Regarded as perhaps one of if not the best anime/manga video game adaptations, the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja franchise comes to a close with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm. Storm, acting as a soft reboot of the Ultimate Ninja video game franchise for then-modern consoles is best known for its near flawless panel/screen to game recreations, fantastic boss fights, and a great story.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja is an 2008 anime video game franchise, it is developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco, the core games of soft reboot Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm (1, 2, 3: Full Burst, and 4: Road to Boruto) are available on Playstation 4 & Xbox One in compilation game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy.

Editor’s Note: An Xbox One review copy for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy was provided by Bandai Namco.

The legend of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm can be enjoyed by new and original fans alike on current-gen consoles.

Since it’s humble beginnings on the Playstation 2 the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series has often been regarded as perhaps the best anime/manga to video game adaptation to date. Nearly perfect in it’s adaptations of the core concepts of Naruto covered within the anime and manga versions with some of the most satisfying boss fights you’ll ever experience in a video game franchise it’s no wonder why this video game franchise is so highly regarded by fans and non-fans of the franchise represented.

A fighter worthy of it’s reputation within the anime and gaming communities.

THE GOOD: Whether a fan of the Naruto anime, manga, or anime/manga games as a whole, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm alongside the predecessor on the Playstation is undoubtedly one of the best gaming experiences a fan of the franchise will ever have. The resemblances between panel/screen and game are an almost exact mirror image of what’s being adapted. Naturally there are some differences, but throughout each game in the collection they’re pretty minor.

Gameplay from Ultimate Ninja Storm 4.

In the core gameplay you face off against your opponent in an open spaced 3D battlefield, Triangle/Y for charging chakara, Square/X for shuriken, Circle/B for basic attacks, and X/A for jumping and dodging, L1/LB is used to block and use substitution jutsu, which in-game acts as a more advanced form of dodging. Often times you can combine techniques for advanced attacks such as using the chakara charge button to fire off a special attack or suped up shuriken. While the core gameplay stays the same, there’s some gameplay mechanics within story mode and the like that change with each title, for example one game will have an open-world story mode, while another will be more linear in direction.

From the beginning of Naruto to the launch of Boruto, just about everything is covered in UNS 1-4.

THE BAD: The games follow the story path of the manga over the anime, so for new viewers/readers there’s a ton of spoilers throughout all four titles.

A huge roster expanded across Naruto generations.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Finally the core titles of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm are available in a complete collection on current generation consoles. While it’s not a whole lot here for long-time players unless looking to relive earlier entries for the renown boss battles, this is the perfect collection for new Naruto fans, albeit it being full of spoilers.