Naruto Gaming Guide: Best Titles and Where to Start

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Which Naruto Game Should You Actually Start With?

The best starting point for most newcomers is Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 (2016, with the Road to Boruto re-release), because it covers the widest story span, runs on the most current platforms including PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch, and has the largest active online player base. If you want the story told properly from the beginning rather than as highlight reels, start with Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm via the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy collection, then play forward. If you want an RPG rather than a fighter, start with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution only for its custom character creation, or go to the older Ultimate Ninja Impact or the Naruto: Path of the Ninja titles — though those are increasingly hard to find outside used physical copies.

Below is the comparison most buying pages skip: which game actually covers which arc of the story, how the combat works, and what you are realistically paying in 2026.

Quick Comparison: The Main Naruto Games in 2026

Prices are general used and digital market ranges as of 2026 and vary heavily by region and whether you buy physical or digital. Physical PS2 and PSP copies in particular have climbed because they are no longer reprinted.

Best Overall: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

Who it suits: anyone who wants one game, one purchase, and the most complete experience with the least friction.

Storm 4 is the last of the numbered Storm games and the only one that covers the endgame arcs: the Fourth Great Ninja War, the final Sasuke confrontation, and then the Boruto-era epilogue via the Road to Boruto expansion. Its roster is the largest in the series — over 100 playable characters counting all forms, though several are re-skins with different jutsu sets rather than genuinely different fighters. Per the game’s official patch notes, the final balance updates tightened assist and substitution timing, which is why the online meta still settles on a small handful of characters.

Main trade-off: it starts near the end of the story. If you have not read or watched the series, the campaign reads as a sequence of fights between people you do not know yet.

Best for the Full Story: Ultimate Ninja Storm Legacy

Who it suits: readers who came in through the manga or anime and want the plot beats reproduced in order.

Legacy bundles Storm 1, 2, 3 and 4. Storm 1 covers the original series through the Konoha Crush; Storm 2 covers the early Shippuden arcs up to the Pain assault; Storm 3 runs the war’s opening; Storm 4 closes it. That is roughly 40–60 hours of campaign across all four games if you do not rush, plus far more if you chase the side missions. It is the only package that gives you the whole arc uninterrupted on modern hardware.

Main trade-off: Storm 1 is the oldest and feels it — shorter combos, less responsive movement, and a story mode built around town exploration that many players find tedious. It is also the shortest of the four. A common compromise is to watch a story recap of the first arcs and start at Storm 2.

Best Budget Entry: Storm Trilogy

Who it suits: players who want the most story hours per dollar and do not care about the final war arc yet.

The Trilogy pack (Storm 1–3) regularly sells for about half the price of Legacy. If you buy Trilogy now and Storm 4 later, you often pay roughly the same total, but you also get to stop after Storm 3 if the series does not click. On Switch specifically, the Trilogy is the more stable package — the Switch port of Storm 4 has been reported to hold up less consistently under heavy effects during large battles.

Best for Online Play: Storm Connections

Who it suits: players whose main interest is fighting other people rather than replaying the story.

Connections condenses the earlier story into a highlight mode and adds an original campaign. Its real purpose is the multiplayer suite and a revised assist system. If you check a game’s live player base before buying — which you should, since a dead lobby ruins the point — Connections and Storm 4 are the two Naruto fighters where you can still find matches quickly. Connections costs more and gives you less story; Storm 4 costs less and gives you more.

How to Choose in Five Minutes

Work down this list and stop at the first line that describes you.

• You have never watched or read Naruto and want the plot: Storm Legacy, and push through Storm 1. Budget 50+ hours.
• You have watched the anime and just want to play the fights: Storm 4. Skip everything else.
• You mainly want to fight other people online: Storm 4 first; Storm Connections if you want the newer assist system and do not mind paying more.
• You are on a tight budget under $25: Storm Trilogy, or a used physical Storm 4 copy, which frequently lands in the $10–$15 range on last-gen consoles.
• You only own a Switch: Storm Trilogy is the safer pick; Storm 4 and Connections are both available but performance is more variable in large battles.
• You want to build your own ninja: Storm Revolution, accepting that it is a last-gen-only title with a non-canon story.

One number worth running before you buy: divide the price by the hours you will realistically play. Storm 4 at $15 with a 12-hour campaign plus online play works out to well under a dollar an hour. Storm Legacy at $45 over 55 hours is about 80 cents an hour. A used PS2 Ultimate Ninja title at $40 for a 6-hour campaign is over $6 an hour, which is the worst value on this list unless you are buying it as a collector.

Ownership Realities: What Actually Matters After You Buy

Three things wear out fastest on a Naruto game purchase, and none of them is the disc.

1. The online population. Older Naruto fighters lose their lobbies first. Check before buying if multiplayer is your goal; Storm 4 and Connections are the current survivors. Everything on PS3 or 360 is effectively offline-only now.
2. Server-dependent content. Some online modes and ranked progression are tied to services that publishers eventually retire. Campaign and local versus always survive; online ranks do not. If you care about a save file, finish the campaign content early.
3. Physical media and disc rot. PS2 and PSP discs are 20+ years old now. Store them upright, out of direct sun, and away from heat. A scratched PS2 disc is the single most common reason retro buyers end up repurchasing, which is where the real cost creep happens.

Common mistake: buying Storm 4 first because it is cheapest, then discovering you want the story, then buying Legacy — and paying for Storm 4 twice. If story is your goal, start with the collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to play the Naruto games in order?

Only if you care about the plot. Each Storm game opens with a recap, and the story modes are self-contained enough to follow. Playing out of order costs you context, not comprehension. If you want the story properly, the order is Storm 1, 2, 3, 4 — which is exactly what the Legacy collection gives you.

Can I skip Storm 1 and start at Storm 2?

Yes, and many players do. Storm 1 covers the original series and has the oldest combat system. A story recap of the first arcs gets you to the same place in about an hour. You only lose the town-exploration mode and a handful of early-series fights.

Is Storm 4 or Storm Connections better for online multiplayer?

Storm 4 has the larger and longer-established player base, so matches come faster. Connections has a revised assist system and a newer release date, so its population is smaller but more current. If you want the highest chance of finding a match at any hour, Storm 4 is the safer pick.

Are the Naruto games good for someone who has never watched the anime?

They work as fighting games but not as a story introduction. The campaigns assume you already know who these characters are and why the fights matter. If you are coming in cold, either watch or read a summary of the first arcs first, or accept that the story will read as disconnected action scenes.

Which Naruto games can I still play on current consoles?

Storm 4, Storm Connections and the Storm Trilogy are all available on PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S and PC, with Switch versions of the Trilogy, Storm 4 and Connections. Legacy is limited to PS4, Xbox One and PC. Everything from the PS2, PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360 era requires old hardware or emulation.

Do the Naruto fighting games have a character creation mode?

Storm Revolution is the main one, with a custom ninja for its tournament mode. Connections adds cosmetic customization for existing characters but not a full create-a-ninja. If deep character creation is your priority, Revolution is the only real option, and it is last-gen only.