvious that he had a snake shoved up his ass, but the snake is completely M-I-A! His basic Ninjutsu could have summoned one of the Akatsuki members back with Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation (Edo Tensei) to do a random jutsu of theirs, like Itachi's Fire Ball Jutsu, Kakuzu's Searing Migrane, or Nagato's Almighty Push (It would make him even more mysterious if it was random everytime it was used, like playing russion rulette).
Lastly is the 6 Paths of Pain. I have no problems with Pain's moveset, but his AWAKENING could have been a hell of a lot better. They could have made Deva Path
SHINE with a slightly larger Almighty push, insane taijutsu, stop summoning other paths to do his work, and possibly Universal pull followed by a chakra disruption rod to the chest as a grab.:shrug: Planetary Devastation probably wouldn't make it into the moveset, unless they brought back awakening Ultimate Jutsus and more cinematic and longer Ultimate Jutsus. Just saying, he could have been
SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!<3
Don't get me wrong, I have already preordered the game and am waiting with bated breath to play it, I still think they could have tweeked it a bit more.
Finally, until someone shows me proof that long Ultimate Jutsus breaks the flow of the game and laggs online play, I will campaign till the end for their return!!!!!:scorps: