Review: Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

G'day there guys and gals.

To those who may remember, I swore off this series after my absolute displeasure at the last installment (UNS Revolution) and kept my word, up until a few days ago.
A friend managed to convince me to buy the game and try it out, claiming it to be the best in the UNS series. Although I wouldn't say it's the greatest, it is by far one of the best in the series.

Ultimate Ninja Storm 4's Story mode takes players right into the final battle between Hashirama and Madara, easing players into the game with a well planned out tutorial and control system. Combos and usage have not changed at all, but this is to be expected this far into the game. From here, players will (mostly) follow the story of Naruto and Sasuke during the Fourth Ninja War, starting slightly before the end of UNS 3's ending fight and will cover most of the major events in the game, at around 35 main missions (including small side fights and the two minute cutscene missions), the game being based around chapters almost set up as like a television series; set with minutes and difficulty level. The game also features Adventure, which allows players to take part in small missions in a (slightly) freeroam world set shortly after the Story timeline, set mostly around Naruto, Sakura and Hinata while including Memories to previous battles. Controls this time around are brilliantly done and lag is minimal. Gameplay is also fairly well done, especially in the story mode. There are some slight frame rate issues in Adventure when walking through dense/high NPC areas but otherwise is fine when it comes to the fighting and customisation options. The fights are incredible and often change up the pace with sections including specific rewards for completing certain tasks in game and fighting multiple enemies in a Horde like mode, while including one or two escape and defend areas against your opponent. These options pop in fairly often and allow players to fight more frequently with the larger beasts of the series as well as the more legendary scenes from the anime.

Graphics are very, very well done, especially in cutscenes, and the 2D effects in the smaller cutscenes (screencaps from the anime yet to be released) are great and innovative. Musical score is not much different from the other games but does well enough to differentiate from the rest (a special mention to the intro song which is still stuck in my head), while sound effects sadly remain the same across the board. Players also have the option to buying customisational options such as cards, voice audios, multiple costumes and substitution objects, titles and much more. The collectables you can collect via completing the mission stakes in Story can be used to be sold for more money as well as unlocking special items otherwise locked from you.
The multiplayer, where you can use these unlocked items, is brilliantly well done. customisation has reached the thousands and gives almost unending options for the players to choose from, not even beginning to mention the huge amounts of characters to play as in the game. Gameplay in multiplayer is also well done, with games being found quickly as you continue to customise, and I have yet to experience any real issues with the multiplayer. Players can also take part in Ranked or Player options for ease or challenge, as well as timed events which allow players to further unlock items via special tournaments and more.

There are a few issues here and there, such as the frame rate issues I mentions earlier, most of the Adventure areas still relatively the same (but I do praise them for changing the looks, especially the Leaf Village), controls not responding to in-game menus (which lead to prompts for resigning in, for some odd reason), but otherwise than those, the game worked well.

After finishing the main Story mode, it's clear that this game may very well be the final Naruto game, ever. Personally, I believe we'll see a Boruto game in the future (if the new manga does well or the movie is enough) but for now, I must admit that I'm a little saddened to see it go.
For me, there have been ups and downs for this series, but the way they send off the story, as well as the clear amount of love and hard work it took to create this game the way it is, the people behind the UNJ series have made a final title to be proud of. I was surprised at times how much effort and time was put in to be able to have these huge open areas in the main fight, and how much more extensive the freeroam had become.
Sure, I still hold fond memories for my all time favourite game in the long list of Naruto games, but this one has definitely left an imprint on my memory and my childhood. Bravo!

Out of 10, I give Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 an 7/10

UNS 4 is out now for the standard price of $90