Element Boost
The new gameplay mechanics are essential in battles now. Elemental jutsu have new effects. Using a fire-based jutsu will set your opponent’s clothes on fire. Water-style jutsu give a power boost if you’re in a stage with water, and lightning-style jutsu also get a power boost in stages with water. The fact that the stages are crucial in battles now is simply genius!
Armor Breaking
Another new mechanic is armor breaking - one of the coolest additions so far. Armor breaking is when you attack your opponent (or if you get hit) with major damage and the clothing gets destroyed, it creates a battle-damaged look that has another effect - your attack rises while your defense lowers. Having characters in battle-damaged gear looks cool and the fact that this changes the power levels can really turn the tide of any battle. You or your opponent can purposely get attacked just to have a power boost to finish them off in one shot. Risky strategy, but it could be totally worth it if done right. We all would love to see Naruto or Kakashi look battle-damaged and just win the fight using their ultimate jutsu. It would be totally badass!
Leader Changing
One other new feature that was added was the leader change. During the middle of a battle, you are able to switch leaders and control another character. For example, you can start the round as Sasuke, and in the middle of it switch to Hinata. But there’s a catch. If you switch, your health bar stays the same, so it’s not like getting a new health bar. With switching leaders, there are a lot of new options and strategies available for defeating opponenets. You can start the match with Naruto and end it with Sakura, bringing a whole new spin on these epic ninja fights!
Team Jutsu
The team ultimate jutsu are devastatingly powerful. If you have a team that normally would team up in the original series, such as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, your ultimate jutsu would be a team effort. (As supposed to using an eclectic team that would never fight together like Kakashi, Hinata and Madara.) Using team finishers can be a very flashy and over-the-top way to end a match if you’re in a pinch or want it to be over quickly.
Although you can use any character for a team jutsu, it wont be the same as having original teams from the series do their combination jutsu to end your opponent with massive, earth-altering damage. Using non-team characters will just result in the 2 support characters setting up your controlled character for their finishing move, just like in past Ultimate Ninja Storm games.
With these new mechanics implemented into the game, this should make battles more fun, more intense and overall more like watching the anime than playing a game. Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is set for release this fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
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