Anime Expo 2015: The Hyuga Clan Arrives On The Battlefield In ‘Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4’

E3 has come and gone, but I have to say that the insane action of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 still has a pretty strong hold on me. Once we hit the Anime Expo floor and noticed an updated build with even more characters to play with, we couldn’t resist putting our ninjutsu skills to the test for a second time, with the addition of series mainstay, Kakashi, to the previously established cast of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Obito and Madara, the bigger story was seeing all three Hygua children as fighters as well. While Neji and Hinata are expected at this point, Hanabi, Hinata’s younger sister who has only ever been playable in 2008’s Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3 as somewhat of a joke character, makes her big return to follow up her prominent role in The Last: Naruto The Movie. We took this opportunity to play as her alongside the rest of her family, and came across some surprises along the way.

Hanabi essentially uses altered versions of her family’s attacks, consisting mostly of chakra sealing open palm strikes. Her version of Neji’s Kaiten still envelopes her in a protective shield that blows away any opponent caught in its radius, but unlike her older cousin, she travels across the stage while performing the move. This allows her to corner enemies who are attempting to flee, creating a different set of strategies both when fighting as and against her. Similarly, Neji himself uses many of the hard hitting 8-Trigrams techniques, using his fingertips to assault his enemies’ weak points. Not to be outdone, Hanabi has her own more elegant version, which serves to be just as effective. If up close and personal isn’t your style, Hinata brings in the long distance combat. While her strikes aren’t as punishing as the rest of her family, she makes up for it with her 8-Trigrams Vaccum jutsu, which launches a huge amount of force from her palm, attacking opponents at long range.

Even if each member has their own strengths and weaknesses, it’s clear that the three are at their best together. As with previous games, creating a three person team of characters that have close relationships with each other can result in some unique Ultimate Jutsu attacks. This is no different when it comes to the Hyuga clan, who can cover for each other quite well when dropping in for support attacks. Once its time to activate their ultimate attack, the team doesn’t disappoint, surrounding the enemy at all sides and pummeling each of their chakra points. If three wasn’t enough, the head of the clan, Hiashi Hyuga, drops in to help deliver a four pronged finishing blow, all with the amount of flash that we’ve come to expect from the series.

So it’s safe to say that the Hyuga Clan are as bad ass as ever. Who else do you want to see make the cut in what might be the last Naruto game? Let us know in the comments, then check out the latest trailer, which also reveals the big bad of the series, Princess Kaguya, in her video game debut.