With more than 700 manga chapters chronicling the journey of Naruto Uzumaki into becoming hokage, it makes sense for fans to think a video game fitting his entire story might be too large to play. However, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 defies all odds. It chronicles a huge portion of the Naruto story, allowing players to even mix and match teams of their favorite ninja.
With Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 relying on team-based combat to move through Naruto’s story, just which teams should players focus on? Some of the following recommended teams are custom teams, and while others come from actual canon — but all are powerful options in the game.
10 Nagato, Choji, Pain
A surprising team, Nagato, Choji Akimichi, and Pain actually work well together. This team capitalizes on the sheer zoning and area denial perks of both Nagato and Pain on the short-range and long-range, respectively. It also utilizes punishments from Choji’s melee domination specialization.
For this setup to work, Nagato takes the lead with combos that try to set up opponents for juggles and knockdowns. Choji assigned as Dash Cut (Support) with Ninjutsu: Spiked Human Boulder hinders any entrances from the opponents. Meanwhile, Pain with Almighty Push (Strike) can punish opponents they manage to block. With Nagato doing a second Almighty Push, there’s almost no way for enemies to get in close.
9 Nagato, Hashirama (Edo Tensei), Sasuke (The Last)
Players who want to make use of stunning Awakenings without the burden of too much size may want to team up with these three. This team capitalizes on the well-rounded nature of the three shinobi, especially with Edo Hashirama set as Charge Guard (Support) to ensure at least one of them gets enough chakra for their respective Awakenings and signature techniques.
Nagato’s Awakening (God Mode) alone gives him access to a fast-paced long-range maneuver (Fire Arrow Head) and a short-range barrier (Seal Jutsu Absorption) to hinder the enemy’s advance. Meanwhile, Hashirama’s Awakening (Wood Golem Mode) gives him an extra form that is equally maneuverable. Finally, Sasuke’s Awakening (Perfect Susano’o Mode) gives players that much-needed gigantic punch.
8 Naruto, Danzo, Pain
There’s something stellar about a team with a melee, long-ranged, and balanced specialist, and this is exactly what happens with Naruto Uzumaki, Danzo Shimura, and Pain. This team emphasizes driving enemies into corners, and then subbing into a particular specialist regardless of what enemies throw in their direction.
A straightforward way of using this team is maining Danzo to get access to both Naruto and Pain as Strike Back (Supports). This allows players to get the Rasengan and Almighty Push, respectively, as fierce counters. It doesn’t help that Danzo in his Awakening (Seal Unleash Mode) has the instant-kill Reverse Tetragram Seal, provided players work their combos properly. Even then, Danzo’s tilt and Naruto’s Rasengans ensure enough damage to force enemies to sub.
7 Minato, Madara, Sasuke (Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan)
Speed is key when using this trio. With Minato at the lead, players can easily disorient opponents with his multi-directional teleport attacks. EMS Sasuke at Cover Fire (Support) dishes out Inferno Style: Flame Control to protect chakra charging, while Madara at Strike Back (Support) unleashes a fierce Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu after great counters.
However, things get terrifying when they use their respective Awakenings. Minato’s Awakening (Hokage Mode) might seem minuscule in visuals, but his Flying Raijin: Level 2 is a devastating long-range teleport Rasengan. Meanwhile, Madara’s Awakening (Perfect Susano’o Mode) and Sasuke’s Awakening (Susano’o Mode) give them respective armored giants to pummel opponents into submission.
6 Kaguya, Hinata, Choji
Prioritizing annoying opponents over anything else, this team is another unexpected setup for players. Having Kaguya take the helm will assign Hinata as Charge Guard (Support) and Choji as Dash Cut (Support), both equally capable of halting the enemy’s advance. Choji’s Spiked Human Boulder hinders enemies from getting close with dashes, whereas Hinata’s Air Palm easily stops anyone who does manage to get in close.
Things get extremely annoying with Kaguya’s dimension altering with Ame No Minaka, which varies her moveset. More particularly, her Ame No Minaka: Dissolve Damage brings everyone to her Lava Dimension, essentially wasting subs.
5 Minato, Naruto, Lee
At first glance, Rock Lee seems like an odd addition to a team composed of the father-son duo of Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki, but Lee’s melee specialization works well in the greater context of their team-up. Rock Lee becomes the main player of this team through his fast-paced combos, building pressure on enemies and using his Awakening (Gate Of Limits Mode) to set up finishers with hard knockdowns.
What’s special about this teamup is the nature of both Minato and Naruto as Strike Back Supports. With Lee at the helm, this gives him access to two Rasengan users as his assists, allowing him to follow-through blocks with knock-up counterattacks. Spamming these two Strike Backs and even dishing out a base Rasengan with extra chakra can make this team-up deadly.
4 Yugito, Shino, Madara
This team prioritizes setups more than anything else. Whereas other teams want to emphasize on striking hard and striking fast, this team wants opponents to underestimate the player’s arsenal. Yugito takes the helm here as her tilt and basic attacks work well as an all-rounder. Madara’s Strike Back (Support) lets players follow-through counters with a neat fireball. Meanwhile, Shino's Break Guard (Support) enables players to tear through ninja tools should opponents think they can pierce through defenses via long-ranged attacks.
What makes this build particularly annoying is when opponents try to rush in to finish the match. This is where Madara comes in, as his Awakening (Perfect Susano’o Mode) will force enemies to waste subs, while his Secret Technique: Perfect Form Susano’o summon a wood dragon for the finisher. If opponents get lucky and outlast this, players can repeat the Yugito main strategy.
3 Sasuke (Road To Boruto), Itachi (Fireball), Pain
It was such an epic moment to see Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha team up against Kabuto Yakushi in Part 2. As such, it’s awesome to be able to use Sasuke (Road To Boruto) and Itachi Uchiha in a single team. Alongside Pain, this trio easily becomes one of the best setups in the game.
Pain takes the lead here and can use his summoned Paths to zone areas as an all-rounder. Itachi as a Strike Back (Support) allows players to follow-through blocks with his Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu, whereas Adult Sasuke as Cover Fire (Support) can whip out Heavenly Hand Power: Chidori for quick assists. By the second half of the match, Pain can use his Awakening (All Creation Mode) and tear opponents from long range with Fire Arrow Head, and then switch into either Uchiha’s Susano’o for the finisher.
2 Naruto (Six Paths Sage), Hinata, Choji
Sometimes, the best teams are those built for specifically one purpose. In this case, it’s to allow Naruto to finish the fight with his Awakening (Tailed Beast Mode). This Awakening essentially allows Naruto to spam Tailed Beast Bombs and Massive Tailed Beast Rasen Shuriken at the opponent for a swift match point.
However, even if the setup doesn’t work appropriately, Hinata as Charge Guard (Support) and Choji as Dash Cut (Support) already make for an annoying team. Hinata can Air Palm opponents who try to get close to Naruto while he’s charging chakra, and Choji can Human Boulder enemies into submission who try to dash their way forward. What's more, Naruto’s Rasengan and Tailed Beast Bomb Rasen Shuriken can knock-up enemies for the midair juggle.
1 Pain, Shino, Choji
While some teams in UNS4 dish out great damage and work their way through aggressive setups, sometimes the “safe play” is the best and most reliable way to consistently earn wins. Players may want to try this with Pain, Shino, and Choji. This team will have Pain as its lead, as his summoned Paths can practically cover almost any ground with their multi-range combos.
Pain’s Awakening (All-Creation Mode) essentially acts as both a chakra steal (Seal Jutsu Absorption) and area deterrent (Fire Arrow Head). Opponents who do try to tear through these defenses can meet nasty counter-attacks, as Choji’s Dash Cut (Support) means enemies can’t even push their way forward. And even if they bypass the player’s defense, Shino’s Break Guard (Support) means opponents can’t follow-through with guard breaks.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 is available for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows.