By Daniel DiNatale
Author’s Note: Sorry for the no show guys. I’ve been
busy with school and work and my internship that I barely get on a computer
anymore at home. Now for the review!
Everyone that is a Naruto fan has or will already
pick up a copy of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. Ultimate Ninja
Storm has been out in the wild for a little over a month now, and my
expectations aren’t what I expected them to be of the game. It’s a rehashed game
from it’s predecessor’s with slightly enhanced graphics and the same gameplay
with a few new features here and there.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 takes place
where Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 left off, so if you know nothing about the series
and don’t feel like watching the anime or reading the manga, pick up a copy of
Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, and after that, go on to play 3, and
then head into 4. That being said, the game starts off in the past, where you
play as Hashirama to beat Madara. First playing this fight in the demo and then
the actual retail copy itself, it was very boring because I thought “Great,
same old shit.” Honestly, that was still my impressions, until the second part
of the battle where they transformed and fought. It was Hashirama’s giant Wood
Solider versus Madara’s Sussanoo. I got more involved with this fight and it
was cool to see these two duke it out. After the battle, it flashes back to the
present, where you see Naruto fighting Obito (Spoilers from here on out).
Now my main concern with this game is the cut scenes.
If you watched the anime, you understand what I will mean. The anime doesn’t
have the best animation to it. And those same scenes got transferred into this
game. 2D CUTSCENES FROM SCENES FROM THE ANIME!? Okay, I don’t know about you,
but in this day and age of games, this should not be happening. I sat there
watching these like “You’re kidding me right??” I just sat there and watched
the same shit I seen in the anime. I mean, I love the story of Naruto and all,
but not 2D cut scenes?It doesn’t last long thankfully. After where they get
captured in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the game becomes all 3D cut scenes, my
guess being they didn’t animate that far in the anime yet. These cut scenes are
very long also. (Note: There is a skip option if you don’t want to watch them
for so long)
Another concern about the game is the English voice
acting. I understand people don’t like dubs, so don’t bite my head, but I
decided to give the dub another chance. I wish I switched over sooner. This dub
is horrible. I watched Naruto dubbed before, but holy shit does no one try
besides the members of the Uchiha clan. Everyone sounds so bored and dull like
they were thrown in the booth and forced to record this game. There’s no
excitement. It’s all boringness. The voice actors decided to be dull until the
final fight between Naruto and Sasuke where they finally showed up and went “Oh
shit, maybe we should make this sound good!” Geez you think??! Horrendous!
Aside from all my negativity, the story was very
exciting to play through despite its horrendously long cut scenes (Thank God
there’s something called a skip button as I mentioned earlier). I actually
liked playing what hasn’t even been animated yet and shown on TV. The only
place you could find the Kaguya fight before this game was the manga, and as
enjoyable it was to read it, playing it helped me visualize more clearly on
what the scenes in the manga actually played out to be. Overall, the story mode
is my favorite mode in the game. The Naruto and Sasuke fight was intense. It
was one of the best video game endings I have ever played and to see the
exhaust and all the effort Naruto put into bringing back Sasuke and to see it
all rendered in 1080p was intense. Besides Story Mode and Free Battle, there’s
not much else to do in this game. You have Adventure Mode, but it lacks any
charisma and is ultimately dull. I skipped this entirely and never looked back.
New features of this game include status changes
such as if a character uses a fire-type jutsu on you, you will be burned for a
short period of time. Another feature is Armor Break, where after you lose a
certain amount of health, a character’s clothes will show damage and sometimes
rip. As a result, I will make and fight with the girls to see this happen.
Don’t judge me.
Overall, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is a 7/10.
With a great story and nothing else to really back it, it is a very dull game
that loses its sheen after a while. If you love Naruto, you will probably pick
up this game regardless of my review. Otherwise, this is a game you can wait to
get until it goes on sale. There is a DLC Pack based on the novel focusing on
Shikamaru right now, but I’m hesitant to play it. As of now, there is no point
into picking up again for a while. Until next time guys.
If you want to discuss this game with me, you can do
so at @djddueces on Twiter. I also have a Tumblr @djddueces.
Gameplay of Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4:
