'Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing' news: Release date, gameplay details, preregistration

Abigail Briones Tuesday, June 14, 2016

"Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing" for release in Japan this year | Twitter/Naruto Blazing

The release of the latest in "Naruto" game series, "Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing," is near at hand, and it is expected to launch in Japan this year.

A Western release has not been mentioned by the developers, but with the popularity of the "Naruto" series in the Americas, fans from the region may expect it as probable. The game is a collaboration of Shonen Games, Bandai Namco, and GREE (a Japanese Internet company taking care of the app production).

Its gameplay though differs from the usual "Naruto" games where characters meet in one-to-one combat style. "Ultimate Ninja Blazing" is played in teams of three characters where teamwork and strategy are vital to conquering opposing teams. Fans of the game can reform Team 7 or create a whole new team of selected characters.

What fans may find most exciting is that each character can rely on having a surge of power, known as the Ultimate Jutsu, to fall back on when the situation calls for it, using the animations available from the earlier "Ultimate Ninja Storm" games. Some think that this may not be quite fitting, but it is believed that it is enough to make fans happy with the new game.

With the new game title free to play, fans may be able to get hold of more popular characters via in-app purchase. As the name of the game suggests, it is set in the original "Naruto" series. But what seems surprising is the absence of Shippuden-dressed characters. It has been speculated that, as the release date nears, more characters in keeping with the setting may be added, or perhaps a future update will take care of that.

Shonen Games, one of the companies behind it, has already opened pre-registration for this new, free-to-play mobile game. Those who do pre-register will be in line to receive rewards when the game finally launches.

An official date of release has not been announced, but "Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing" is up for release on iOS and Android smartphones before 2016 ends.