Is naruto ultimate ninja storm 4 the same as road to boruto

Welcome to our review of what may be one of the complete manga-esque games for the Nintendo Switch. I’m talking about everyone’s favorite Ninja, of course! Let’s give it up for Kakashi! No.. wait.. Naruto! And for the sake of completion, we reviewed the newest entry of his game on the Nintendo Switch. Don’t be misguided by the title, though, since Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Road To Boruto, does not only feature the Road to Boruto but the base game and all the previous DLC as well. Let’s dive in with some ninjutsu!

Naruto’s fourth entry is a direct sequel to Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution. For those unfamiliar with what ‘Naruto’ is, I’ll give you guys a quick summary before diving into the game itself.

Naruto is mainly divided into two parts – the original series:

Moments prior to Naruto Uzumaki’s birth, a huge demon known as the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox, attacked Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, and wreaked havoc. In order to put an end to the Kyuubi’s rampage, the leader of the village, the Fourth Hokage, sacrificed his life and sealed the monstrous beast inside the newborn Naruto. Now, Naruto is a hyperactive and knuckle-headed ninja still living in Konohagakure. Shunned because of the Kyuubi inside him, Naruto struggles to find his place in the village, while his burning desire to become the Hokage of Konohagakure leads him not only to some great new friends, but also some deadly foes.

And the follow-up series – Shippuuden (plagued with even more fillers than the original):

It has been two and a half years since Naruto Uzumaki left Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, for intense training following events that fueled his desire to be stronger. Now Akatsuki, the mysterious organization of elite rogue ninja, is closing in on their grand plan which may threaten the safety of the entire shinobi world. Although Naruto is older and sinister events loom on the horizon, he has changed little in personality—still rambunctious and childish—though he is now far more confident and possesses an even greater determination to protect his friends and home. Come whatever may, Naruto will carry on with the fight for what is important to him, even at the expense of his own body, in the continuation of the saga about the boy who wishes to become Hokage.

A third adaption is Boruto, which focusses on the son of Naruto (and which is also featured in this particular entry, which recounts the events of the movie):

The spirited Boruto Uzumaki, son of Seventh Hokage Naruto, is a skilled ninja who possesses the same brashness and passion his father once had. However, the constant absence of his father, who is busy with his Hokage duties, puts a damper on Boruto’s fire. Upon learning that his father will watch the aspiring ninjas who will participate in the upcoming Chunin exams, Boruto is driven to prove to him that he is worthy of his attention. In order to do so, he enlists the help of Naruto’s childhood friend and rival, Sasuke Uchiha. The Chunin exams begin and progress smoothly until suddenly, the Konohagakure is attacked by a new foe that threatens the long-standing peace of the village. Now facing real danger, Naruto and his comrades must work together to protect the future of their cherished home and defeat the evil that terrorizes their world. As this battle ensues, Boruto comes to realize the struggles his father once experienced—and what it truly means to be a ninja.

Up to speed? Good. I have divided this review into three pieces since the game consists of roughly three parts – story mode (Shippuuden), adventure (after Shippuuden), Boruto – so browse towards the heading you want to get a detailed overview of what I thought of each specific part.

The plot begins in the middle of the Fourth Shinobi World War fought by the Allied Shinobi Forces from the ninja villages where the Ninja Naruto Uzumaki reveals the villain Tobi leading Akatsuki is Obito Uchiha, the presumed-dead best friend of Naruto’s mentor Kakashi Hatake. As Obito and his partner, Madara Uchiha, manage to awake the legendary beast, the Ten-Tails, Naruto’s partner Sasuke Uchiha has the late Konohagakure leaders, the Hokages, reanimated to learn about their village’s origins. After realizing that both his brother Itachi Uchiha and First Hokage Hashirama Senju fought to protect the town regardless of the cost, Sasuke’s team and the reanimated Hokage go to aid Naruto’s group.

The story develops through episodic missions. Players familiar with anime- manga-esque games probably recognize this style of gameplay since both the Dragon Ball and One Piece games use the same gameplay effects.  Each battle is fought in 3D arenas, with the addition that you can Wall Run. Players will be able to dynamically take to action to the sides of the arenas and fight on the walls of each stage. The battle system revolves around regular attacks, ninjutsu, and Ultimate Jutsu and Awakenings, as seen in the rest of the series. Another new feature is the ability to swap characters during battle. You can also use them as a tag partner to deal with some minor damage. Another addition to the franchise is the ability to break weapons and armor, both in free battle and boss battles. To support this, they have added the ability to create elemental damage; For example, fire can burn away clothing. Players can, however, get rid of the light by moving around quickly throughout the area or by getting hit with water attacks.

If you complete specific tasks throughout the battle – like using a particular attack a few times or ending the fight with an ultimate, you’ll unlock a scene from the anime, which gives insight into the events from both the original and the Shippuuden series. It’s also the most lengthy portion of the game, which can take up to a good 10 hours to complete. The storytelling feels natural, and the battles switch between regular fights to Moshu battles and even quick time battles in a boss-battle style. This was a nice change of pace and felt like a welcoming breeze. These kinds of features set Ninja Storm 4 apart from other anime games.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Adventure

In adventure mode, you can play as Naruto, Shikamaru and Gaara, each with a specific storyline. Naruto follows the Trial of the Gale, Shikamaru follows the story of The Fresh Green of the Hidden Leaf (in which Kakashi is Hokage), and Gaara goes on a journey called the Bonds of the Sandy Sea. Each storyline can be completed in a few hours and is set in an adventure mode style of gameplay (duh). You can freely move across the different towns and areas featured in both the manga and anime. You get to solve the main quest but can opt for some side quests as well. These side quests range from fetch quests to sparring with a famous ninja. I had some frame drops in handheld mode, but apart from that, Adventure mode was a fun addition to play. Some quests felt a little repetitive, but due to the scenic intermezzos, this did not bother me that much. I do recommend picking this title up with a little bit of background knowledge since it’s canon heavy and leans very heavily on the fact that you ‘know’ the story.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Road to Boruto

Road to Boruto is the newest addition to the game and comes as DLC for most other platforms. Since it’s already included in this package, I won’t discuss the pricepoint for the other platformers. In this addition, you play as Boruto, and you can dash around the Hidden Leaf Village in between important fights that progress the plot. Just like the other routes, there is a main quest, some side quests, and a few secrets you can figure out.

To summarize, it’s a new route to the adventure mode and not comparable with the Story mode we got for the ‘first’ part of the game. But when you play them all in one go, it feels like grinding. It’s a pleasant grind since the game looks stunning and plays great, but it’s the same over and over again. Luckily the cinematic fights and storytelling make up for most of the negative aspects of these kinds of games. I did not have the chance to watch the Boruto movie (since I’m catching up with One Piece), so a lot of lore questions were challenging to answer. Boruto is also not the most appealing storytelling, in my opinion. I was happy with the ending of Naruto, and Boruto feels like a fanfic addition in away. Still, it makes up for an excellent addition to the ever-growing Nintendo Switch library (and we got the complete package). If you plow through, Road to Boruto can be completed in under four hours.

Conclusion

What we get with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 – Road To Boruto is probably one of the most extensive Naruto games till now. It features over 100+ playable characters (some of which are needed to unlock through the different modes) and a lot of collectibles that can be bought with ingame items. It felt gratifying to me to replay some levels to gain those extra items to unlock some items, costumes, and playable characters. Aside from the frame drops in some modes, Naruto 4 runs smoothly on the Nintendo Switch. I do recommend playing it with a separate controller, though, due to the button combos needed for some of the attacks. Some of the combos look like button patters from Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, so be prepared for a lot of practice. Luckily Naruto proves it’s more than Sexy Ninjutsu, and it delivers.

8/10

Does Road to Boruto include Ninja Storm 4?

Does Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Deluxe Edition include Road to Boruto?

Is Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 road worth it?