There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are fans of anime, and liars. Anime is more popular than ever before which has resulted in many games being made for famous franchises. CyberConnect2 is a game studio known for creating anime games with their most recent release of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot being a serious success.
With Fuga: Melodies of Steel set to release in 2021, it's the perfect time to look back on the games CyberConnect2 has made over the years to see how they all stack up. Not all games are created equal and some are simply better experiences to play than others.
10 .hack//Infection Part 1 - Metacritic Rank: 75
The one that started it all, .hack//Infection Part 1 was the first in a four-part series of games that launched the .hack franchise into prominence. It featured multimedia to tell its story, coming packaged with the first Luminality disk that contained the first of four OVAs that expanded the story of the series. Kite's first adventure on the PS2 will always have a soft spot with fans of the franchise.
9 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm - Metacritic Rank: 75
For the first game in the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, CyberConnect2 did an amazing job. Previous fighting games in the series kept players on a 2D plane where Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm brought the series into the 3D Arena Fighter genre for the first time. It featured 25 playable characters and allowed players to explore the story of the anime from episode one through episode one-hundred and thirty-five.
8 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 - Metacritic Rank: 75
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 added ten new characters to the series and brought with it a new feature — equipable Ultimate Jutsu. While it did remove the ability to have support characters, it also was the first game in the series to have CGI cutscenes which was a serious visual improvement.
The game also came with a special non-canon OVA which showed all the characters in the game in a Battle Royale tournament. The DVD contained hints for players to get through the RPG mode in the game for those that watched making it a truly special experience.
7 Naruto: Ultimate Ninja - Metacritic Rank: 75
The original game in the Ultimate Ninja series was a big success with fans. While the original version released in Japan only had twelve characters, Curse Mark Sasuke and Nine-Tailed Naruto were added for those that bought the game in North America and Europe. This removed them as transformation possibilities in the game, which left fans surprised when this became a regular feature in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3.
6 .hack//G.U. Last Recode - Metacritic Rank: 76
.hack//G.U. Last Recode was a remake of the .Hack//G.U games originally released on the PlayStation 2. Making an HD remaster of the three games while adding on a fourth brand new chapter was a huge deal for fans. The game was wildly successful and is still used today as an argument for why the .hack series should come to the PlayStation 5.
5 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 - Metacritic Rank: 76
The second installment in the Ultimate Ninja Storm series was one of Bandai's best selling titles of 2010. It kept most of the same elements from the original Ultimate Ninja Storm game though critics did say it lacked a bit of post-game content on the world map. Still, fans absolutely adored the game. It even featured Lars Alexandersson as a guest character from the Tekken series.
4 .hack//Mutation Part 2 - Metacritic Rank: 76
When a PS2 game is still selling for up to $175 on eBay after eighteen years it's hard to deny that it's seriously good. Fans were eager for the second part of the series to come out back in the day and were lucky enough to only have to wait a year to have it in their hands.
With such a tight development window, it would have been fair to assume the game would have issues. On the contrary, the game got even better reviews than the first and added even more to the already compelling story of the franchise.
3 Solatorobo: Red The Hunter - Metacritic Rank: 76
Solatorobo: Red The Hunter is one of the rarest games on the Nintendo DS, which is a shame considering how many awards it was nominated for after its initial release. A sequel to cult classic Tail Concierto, players got to follow the adventures of Red Savarin accompanied with visuals so good some reviewers said they could have been a movie on their own.
Today, Solatorobo is considered a cult classic that has had fans begging for a sequel. CyberConnect2 has hinted this may even be in the works which could signal a serious revival of one of their most critically acclaimed games.
2 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 - Metacritic Rank: 77
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 added hack and slash elements to parts of the storyline which fans and critics adored. In fact, one of the major criticisms of the game was they didn't use them more in the game. With a whopping 80 characters to choose from it was almost impossible for fans of the Naruto franchise to not have their favorite ninja available to play as.
1 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Metacritic Rank: 80
The latest game in the Ultimate Ninja Storm franchise is still by far the most popular, having sold over 5.5 million copies. The game was even brought to the Nintendo Switch in 2020 as Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Baruto.
Despite fan requests for a fifth Ultimate Ninja Storm game, the developers have confirmed it is the last game in the series. There is no word yet on if Bandai will push for future Naruto related titles or might choose to focus more on Boruto's adventures.