For North American gamers, Ultimate Ninja 4: Naruto Shippuden is going to seem like it’s late to the party. You see, its younger brother, Ultimate Ninja Storm, arrived on the PS3 some months back, and for most, it was a game that really propelled the series forward. Taking into account that UN4 was actually released in Japan before Ultimate Ninja Storm, it’s a hard sell to convince gamers to go back to a series on a console that’s no longer at the top of its game. While the delay is questionable, Namco Bandai and CyberConnect2 have finally seen to it that North American gamers get a shot to play through what could be the last Naruto adventure on the PS2. The question is, after Ultimate Ninja Storm, is there really a reason to go back?

Gameplay

For those unfamiliar with the Naruto series, Naruto Shippuden brings the series forward a few years to an older, wiser and stronger Naruto. This is a welcome change as the young Naruto’s story had pretty much been summed up by the numerous games already out there for him. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll pretty much know what to expect from the story-telling here. If you’re not a fan of the series, however, you’ll likely find yourself more than a little lost, as there are quite a few references that you won’t get unless you know the anime quite well.

While the presentation is solid, in keeping with previous games in the series, this is a game that doesn’t add as much to the gameplay. After seeing Ultimate Ninja Storm on the PS3, in fact, it feels a bit light in comparison. Even for those who have played the PS2 versions of the Ultimate Ninja series, this is more of a step sideways, rather than forward, which is a bit disappointing. That’s not to say that this is a bad game, by any means, but if you’ve already played the other PS2 titles, you’re not in for any real surprises.

In fact, there are a few limitations when it comes to the games exploration that weren’t present in the previous versions at all. The world Naruto has to explore is extremely limited this time around, and just doesn’t seem as big as it did in previous games. It’s broken up by a number of load screens that break up the action frequently, and the "dungeon-crawl" feel grows tedious quickly. The real reason for this is that the levels are almost always completely empty. There are a few crates to crack open and find items and power-ups, but aside from that, it’s a wide open expanse of land that fails to make use of 90% of its area.

The combat itself is kind of a one-trick pony. Jamming on the circle button, while occasionally hitting the up or down twice to unleash powerful Jutsu attacks against an opponent is easy to do, but not the most exciting of combat systems. That’s not to say it isn’t fun, but it’s certainly not as deep as it could be, which is disappointing. There are times when your character will be able to unleash their Ultimate Jutsu attacks in battle, and this does bring a bit more to the party, as you follow the on-screen prompts, but again, it’s not the most original mechanic.

There are three modes to explore here, but Master Mode is likely where you’ll spend most of your time, as this is where you’ll find most of the unlockables. Master Mode plays more like an adventure/RPG-lite game that’s great for fans of the series. It tells two great stories from the anime, and the battle system works well here when going up against bosses. The random battles that you’ll find throughout level exploration, however, are tedious button-mashing affairs, and you’ll find these quite often. It’s kind of hit or miss when it comes to the mode, to be honest. It’s a hit for its simple, but effective story-telling, and it’s a miss for its countless random button-mashing encounters.

Another problem I had with the Master Mode is that finding unlockables and gaining bonus XP is tediously boring. You’ll simply be roaming through wide-open environments and busting open random crates. While that kind of gameplay mechanic was acceptable back in the heyday of the PS2, this is the type of thing that we really shouldn’t be seeing anymore. It’s boring, it’s uninspired, and it simply feels like a way to tack on an extra bit of time running around each level. There needs to be some sort of relevance to having Naruto go around breaking stuff, and there just isn’t any here.

Hero Mode and Free Battle are the other two modes. Once you start unlocking characters these can both be a lot of fun. Again, the battle system isn’t as deep as most fighters out there, but the encounters are fast, and the Jutsu moves make things interesting. Hero mode will appeal to fans, mostly because you can play out classic battles from the original Naruto series. The downside is that you have to unlock "memories" of these battles by playing through Master Mode, so you won’t just be able to select this and go. You have to play through Master Mode, which for some will feel like too much of a chore. Free Battle is just an arcade fighting system, but it’s a worthy inclusion for those who just want a straight up battle without the story elements. No flash, just fight, which is just as it should be.

Graphics & Sound

Ultimate Ninja 4 is on par with the rest of the series. Character models look good, with the cel-shaded anime feel to them. Fight animations look good, though the action is pretty fast and furious, so it can be hard to tell what’s happening at times. The only real hit here is that the game fails to make use of any of the open mass of land. You’ll spend most of your time staring at large, bland environments that are almost entirely void of any life...or anything else for that matter.

There’s a decent amount of voice acting, and for the most part, if you love the anime, you’ll love the game’s audio. Everything is pretty much ripped from the series, and it works well. There’s also the inclusion of a Japanese audio track for those that want an alternative to the sometimes overacted English voice-overs.

Value

Three modes and a boatload of unlockables make it easy to recommend to any Naruto fanatic. The combat system isn’t up to par with its next gen brethren, but anyone who loves the series will likely be able to look past this. For non-fans, I recommend checking out one of the earlier games in the series, or jumping straight to the PS3’s Storm for your Naruto kicks though, as this one looks to be strictly for the fans.

Conclusion

Unfortunate timing is what really works against Ultimate Ninja 4, in North America. Having Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 drop first renders this title almost irrelevant. If you’re a fan of the Shippuden series, and you own a PS2, then yes, this game is worth checking out. It’s got enough Naruto-flavoured goodness to keep you busy for quite a long time. However, if you own a PS3 and you’ve played Storm, keep your ideals in check. UN4 is good, but once you’ve made the jump to next gen, you really can never go back again.