Naruto Games on PC and Console: Ultimate Ninja Storm and Beyond
A fan's guide to the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, the Trilogy and Legacy collections, Connections and Shinobi Striker, and which game covers which part of the story.
Few anime franchises have a game series as closely tied to their story as Naruto. The Ultimate Ninja Storm games, developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Bandai Namco, retold almost the entire Naruto and Naruto Shippuden saga across six main entries between 2008 and 2016, then gathered it all again in 2023’s Connections. For fans, they are one of the most complete ways to relive the series in interactive form.
The catch is that the series is spread across several console generations, re-releases and collections. This guide explains which game is which, what part of the story each covers, which versions you can still buy on modern platforms and where the online spin-off Shinobi Striker fits. It focuses on the games as story adaptations rather than on fighting technique.
The Ultimate Ninja Storm series at a glance
| Game | First release | Original platforms | Story coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm | 2008 | PS3 | Part I of the original series |
| Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 | 2010 | PS3, Xbox 360 | Early Shippuden arcs, including Pain’s invasion of the Leaf |
| Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations | 2012 | PS3, Xbox 360 | Character-focused retrospective stories up to the Five Kage Summit |
| Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (and Full Burst) | 2013 | PS3, Xbox 360, PC | The Fourth Great Ninja War, first half |
| Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution | 2014 | PS3, Xbox 360, PC | Original side stories and a tournament mode |
| Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (and Road to Boruto) | 2016 (expansion 2017) | PS4, Xbox One, PC; Switch in 2020 | The end of the war and the final battle; Boruto movie story in the expansion |
| Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections | November 2023 | PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Switch | Recap of Naruto and Shippuden plus an original Boruto-era story |
The Storm series as a whole had passed 30 million units sold by 2024.
Storm 1 to Storm 4: the main story games
Ultimate Ninja Storm (2008)
The first game loosely covers Part I of the manga and anime, the story of a young Naruto from his time at the academy through the Chunin Exams and the attempt to bring Sasuke back. Rather than retelling every episode, it picks key moments across roughly the first 135 episodes. It also introduced the series’ signature presentation: fully 3D, cel-shaded fights designed to look like the anime, framed by a freely explorable Hidden Leaf Village.
Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (2010)
Storm 2 jumps to Naruto Shippuden. It covers the early Shippuden arcs, including the Kazekage rescue and Naruto’s battle with Pain, which many fans consider one of the series’ best adaptations. Its boss fights are known for large-scale cinematic moments.
Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (2012)
Generations takes a different approach. Rather than a single linear story, it offers several shorter campaigns told from different characters’ perspectives, revisiting moments from across the series up to the Five Kage Summit. It is often described as a retrospective entry with a large roster. Generations has not been re-released on modern platforms, so it is mainly available on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 and Full Burst (2013)
Storm 3 opens with a flashback to the Nine-Tailed Fox’s attack on the Leaf Village on the night Naruto was born, then moves into the Fourth Great Ninja War. It covers roughly the first half of the war. Full Burst, released later in 2013, is an expanded edition that added an extra chapter and characters, and it is the version included in later collections.
Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution (2014)
Revolution is a side entry. Instead of continuing the main storyline, it offers original “Ninja Escapades” episodes exploring characters’ backstories, including the Akatsuki, and a Ninja World Tournament mode. It is a fan-service entry rather than a story chapter, and like Generations it has not been re-released on current hardware.
Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 and Road to Boruto (2016–2017)
Storm 4 concludes the Shippuden story. Its campaign covers the rest of the Fourth Great Ninja War through to Naruto and Sasuke’s final battle, with an epilogue showing Naruto as the Seventh Hokage. Additional story content follows other characters after the main campaign.
The Road to Boruto expansion, released in February 2017, is set roughly fifteen years later and follows Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki through the events of the Boruto: Naruto the Movie storyline. It also adds adult versions of many characters. Storm 4 Road to Boruto reached Nintendo Switch in April 2020.
Trilogy and Legacy: the collections
In 2017 Bandai Namco re-released the earlier games for modern platforms, which is how most new players access them today:
- Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy bundles remastered versions of Storm 1, Storm 2 and Storm 3 Full Burst. It was released for PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2017 and for Nintendo Switch in April 2018.
- Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy is a physical Western collection from August 2017 for PS4, Xbox One and PC. It includes the three Trilogy games plus Storm 4 Road to Boruto.
The two side entries, Generations and Revolution, were not included in either collection. Their main content is not essential for following the story, so most fans can skip them without missing major events.
Connections (2023): the whole story in one game
Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections, released in November 2023, was the first Naruto game for current-generation consoles. It is available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch.
It combines two kinds of story content:
- History Mode covers the original Naruto and Naruto Shippuden from the Chunin Exams to the Fourth Great Ninja War, told through iconic battles and anime cutscenes. It works as a condensed retelling of the saga for anyone who has not played the earlier games.
- Special Story Mode is an original story written for the game, set during the Boruto era and featuring Boruto alongside two new original characters.
Connections also has the largest roster in the series, with over 130 playable characters according to Bandai Namco. Because it gathers so much material into one release, it is the simplest starting point for newcomers on current consoles, though the older games’ fuller, more cinematic story chapters remain a draw for fans who want more detail.
Shinobi Striker: the online team game
Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, released in August 2018 for PS4, Xbox One and PC, is not part of the Storm series and plays very differently. Instead of controlling famous characters, players create their own ninja, choose a role and join online team battles in arenas inspired by the series. It was the first Naruto game with Boruto as a main character.
Shinobi Striker is built around online multiplayer, so it is best suited to players who want to play with others rather than follow the story. As with any online-focused game, it is worth checking current player activity before buying.
Which Naruto game should you play?
- You want the whole story, in order, on modern hardware: play the Trilogy (Storm 1, 2 and 3 Full Burst), then Storm 4 Road to Boruto, or pick up the Legacy collection where available.
- You want one game that covers everything: Connections, which condenses the story in its History Mode and adds new Boruto-era content.
- You only want the Shippuden war arc: Storm 3 Full Burst and Storm 4.
- You want to play online with friends as your own ninja: Shinobi Striker.
Fans who are currently watching the anime may want to stop at the game that matches where they are, since later games spoil major reveals. Storm 3 and Storm 4 in particular contain the war’s biggest twists.
Ratings and purchases
The Storm games are aimed at teenagers and older. Connections, for example, is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB, with descriptors for mild blood, mild language, suggestive themes and violence, and it carries an In-Game Purchases notice for its DLC. Our guide to ESRB and PEGI ratings explains what these labels mean.
Like the other licensed anime games on PC and console, the Storm series sells extra characters and costumes as fixed-price DLC packs rather than randomised pulls, so you always know what you are paying for. Naruto has also had mobile gacha titles, but those fall outside this guide, which covers PC and console only. Waiting for bundles and complete editions is a perfectly reasonable approach, and the full story content of each game is included in the base version.
How Naruto compares with other anime game series
CyberConnect2’s experience with the Storm series shaped its later anime work. The studio went on to make Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot and the Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles games, which share the same “playable anime” philosophy of recreating iconic scenes with cinematic boss fights. If you enjoy the Naruto games, our guides to the Hinokami Chronicles series and Dragon Ball games cover similar ground for those franchises.
Where the Storm series stands out is scale. Few anime game series have adapted such a long story so completely, across so many entries, with the same developer from start to finish.
Quick answers
Do I need to play the games in order?
Not to learn how they play, but the story builds across games. For the narrative, play Storm 1, 2, 3 Full Burst and 4 in that order.
Are Generations and Revolution worth tracking down?
They are fun extras for fans, but neither is required for the main story, and neither has been re-released on current platforms.
Does Connections include the earlier games?
No. It retells the story in its own History Mode but does not include the earlier games themselves.
