Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is out and it maintains its intense fast pace, insanely large roster, and huge battles. Based on the hit manga/anime, Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is a challenging fighting game where speed and misdirection are key. This latest iteration covers the pinnacle of the fourth great ninja war, and players will be immediately thrust into the most harrowing segments.
There is a lot of content in Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 for players to get into, and some of it is very challenging. There are also tons of items you can buy and several characters you can unlock. Getting through everything will require a bit of practice and a lot of time.
We’ve put together some tips and tricks to get you into the action and dominating the ninja war.
Beat the Story
The first thing you’ll want to do is run through the story of Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. This is mainly to avoid other modes spoiling the story for you. Adventure mode takes place after the main story and it will sometimes mention the events, so if you’ve never played the story (or read the manga/seen the anime) it will all get spoiled for you.
Another reason is that it will unlock all of the other characters for you. There are some powerful shinobi with some really amazing special attacks that you cannot use until you beat certain parts of the story. Having all options available for Adventure mode and Survival will save you a lot of headaches later on.
Switch Leaders
In previous Ultimate Ninja Storm games, you chose your fighter and two support characters. Those characters would jump in and do a quick attack whenever the ability was charged. It worked well, but it didn’t provide much strategy since players just chose whoever had the best support attack. In Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 you can actually use these characters throughout the match.
As long as their icon is lit up you can switch to one of your support characters by flicking the right stick. Doing so will swap out your chosen character and let you play as one of the support ones. This will also allow you to really stretch out combos, making the act of reaching combos in the hundreds a real possibility.
Buy Bento Boxes and Ramen in Adventure
Adventure mode is a story that takes place after the events of the main Story mode. You can walk around many of the famous locations from the entire Naruto series, including the Hidden Leaf Village. Scattered around are random events and flashback fights that let you relive the greatest moments of the manga, anime, and games. Some of these are incredibly difficult, pitting you against the most powerful ninjas ever faced and giving them serious advantages.
That’s where Bento Boxes and Ramen Come in. Bento Boxes give you a predetermined buff once you eat them that lasts for one fight. These are consumables that you can carry around, so make sure to eat one before a challenging fight. Ramen is eaten at Ichiraku Ramen in the Hidden Leaf (Naruto’s favorite place to eat). These meals give you three random buffs (with a chance for extra bonus ones for the more expensive ramen). Even better, the effects last for your next three battles (restarting a fight counts as one).
This can give you the edge if you’re stuck on a particularly difficult challenge and they won’t affect your rating either, so go nuts.
Complete Bonus Objectives
During battles in Story and Adventure mode, you will be given bonus objectives. These can range from connecting with a certain amount of jutsu, to winning the match in a specific way. Some are much more challenging than others, but you’ll never have only one. Complete as many as you can as this will grant you some of those highly coveted Ninja Treasures.
You’ll need those if you want to get all of the cool items in the General Store Bandai. Costumes, substitution items, titles, and images are all able to be unlocked.
Use Your Ninja Tools
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is a fighting game, but it works a bit differently from most other games in the genre. One of the ways is that you have tools that you can use in the middle of battle. Extra throwing knives, bombs, buffs, de-buffs, and more are at the touch of your fingertips. Every single character with the exception of one unlockable one has access to these tools.
It’s easy to forget that they’re there, but it will greatly benefit you to use them especially since your opponent has probably forgotten about them too. Set them on fire when they least expect it, put up a wall of bombs to buy yourself time to charge, or even hit them with an electric kunai while your enemy stands in water. You are a ninja and tricks are part of the trade, so don’t waste the opportunities offered by your tools.
Don’t Waste Your Substitutions So Quickly
Like in all of the other games in the series, you’ll be able to use Substitution Jutsu when you’re about to get hit. This moves you to behind your opponent as they strike, creating an opening. You have 4 of these and they recharge slowly. Opponents will often try to coax you out of these so they can set up a huge combo.
Rely on guarding and your support instead. Also, switching leaders right after an opponent uses Substitution mid-combo will often pick your combo back up with a rush attack. Hold onto your Substitution Jutsu for when you really need it. They can often spell the difference between victory and humiliating defeat.
These few tips will get you into the action and racking up wins in no time. Make sure to practice and take your time. The controls are easy to learn but take strategy to master.
