The Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series has always been one of the top tier, elite video games of our generation. The amount of playable characters and attention to detail is absolutely uncanny! I don’t think we’ll ever see another Naruto game that can quite compete on this one’s level. It’s really the full package and a perfect end to the Ultimate Ninja Storm series. Way I see it, all other games are spinoffs until they announce a Ninja Storm 5. If you’ve been playing the series already then you know what to expect but if not, lets just say that it’s about to blow your mind!

The game picks up with the war and takes you through the rest of the series up through the first sequel movie. So it covers quite a lot of content. For the first time the series does take a few shortcuts with more anime type clips rather than doing all of the cell shaded cinematics. As you get deeper into the game it goes back to normal though. They’re both good of course but seeing the whole thing in the game’s animation style does get you a little more invested so I loved seeing that style. The story is a bit shorter than the last title but when you through in the Boruto part I would say it’s about the same length. I liked the way the story also diverges with both the Naruto and Sasuke paths. I had fun alternating to try and keep it all as chronological as possible.

The gameplay is that of a 3D fighter. You pick 3 fighters and then try to dominate your opponent in close quarters combat. You can switch fighters at will or use them as assists. The characters all have great combos and the final smashes are as cinematic as ever. Each fight is very fast paced and fluid. It’s some of the cleanest 3D fighting you will ever see. We also have the quick time events for the story mode battles and even a few alternate gameplay type moments like the Kaiju type fights. Those are always fun as well although I’m not nearly as good at those. Getting S ranks there feels like an extremely difficult task if you ask me.

So you can expect to spend at least 10-15 hours on the story. After that there is also an Adventure mode with tons of content and also good ole survival mode. Don’t expect this to be easy either. The survival mode actually gives you a good run for your money and the intimidating thing is how long it can be. For example one trophy is to defeat 30 opponents in a row so if you get sloppy or make a mistake 25 opponents deep, get ready to start from scratch. The trophies here definitely look very difficult. Certainly achievable as long as you train your skills though but I imagine you will be here for a very long time before you are able to knock it out.

It almost goes without saying but the graphics here are absolutely top notch. It’s great to see Naruto and the gang on the PS4. It’s really night and day compared to other games where Naruto has appeared in like Jump Force. The colors here are so vibrant and there are a ton of cool animations that aren’t just recycled among characters. The soundtrack is also pretty good. I tend to like all of the themes even if there isn’t any singular track that really stood out for me.

In terms of character balance the game seems to do a pretty good job. Some characters just seem to have final smash animations that are too long. Like you should be able to dodge or block their final smashes every single time. Rock Lee and Might Guy are two examples of this. Meanwhile some characters like Sasuke in his End of Series version are extremely useful and will hit the opponent almost every time. It’s pretty much a cheatcode in survival mode and I highly recommend using him. You can just keep on using the final smash over and over again for quick victories. Of course that does mean watching the cinematic over and over again so I hope you really enjoy it.

I’d also like to note that the fact that there are so many unique dialogue quotes for the final smash depending on your opponent is really cool. Again, it’s all the little things that help to really make this game stand out. If they could squeeze in an easter egg then that’s exactly what they do. I’m sure there are a bunch of little things that I haven’t even noticed yet. In fact, that’s a guarantee since there are a bunch of bonus missions and side quests that I haven’t even stepped into yet. So yeah this is the game that just keeps on delivering.

Overall, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is definitely an elite game. One that should not be underestimated at any cost. I highly recommend picking this game up immediately if you don’t already have it. It’s really the gold standard of what an anime fighting game should be like. Any series would certainly be super proud to have a title with this amount of professional development behind it. The content justifies the price many times over as well. Naruto will always be remembered as one of the most iconic and influential series of all time and titles like this do the legacy justice.

Overall 9/10