Just as the original manga series comes to an end, the almost as long running Ultimate Ninja Storm series ends alongside with it. Taking place immediately during the final arc of the 15 year long manga, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 follows Naruto and the newly reunited Team 7 as they aim to stop Madara Uchiha and the unforeseen revival of Otsutsuki Kaguya.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is an 2016 fighting game, it is developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco, it is currently available on PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.

Naruto & Sasuke vs Obito

First debuting on the Playstation 2 console in the early 2000s, the Ultimate Ninja video game franchise placed itself in the hearts of many who enjoy the Naruto anime and manga. After over 10 years from it’s humble beginnings onto the Playstation 2 console back in Japan in 2003, the Ultimate Ninja series has really come into it’s own as more than an anime game, but an legitimate fighter that could have been included in tournaments like EVO one day. Which is why it’s especially sad to see the series go due to it still having potential.

The boss fights we fell in love with return in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.

THE GOOD: Ultimate Ninja Storm is the most powerful entry into the series yet. Full of an insane roster, a great canonical story following the manga, and a far more polished gameplay system, the Ultimate Ninja series finally begins to find its footing in UNS4.  The introduction to playable support characters made combo ranking for seasoned players a breeze, and it was just plain cool being able to play characters previously locked to support only.

Polished gameplay only further breaks the hears of Ultimate Ninja fans.

THE BAD: Story mode is only a few hours, I’d say somewhere between 5-7, and Adventure Mode isn’t exactly the best post Story Mode option available. There’s also no difficulty setting, so AI can be spotty from time to time.

The storm finally comes to an end.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: After a long, respectable run the Ultimate Ninja franchise seems to have finally begun to reach it’s peak with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. Sharp gameplay and some much needed tweaking makes Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 not only a fun anime game, but an fantastic fighting game as well. Story Mode is unfortunately short due to the focus on the final manga arc, and Adventure Mode wasn’t a great substitute.