I hope Sakon and Ata don't mind me making a guide on how to play the game properly. It about Un/NA2, but it still apply to this game. So, please don't get confuse.

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All info copy from Shishi-readn.com

Post by Forte

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Table of Contents
[1.0] Notation
--[1.1] Controls
--[1.2] Character Modifiers
--[1.3] Notations & Abbreviations
[2.0] Mechanics
--[2.1] Cancels
--[2.2] Offensive Techniques
--[2.3] Defensive Techniques
--[2.4] Awakenings & Ougis
--[2.5] Assists
[3.0] General Strategy
--[3.1] Chakra Control
--[3.2] Play Styles
--[3.3] Character Matchups & Counter Picks
[4.0] Items
[5.0] Character Statistics (More Coming Soon)
[6.0] Stages *New Update*
1.0 controls

D-Pad or Analog = Movement
O = Attack
[ ] = Shuriken
X = Jump
/\ = Activate ougi
L1 = Switch Weapon
R1 = Assist
L2 = Block
R2 = Block

skips character modifies

1.3] Notations & Abbreviations

Here is a list of common abbreviations used in the Narutimate games. Expect this list to grow over time.

KnJ- Kawarimi no Jutsu, or replacement
Tech –Recovering from a launcher or wall/floor bounce
SHC – Shuriken Cancel
GSC* – Guard stun cancel
BDC – Backdash Cancel
XDC – X-dash Cancel
DI *– Directional Influence
Block Lock – When a character is stuck in their blocking animation
Oi Ochi – The KnJ sequence after certain launchers
Strings/Chains – Refer to a characters preset combos. A chains can also be used to denote part of a combo

[2.1] Cancelling (Turn on your listen ears everyone. this is the Bnb of UN4.)

One of the most important gameplay features in NA2 is the ability to cancel moves and attack strings to stay safe, gain frame advantage, continue pressure & create mixups.

Shuriken Cancel – These are the most commonly used cancels in the game. Almost every attack in the game can be shuriken canceled at some point. By pressing square during an attack will cancel it directly into the character’s item throwing animation. The speed varies for each character, based on throwing speed. Shuriken cancels can be used to string together chains, shorten the recovery time of moves or simply as a quick way to turn around.

Square Cancel – The square cancel is similar to the L cancel from Smash. It can only be performed when the character is airborne. By pressing square to throw shuriken right before you hit the ground, you can cancel an attack’s landing animation. This means that no shuriken will come out, and instead the character will land in their neutral stance. This can be used for aerial attack strings, as well as ground strings where the character leaves the ground.

X-Dash Cancel – As the name implies, an x-dash can be cancelled after the spinning animation by throwing shuriken. This means you can use the starting animation to deflect items without risking leaving yourself open with the dash. Depending on the character’s item throwing speed, they may or may not throw shuriken when x-dashing low to the ground. The difficulty in performing an x-dash cancel varies from character to character as well, depending on their dash speed.

Backdash Cancel – Some attacks can be cancelled with backdashes. This is usually doe for defensive & zoning purposes. Backdashing certain attacks can give them special properties, like button locks or untechables. Backdashing ground strings that register the character as airborne will make them backdash upwards into the air. Backdash cancels can also be buffered as anti knj. This is done by holding forward while attacking, and pressing x twice when the opponent knjs.

Guard Stun Cancel – This is done by cancelling the attack after breaking guard with a backdash. When preformed, the character will backdash in place. For two hit guard breaks (i.e. Rock Lee & Kabuto) the backdash must be input between the first & second hit. Some single hit guard breaks can be GSC’d as well. To do this, you have to input the hit afterwards, (i.e. vOO not just vO) then backdash to kara cancel the second hit before it begins. Even then not all characters can execute this.

Kara Cancel – Cancelling an attack early in its animation before the actual hit comes out. This is usually used to utilize extra movement before the beginning of a move, which can allow for wavedashes, or faster recovery.

Jutsu Cancel – Cancelling an attack directly into a jutsu. It’s pretty self explanatory.

Ougi Cancel – Characters with aerial ougis can cancel the final hit of their strings into an ougi. This is most useful as a tech or backdash trap, or to apply more pressure.

Have any question. I'll be happy to asnwer any of them.

[2.2] Offensive Techniques

Infinites – Infinites are combos that will continue until the opponent dies. They exist in more than a few fighting games, and can play a big part in the gameplay of certain characters in the game. Of course in NA2, any combo can be KnJ’d, infinites are used to punish an opponent when they run out of chakra, securing a win. They can also be used to force an opponent to KnJ, though they general do less damage than a full combo. Continuously bouncing an enemy off the ground or wall isn’t considered an infinite because they can tech to escape. There are no true aerial infinites, the enemy must be grounded to be caught in an infinite. Not all characters have an infinite, and many of them have no practical use for them. There are several different kinds of infinites

Shuriken Cancel - An infinite using shuriken cancels to link together ground strings. (ie. OOO[ ] with either Neji)
X-Dash – An infinite preformed low to the ground, a character will hit part of their aerial string, then x-dash & repeat. (ie. XXO, XXO with TS Sakura)
Square Cancel* –By square canceling part of a ground string, a character can create an infinite (ie. Both Sasukes)

In addition to normal infinites, some characters have certain setups or traps that are inescapable without chaka, so while not actual infinites they provide the same uses.

Button Locks – While not as prominent in this game as they were in the past, button locks do still exist. A button lock is a sort of glitch where a player isn’t allowed to jump, block, or attack. The game believes the player is being hit by a move, and while being hit normally these actions is disabled. Button locks can be used intentionally by the attacking player. If a player is button locked he can still run freely, throw shuriken/items, plane switch and KnJ.

Hawking – While not particularly advanced, this is an important part of a strong aerial game. Some characters can use their aerial vO to dive downwards and attack. This dive kick adds a very good pressure tool, and can help characters close in on an enemy a lot faster. It’s named after PTS Neji’s stance during his divekick.

Wake Up/Okizeme – When an opponent is knocked down, the offensive player has several different options. Common ones include using attacks to hit on the ground (OTG), timing meaty shuriken or ranged moves, or jumping to meet an opponent as the recover. Charging a jutsu after a knockdown is generally a risky option, as the odds of hitting it are relatively low, versus the odds of getting punished, and the obvious loss of chakra.

Cutscene Fall Stun – Certain jutsus leave the opponent in a special state after knocking them down. When knocked down, the opponent will no longer be able to double jump or quick stand on wake up. They’ll only be able to backdash off the ground or flip up at the normal speed. This opens them up for unblockables and traps, due to their limited options.

Untechables – When an enemy techs a floor or wall bounce, they are still vulnerable for a small window. This can be done as part of a combo (ie. A bounce string straight into a jutsu), or simply as okizeme, when the opponent is teching every fall.

X-Dashing – A common mistake new players make is x-dashing constantly to try and close distance or attack. X-dashes are widely vulnerable, and can be punished heavily on block. When whiffed they can also leave you open. X-dashes are mainly used to counter shuriken cancels, and setup aerial attacks low to the ground. They usually shouldn’t be used in standard combos, because they do no damage, and are easily KnJ’d. It’s much more effective to simply jump and continue comboing.


2.3] Defensive Techniques

Blocking – Of course by holding either L2 or R2 your character will block. But you can constantly hold block during any other animation, this ensures that you’ll block any attack while neutral. It essentially ensures that you won’t be hit by any attacks while neutral. It’s a simple concept but many players are not aware of it.

Replacement (KnJ) – Kawarimi no jutsu, or replacement is the secondary defense mechanism in the Narutimate series. It uses chakra to escape attacks, both while blocking or being hit, and teleports behind the enemy. I call it the secondary defense because constant use of KnJ will hurt you chakra control. As a player you should try and knj only when absolutely forced, as there are often more defensive options.

Backdash – The universal backdash is of course an important defensive maneuver. The first few frames of the backdash are invincible as well, which helps escape pressure. This however is not true while getting up off the ground, backdashing on wake up is completely vulnerable.

Plane Swap – Oddly enough this is something people seem to forget about mid match. Plan swapping is a simple way to avoid a lot of ranged attacks. It’s really only listed here because while plane swapping is vulnerable, you are open to any attack both before you swap, and right before you land on the other plane, definitely something to be aware of.

X-dash – X-dashing defensively is not recommended unless the player is x-dash cancelling to deflect items. Using a full x-dash to try and avoid items isn’t wise, as many players will attempt to bait them out for punishment.

[2.4] Awakenings & Ougis

Ougi System - In the Accel series, a new ougi system was implemented, commonly referred to as the reversal system. Each character will have 3 ougis available to them during the match. The first is the initial level one ougi. When a character drops below 50% health their ougi changes to the reversal ougi. The reversal ougi does a higher amount of damage, and will trigger awakening for some characters. Characters with permanent transformations must use their reversal ougi in order to use them (Excluding Drunken Lee). When a character is in awakening mode, they gain access to their third ougi, the awakening ougi.

Of course there are exceptions to a lot of this, for example some character’s ougis will activate awakenings, and some characters only have 1 or 2 ougis. But the general system functions the same for all characters.

Awakeings – Each character has at least one awakening mode. Awakening modes can have several different effects, ranging from stat boosts & special abilities, to permanent moveset changes. There are a few different ways to activate a character’s awakening
Ougi – Preforming a certain ougi will activate their awakening mode
Prevoke (Taunt) – Awakening is activated by taunting (hold up)
Combo – Awakening is automatically activated after a certain number of hits
Critical – Awakening is automatically activated when the character’s health is low
Weapon- Awakening is activated after a certain number of items are thrown (Tenten Only)


[2.5] Assists(BANNED)

Assists are traditionally banned in competitive play. There are several reasons for this, that have been listed in the past. Assists have two settings that can be chosen at the character select screen, Auto & Manual. While on auto, the assist character will perform their action as soon as the R1 button is pressed. On Manual, the first press of R1 will call the assist character out into standby mode. While in standby they will follow the main character around. A second press of R1 will trigger their action. Whenever the assist character is out on the screen it depletes the assist meter, including standby mode. If the assist character is hit during their action they will disappear. Assist characters cannot be hit during standby mode. If the meter falls below the half way point the player cannot call their assist character out again until it refills to 50%.

Most assist characters perform an attack, though some give status effects or boosts. Certain characters have special assists, jutsus or ougis when matched with another character. This can be seen on the character select screen. A blue frog means a special assist, a yellow frog means a team ougi, and an orange frog means a team jutsu.

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[3.0] General Strategy

[3.1] Chakra Control

While the object of the game is of course to empty your opponent’s health bar, In the Narutimate games, the chakra bar serves as what many players call “The Second Life Bar”. Chakra control is always a strong undertone for any competitive match. Running out of chakra can lead to high damage combos & infinites of course, but chakra is important beyond that as well. Chakra also plays a large part in a character’s offense. When a character is pressured & forced to KnJ, it also lowers their offensive capacity, because they have less chakra to use for jutsus & ougis. Likewise, if an player is too aggressive offensively & over uses chakra on jutsus, they can quickly find themselves on the defensive, looking for an opportunity to charge. In the scope of things, a character can be ahead in health, but still be losing due to lack of chakra.

[3.2] Play Styles

Because the Narutimate games are so dynamic, characters can be played in a number of different ways, and excel in different areas. While there is no one way to play a character here are some examples of different playstyles and the characters that use them.

Chakra Denial – Characters that rely on draining the opponent’s chakra & setting up an infinite are referred to as chakra denial characters. Their attacks are usually very easy to KnJ, and/or low damage. Good Examples include TS Neji & Itachi.

Bulldogging –Bulldogs are aggressive characters that attack & do consistent damage without needing chakra. Examples: Kakashi, Rock Lee

Ranged Attack – A handful of characters have attacks with enough range to sustain a solid game from a distance. Most of these characters are relatively defensive, relying on keeping the other player at a distance & slowly dealing damage from outside the opponent’s range. Examples: Gaara, Kankuro, Deidara.

Rushdown – These characters are similar to bulldogs, as they’re largely offensive, but instead of doing consistant damage with normals, they use jutsus to deal large chunks of damage at a time. These playstyle is essentially high risk, high reward. Examples: TS Hinata, TS Temari

These are only a handful of styles, and as I said before, characters can be played in more than one way. Several characters include a mix of several styles in their gameplay.

[3.3] Character Matchups & Counter-Picks

With so many playstyles in the game, matchups become important. Characters have both good and bad matchups, so it’s important to know of them when you compete. Counter picking is when a player chooses a character to directly counter the opponent’s character. In the Narutimate games many counter picks exist, some more heavy than others. Using a character with item deflection against Shino or Deidara is a common counter pick for example. In a game with 60+ characters learning all the counter picks & matchups can be rough, but there are few matchups in the game that are completely one sided.

A common question is, can a player play a single character and win consistently, regardless of bad matchups & counter picks, simply with knowledge & skill with their character? I’d say the answer is yes, in the case of the majority of the cast. Still, learning more than one character can be equally rewarding, as switching to a secondary character may be easier than trying to overcome a bad matchup. Ultimately it’s up to the player, as they can succeed playing many characters, or just one, depending on how much they’re willing to put in.

I hope you enojy/reading/listening my little pies. That sounded wrong in a very weird way.

[4.0] Items(Some characters have item for them, and not anyone else.)

Here is a list of every item featured in the Narutimate series, compiled by Rockman

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Item name: The Weight of Gut/Slow Tag


Games Featured in: All
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Throw this at opponent to slow them down temporarily
Special Properties: Un X-Dashable and un knj-able in NH1 and Un X-Dashable NH2

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Item name: Chakra Seal


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Throw this at opponent to seal chakra usage
Special Properties: Un X-dashable & launches opponent into untechable spin in NH2, Slight homing capability in NA series.

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Item name: Armor Break/ Defense Down


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Throw at opponent to lower defense
Special Properties: Un X-Dashable in NH2, Slight homing capability in NA Series.

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Item name: Poison Smoke Bomb


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Throw this at opponent to inflict posion damage.
Special Properties: Does gradual damage over time after initial hit.

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Item name: Demon Wind Shuriken/ Fuuma Shuriken


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: A single multi-hitting shuriken.
Special Properties: Un X-Dashable, nulifies every other item except for another Fuuma.

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Item name: 1000-Shadow Shuriken/ Burst Shuriken


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Throws 15 shurikens at the opponent in a barrage.
Special Properties: Does full damage on a downed opponent.

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Item name: Golden Shuriken

Games Featured in: NH1
Item Type: Thrown Items
Effects: If thrown by someone in team 7 (Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura or Naruto) item is a fuuma shuriken. If thrown by Zabuza item is his sword. If thrown by anyone else item is a burst style shuriken barrage.
Special Properties: Un X-dashable and Un Knj-able, chains onto itself if more then one is thrown in succesion.

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Item name: Bomb Kunai/ Explosive Shuriken


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Hits opponent and then explodes on contact.
Special Properties: Can knj either they shuriken itself or the explosion there after. Sometimes the explosion can hit twice.

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Item name: Paper Bomb/ Explosive Tag


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Explodes within 3 seconds of placing down.
Special Properties: Can be triggered by a projectile hitting it before it touches the ground in NH3, NA1, & NA2.

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Item name: Explosive Throwing Tag


Games Featured in: NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Tag attaches itself to the opponent and explodes within 2 seconds.
Special Properties: Can be escaped by switching planes before the explosion.

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Item name: Curse Tag: Steal/ Item Stealer


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1 & NA2 as Shikamaru's down+O
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Causes any character hit with it to "empty thier pockets" of items.
Special Properties: Causes untechable spin in NH2

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Item name: Makibishi Spikes/Caltrops


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Drops spikes onto the ground around you that can hurt your opponent.
Special Properties: Explosive tags explode on contact when thrown on top of caltrops.

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Item name: Toad Oil/ Fire Pot


Games Featured in: NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Leave a small fire on the stage for a limited time.
Special Properties: If thrown ontop of a downed opponent followed by a shuriken toss the opponent takes the damage of the fire while downed.

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Item name: Parachute Kunai


Games Featured in: NH3, NA1 & NA2 (As Shikamaru's special item)
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Throws a parachute that hovers above the stage for a short time before exploding into a small burst of kunai.
Special Properties: None

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Item name: Stun Ball/ Stin

Games Featured in: NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Hits and stuns an opponent knocking them straight to the floor.
Special Properties: In some cases you can use the stun ball to leave an opponent stunned on his feet.


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Item name: Bag of Kunai


Games Featured in: NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Bag of kunai that explode and send a torrent of kunai at the opponent after a short ammount of time.
Special Properties: N/A

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Item name: Chance Ball


Games Featured in: NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Ball that explodes after a limited time with the explosion being either a length-wise explosion, width-wise explosion, poison or dud.
Special Properties: N/A

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Item name: Scroll of Instant Body/ Teleport Scroll


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Thrown Item
Effects: Instantly Places you behind your enemy.
Special Properties: Can be used in the middle of block and/or hit stun to escape combos.

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Item name: Crystal Ball


Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Restores some chakra
Special Properties: Ammount of Chakra restored varies between characters.

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Item name: Medical Pack

Games Featured in: NA2
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Restores small amount of Health
Special Properties: Restores either 5% or 10% of health randomly.

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Item name: Scroll of Hidden Cloud/ Transparancy scroll



Games Featured in: All
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Makes the user "invisible" and invulnerable to projectiles.
Special Properties: User can still be hit by the explosion and poison clouds left behind by certain items.

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Item name: Shoes of Jounin/Speed up/ Jump Extender


Games Featured in: All
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Grants the user extra speed & ,in NA2, extended jump.
Special Properties: Some combos will work better or worse when using this item.(I.E. Some hits wiffing, or some combos linking easier)

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Item name: Food Pills/ Attack up

Games Featured in: All
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Grants the user extra attack strength.
Special Properties: N/A

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Item name: Tortoise Shell Pills/ Defense Up


Games Featured in: All
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Grants the user a defense boost.
Special Properties: N/A

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Item name: Kakashi Doll/ Auto Knj


Games Featured in: All
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Gives the user automatic KNJ status for a short time.
Special Properties: Does Not auto-knj projectiles.

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Item name: Energy Pills/ Infinite Chakra

Games Featured in: NH2, NH3, NA1, NA2
Item Type: Automatic Use
Effects: Gives the user infinite chakra for a short time.
Special Properties: HokaGAI

[5.0] Character Statistics(ingore* some of the names, because you won't be seeing until UN5 comes out to the states.)

The following are character rankings & stats compiled by Hiougi & other members (credit will be given in specific sections)

Health/Stamina Ranking

This list is based off the damage modifiers attached to the characters. A higher percentage means they take more damage, lower percentage means less damage. PTS & TS characters share the same stamina rank, except for Sakura who’s versions are listed.

S (80%): 4tk Naruto, Jiraiya, OTK Naruto, Shukaku Gaara, CS2 Jiroubu
S-(85%): Drunken Lee
A (90%): Rock Lee, Gaara, Butterfly Chouji, Nidaime, Haku, CS2 Kidoumaru, CS2 Sakon, CS2 Kimimaro
B (95%): Chouji, Orochimaru, Jiroubu
C (100%): Sai, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, Shino, Itachi, Hiruko, Tsunade, Yamato, Sasuke, Shodai, Kidoumaru
C-105%): Tenten, Kiba, Kurenai, Asuma, Kankuro, Kabuto, Shizune, Anko, Sandaime, Kimimaro, Tayuya
D+(110%): Naruto, Neji, Gai, Temari, Chiyo, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, PTS Sakura, Yondaime, Sakon, Zabuza
D (115%): Hinata, Hanabi, Konohamaru, CS2 Tayuya
F (120%): TS Sakura

Defense/stamina meaning how many hits can a character take until they die. As you can see TS sakura has the worst defense in the game. So, the persona that uses her must be very defenseive when palying agaisnt someone good. So someone with good defense like Jiraya can take a lot dmg before kicking the bucket.

There is a stage section, but I don't know if I should show that or not. Tell what you guys think, ok?