so it's finally here.. publisher Namco Bandai Games and developer Cyber Connect 2's final game in the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, Naruto Shipuden Ultimate Ninja Storm own and have played through all 6 Ultimate Ninja Storm games now from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm, all the way to the latest and final release Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and after playing through the story mode and a good chunk of the adventure mode (that takes place after the events of the story mode) as well as the free battle area, i have to say this is a rather interesting way of ending the Ultimate Ninja Storm series.
There are quite a few changes that were implemented in this 6th and final entry and the first ones gamer will notice is how the story mode is separate from the semi open world adventure mode.. In Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 and 3 games would go through the story events that adapted the anime/manga while traveling across the semi open ninja world.. where most of the ninja villages as well as many other areas were all connected to one and other by miles of forests, deserts, lakes islands and other areas.. here however things are quite different.
In UNS4 the main story, that adapts the final parts of the anime /manga story line, is a mostly liner path that's separated in several chapters. Each chapter has numerous missions or sub-chapters (as i call them) that are each different in terms of content.. several are just cutscenes, some are standard one on one battles, others are multistage boss battles, some are "mob battles" and others are a mixture of these.. all of them have cutscenes sprinkled throughout and they range in how long they are.. some a few minutes, others as much as 30 minutes.
This may sound similar in some ways to UNS2 and UNS3,.. however.. after you finish each sub-chapter you sent back to screen that shows all of that chapter's sub chapters laid out on a path and select when you want to move on to the next sub-chapter/mission as opposed to having them play out more organically like in the past games.. Personally i prefer the way the game was laid out in UNS2 and UNS3 but it works ok once you get used to it. and yes given that the final battles of the Fourth Great Ninja War all take place in roughly one area it wouldn't have worked or made sense to have an open world game again, but the new layout is still personally something i'm not a fan off.
Another change is the cut-scenes in the game.. it seems that the developer at Cyber Connect 2 couldn't decide what kind of cut scene to put where and threw several types in at random... Some of these are pre-made beautiful CGI cutscenes as scene in past Ultimate Ninja Storm games, while others are still images taken directly from the Naruto Shippuden anime..that sort move as they sometime transition between still images.. this is kind of dumb.. yeah the images look nice, by why still images instead of using CGi cutscenes throughout or using animated cutscens from the anime instead of still images? .. oh and towards the end of the games some of the cutscenes in certain sub-chapters are strangely blurry at least some were on my PS4 copy, and it was a bit distracting
Outside the changes to the story set up and weirdness of the cutscenes, a lot of the main basics of the games are very similar to past Ultimate Ninja Storm titles, though not exactly the same..
Another change in the games is that you can switch between the 3 characters on your team while fighting in a match pretty much when ever you want by sliding the right analog stick left or right(depending on which of your two teammates you want to switch to) with the only thing stopping you is that you have to have your teammate's individual gauge restore itself to full before you switch(though only if you just sent out a teammate as a standard single attack, otherwise you can switch when ever you want)
Also, the separate choices of Ultimate Jutsu, Awakening and the Drive type featured in UNS Revolution is gone and back to the system seen in UNS2 and 3 where you can do both awakening and Ultimate Jutsu( as well as team ultimate jutsu) in any match(unless told otherwise while in the story mode's conditions giving to you before each fight).. I should also mention that while true Team Ultimate Jutsus are back from UNS Revolution you can only do a few with the base game.. most of them are now locked behind paid DLC packs that haven't yet been released (as of this review anyways). this method seems greedy though each of the DLC packs will apparently include not only Tean Ultimate Jutsus, but also extra scenarios for the Adventure mode (each one several hours long), costumes, battle items info cards, extra characters and other stuff, so at least that makes it slightly better to some degree.
Speaking off characters... you do get around 100 characters to use in the free battle section of the game from the moment you put the disc in, even while the game is installing, which is probably the most available from the get go and several other col characters are unlockable as you play through the story mode. costumes on the other hand are available from playing the story as well as buying them with in game money (Ryo) and treasures that you collect in the story and adventure mode.. some costumes are only diffident in terms of character abilities others are cosmetic only and range from pretty decent ( like the Last: Naruto the movie costumes for Sakura and Hinata, Hanabi's Shippuden era appearance/clothing) to just plain strange (like the warrior costumes for Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke) to just plain stupid ( as in the pajama outfit for Naruto,the german Lederhosen outfit for Naruto ,the Napoleon costume for Sasuke or the pirate costume for Naruto)
oh and if you pre-ordered the game like i did you also got several extra exclusive early access to characters, costumes and a team ultimate jutsu( that will later be released as DLC).. these characters are Naruto and Sasuke from the Last: Naruto the movie, Bourto and Sarada from Boruto : the movie, costumes/appearances for Sakura, Hinata and 6th Hokage Kakashi and a ultimate team jutsu for Sarada and Boruto. note that the Sakura, Naruto,Sasuke and Hinata Last costumes/apperances are unlockable by playing through the story as well.. pre-ordering just gave you them from the get go without playing the story mode.
and finally for the nitty gritty..
the Story is fairly well adapted from the "finished" manga and ongoing anime. It's not a perfect adaptation, but it does follow it pretty closely and it is pretty cool and fun to play through the final parts of the original manga that lasted for about 15 years (something i've personally followed since 2004)
Graphics are good, though not significantly changed from the ps3/360 UNS titles. there is slighty better particle effects, explosions, lighting, it's in 1080p and the jutsus are visually more impressive. Character models are also still just as detailed as previous titles and do have slightly better cell shaded shadow effects.
Controls are solid, intuitive and pretty responsive. I've have no issues in lag of any kind that i'm aware of.
playability wise is it's good though maybe not quite as long as UNS2 and 3 do to the missions being broke up rather then a organic storyline that unfolded in a semi open world like before.
Sound wise is also good. English voice work is well done, though there's still major delay with the lipsinking. The game's original music is good and fits most of the time. and they even somehow managed to licence the song Spiral by the Japanese band Kana-Boon for the game's opening animation ( Kana-Boon also provided the song Silhouette for the 16th opening for the Naruto Shippuden anime)
Replayablity is decently high do to the amount of things to do after the main story and the hours of adventure mode is complete in the Free Battle mode section. (this doesn't even include the 6 or so hours worth of story content for Adventure mode in the upcoming DLC either). so yeah there's plenty to keep gamers happy for quite a while.
Over all.. despite the misstep of the lay of out the story no longer the same way it was in UNS2 and 3 (which i acknowledged wouldn't have worked in the context of the manga storyline) it's still an exciting and pretty fun game that i didn't want to put down once I started it and a very enjoyable end to the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm game series.
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- Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Road to Boruto - PlayStation 4BANDAI NAMCO EntertainmentPlayStation 4
From the manufacturer
NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4
The latest opus in the acclaimed STORM series is taking you on a colorful and breathtaking ride. Take advantage of the totally revamped battle system and prepare to dive into the most epic fights you’ve ever seen in the NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM series!
In NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 4, a broad set of Ninja Skills will be yours to use against the fiercest foes you’ll ever encounter. Massive attacks in the form of secret techniques, energetic evolutions with the 'Awakening', the inimitable shurikens & kunais and a unique playstyle for each ninja!
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- Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2016Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
- Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2016Platform For Display: PlayStation 4Edition: StandardVerified Purchase
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Fernando MendozaReviewed in Mexico on February 1, 2024
Muy buena calidad precio :)
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Llego bien muy limpio aceptable si vale la pena comprar el juego está completo como nuevo y viene sellado y llego muy rápido bien protegido excelente calidad y servicio ¡Gracias!Muy buena calidad precio :)Fernando Mendoza
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Chegou antes do prazo! ExcelenteReviewed in Brazil on April 7, 2023
Excelente!
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Naruto
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the best
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legit seller,thank youthe bestjohn c.
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- J BReviewed in Canada on March 9, 2016
Fantastic and absolutely stunning!
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