Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Review

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: