As Boruto continues into its second major story arc, the Naruto sequel series has only further separated itself from its origins as new elements have overshadowed the previous conventions of the shinobi world. This has led to controversial narrative decisions around legacy characters and power scaling, but these changes don't seem to be reverting any time soon at the current pace of the manga. With more Boruto games likely on the horizon in coming years, handling future depictions of the original Naruto himself will only become more of a balancing act between gameplay viability and lore accuracy.
Following the time skip into Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, practically every aspect of the known Naruto universe has been flipped on its head in the wake of the Omnipotence arc. While this has seen Boruto stepping into a Sasuke-like role as a missing-nin, and Himawari as the new host of the nine-tailed fox, it has also left the older characters mostly incapacitated. Now that Naruto Uzumaki has officially lost the power his entire rise was built upon and put out of commission, having him stand alongside his son in video game releases will be a challenge moving forward.
Losing Kurama Has Significantly Reduced Naruto's Power Level in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex
Leaving Room for Boruto to Take Up the Series Mantle
Following the desperate use of Naruto's Baryon Mode in the battle against Isshiki Otsutsuki, the power of Kurama was permanently used up and the Tailed Beast officially died. This enabled Naruto to be captured alongside Hinata, their deaths being staged, and Boruto subsequently framed for the event under the conditions of Ada's Omnipotence power. This has served to place Boruto, technically an Otsutsuki himself, in a more key role as protagonist now that his post-time skip power levels are likely some of the highest remaining in the shinobi world.
Kurama Has Officially Moved On
Hopes that Tailed Beast's power might return to Naruto were extinguished when Two Blue Vortex confirmed that Kurama lives on within Himawari in Boruto. While the youthful, reborn state of the Nine-Tailed Fox doesn't necessarily align with the known rebirth cycle of the Tailed Beasts in existing lore, it seems to be an explicit passing of the torch to the next generation as a storytelling device. Now that Himawari seems set to remain a Jinchuriki for the foreseeable future, Naruto's role in game adaptations has naturally become more complicated.
Featuring Naruto in Future Boruto Games Would Require Creative Solutions
The Potential for Greatest Moments or Alternate Timeline Variants
Developers of the next Naruto fighting game might find success in looking at Dragon Ball titles as a reference for handling the more disparate power levels of Boruto. By featuring multiple versions of Naruto from key moments across the original series, his appeal could be retained without comprising story accuracy in a similar manner to how Goku is often depicted. There could even be versions of Naruto that act as non-canon explorations of alternate or future events in the Boruto timeline, essentially serving as workarounds to the character's lack of a role in more recent chapters. The value of this concession depends on how much a new game would focus on power scaling between its roster over actual gameplay balance, however, as many anime-licensed titles have succeeded in maintaining relative parity across fighters, regardless of their canon abilities.
Strict Adherence to Canon Could Make Leaving Naruto Behind the Best Route
If the same complex evolution of power and use of sidelining persists as Boruto goes on, adapting an aging Naruto without Kurama in future games will only become more challenging as the series progresses. Following the shift to a new focus on Boruto's battle against the God Tree Clones, it might eventually make sense to acknowledge Naruto's diminished status by moving on from him entirely.
- Release Date
- April 5, 2017
- Network
- TV Tokyo
Boruto is an action anime series that continues years after the events of Naruto, now in the shoes of the next generation - many of which are the children of the protagonists from the original series. Boruto follows the titular character, the son of Naruto, who seeks to impress his father. Together with the other ninjas-in-training, Boruto will battle to overcome trials and threats even more significant than his father ever faced.
- Main Genre
- Animation
- Creator
- Masashi Kishimoto
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
