There is no easy way to tell everyone this but there is sadly no robot Naruto in this latest edition to the franchise. Devastating, I know. Now that that's out of the way, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 picks the story right back up where players left off as the 4th Great Shinobi War is well underway. For those of you who have read the manga you know that this means there are intense battles, amazing characters and some of the most gut wrenching scenes to ever come from the series are about to unfold. But, does the game follow through as well as the core material did?
The combat system for the Ninja Storm games has already been a long favorite of mine, players can easily weave jutsu as well as use hand to hand combat against your opponents without it being too complex. When coupled with the climactic scenes for these final chapters of the series they offer up just the right feeling one would expect to get from fighting these legendary characters. Fights are also complemented by cinematic sequences that depict some of the raw action as it unfolds and the returning quick time button moments really drive them home as players unleash their characters attacks in full force. A small but interesting new mechanic that has been added here is the ability to switch freely from your support characters, so rather than fight alone with one character and having them unleash minor attacks, you can switch to them and use both of the characters techniques. A compelling feature since I prefer some characters to others or some signature attacks.
Other featured elements are a bit of a hit or a miss for the most part. Mob battles are a feature for certain story moments and in some regards they work like the scene where you first see Kakashi's chidori when he was a kid or when Obito kills all those Hidden Mist ninja that killed Rin. But, these can lead to monotonous story moments later on where you must simply beat wave after wave of the same generic enemies until you reach a certain closing point. What's worse is the optional story mode objectives that can require players to get a large amount of kills or strikes during these sequences.
Once players dig into the games main Story mode, Ninja Storm 4 found a way to take the story that many players already knew was coming but present it in a unique way. The story comes with different branching storylines as Naruto and Sasuke are the main characters truthfully for these final moments. Each of them went through something slightly different and so did the people around them, so the story follows suit as players will play different branching arcs that join up with one another when Naruto and Sasuke do the same. However, each story point itself is plays out in a rather bizarre fashion as each chapter is capped off by explaining the battle that is about to unfold with quick cutscenes that can often be really long. What's more is the cutscenes go back and forth between animated scenes and motion comic effects, both never really coming off as that appealing since the animations were poor and the lip synchronization was often completely off. The story itself doesn't ever derail and plays out all the great battles just as they appeared in the book but there was simply a bit much to sift through when you're trying to get those great battles.
Following on the heels of Story mode, players also have the games Adventure mode which is also a bit of a two prong experience. The story here brings up some of Naruto's best fights through it's many years as Naruto himself moves forward in the present as the hero of the Hidden Leaf Village and new adventures that come with it. It's an interesting way to bring Naruto and Hinata together as well as remind players more about the rich history the series has. Unfortunately, the adventure mechanic itself is really a big bust that felt thrown in as a side note when it could have all simply been incorporated into the Story mode itself. Adventure mode is filled with dull side missions that have you travel all over to fight a random character or go on an actual mission that just has you taking a letter to another village and all the games faults truly are more prevalent in this area such as the bad lip syncing and poor animation.
Multiplayer battling continues to be an ear mark however for the Naruto games. The character roster now features the complete list of all the series characters with 61 players to choose from, each having their famous jutsus, attacks and variant costumes to try out. The different mode options for online play are limited but outside of a regular sparring match what did you really expect? Still there is an Endless mode, League, Tournament and Ranked/Player matches to choose from and test your fighting abilities against other players out there. The minor aesthetic features are still here as well, such as editing your own ninja playing card to feature pictures from the series and your own ninja tag line.
Happily, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 took a huge step away from the features that were present in Ninja Revolution and gets back to the elements that work so well for the series in the past. While many of the additions to the game are only minor, they do offer new ways to fight such as the support switching feature in combat. But, the good does balance the bad here as the games Adventure mode and some other poor editions prevented a totally enjoyable experience here.
Good:
- Minor additions to the games already solid combat system
- Story mode follows the series perfect with an interesting presentation to following along with it
- A completed roster makes online and offline play
Bad:
- Adventure mode is a complete wash
- Story mode is sadly filled with bad cutscenes and overabundant dialogue
Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10
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