Not enough depth?

[Baer]

I recently got this game during the sale over the weekend, and I have only been able to play for a little bit. However, out of the characters that I tried, it seems to me that there are very few combos/moves for each character. I can only do like 4 different types of attacks. Will I learn more as I progress, or is this really the limit of the combat system?

[Dodge Rodgers]

Combo's are more about stringing together different attacks, juggling and dash-cancelling current combo's to string together a lot of hits. The game definitely has a shallow learning curve until you decide you want to get good, at which point there's a lot of information you need to absorb

[Sikaran]

There are only 3 basic attack strings: attack buttons combined with directional up, attack buttons combined with directional down, and attack buttons all the way. Also, all the jutsus are performed via chakra load, attack button; all the ultimate ninjutsus are performed via chakra load 2x, attack button; and all the team ninjutsus are performed via chakra load 3x, attack button.

This makes it effortless to switch characters.

Even with that, each character does not perform the same way (unlike some reviews will tell you). If you experiment, you'll see that some characters are better in close range (long combo strings with good damage), some are better at long range (homing ninjutsu + throwing knives/ninja stars that impart a lot of hitstun), and some are balanced (have a bit of both).

Support characters can also behave differently depending on how you configure them (attack, defense, balanced). Ideally, your support character configuration should be the kind that will give your opponent's character a hard time.

There's also a lot of fighting game fundamentals in play, like baiting and punishing, meter management, hit-confirming, knowing when to block and when to evade, and optimal spacing depending on your character type.

Then there's the RPG-style item system, which reminds me a lot of Suikoden's (limited inventory slots, so you need to choose which ones will help you the most in a particular matchup).

CyberConnect2 did a really good job on this. No other anime-based* fighting game comes close to the depth this one has. It's a shame other fighting game fans dismiss this as casual fare. I mainly play USF4, but I see the potential in this title. I'd be in line to watch high-level play of this in a tournament.

* = anime-based as opposed to anime-style, e.g. BlazBlue.

[Shahadem]

It's true that there aren't a lot of combos, but the purpose of this game wasn't making the player have to worry about whether they were pressing the right combination of buttons in the right order. It's more focused on having some fun with characters from an anime.

The depth, if it has depth, comes from how you use the characters, not how you press the buttons.

[Xedhadeaus]

Honestly I wasnt worried about the depth as much as I was annoyed about having a shuriken button... knowing when to throw the stick to get a different combo is a lot more bothersome than it should be. Chakra dashing is pretty cool though and really shows its stripes when enemies waste evasion.

I think my bigger gripe though is the waste of costumes and moves. They could have easily allowed you to flip supers so you didn't need like 5 sasukes...

[Sikaran]

That's a good point. They could've just gone the switchable Super & Ultra route so they could fit in more charactes (e.g. the old batch of Mist Swordsmen, the Sound 5, the old Kages, etc.).

It's understandable when it comes to the young versions of the Leaf shinobi, but multiple slots for the same characters with only the Ultras different? Weird...

To get a different combo:

*Juggle Combos / Up Combos - after pressing Attack, keep holding Up while mashing Attack.
*Pushback Combos / Neutral Combos - just mash Attack without pressing the directionals.
*Rushing Pushback Combos / Rushing Neutral Combos - just tap forward twice, then mash Attack without pressing the directionals.
*Knockdown Combos / Down Combos - after pressing Attack, keep holding Down while mashing Attack.
*Air Smash Combo / Midair Combo - just mash Attack in midair without pressing the directionals.

It won't affect your combo accuracy - you'll still be able to finish the combo even if you don't do the suggested input (attack x 3, down, attack x 3, etc.).

It won't affect chakra dashing either.

P.S. Shuriken are insane fun. It's not just for life chip - the hitstop is crazy and has many unexpected uses.