How to play
The Clash of Ninja games are part of the "3D fighter" genre.
At first glance, you'd probably assume this is a shallow tie-in game with not a whole lot of mechanics behind it. You're...surprisingly wrong. This game was developed by Eighting, the developers of the Bloody Roar fighting game series, and the series in fact uses a modified Bloody Roar engine. Sounds better already, right?
OK - so it's also important to throw most of your initial notions behind fighting games out too. Not all of them though - after all, this is still a fighting game.
It's really important to grasp the basics before jumping in, and that's what this guide is going to be focusing on. It's also worth noting that there are many unique mechanics in this game that aren't described in the games' manuals or even the tutorials, so you may want to refer to this guide every now and then if you're just starting out.
Gameplay UI
Here's a diagram showing the crucial parts of the UI.
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Timer: This area of the screen displays a number and slowly decreases. When this number hits zero, the round is over and the player with the most health at the end of the round is declared the winner. If both players have the same amount of health, it is considered a draw and neither player earns a match point. Match time can also be disabled (∞) as can be seen in the sample screenshot.
Health gauge: A fighting game staple, also referred to by some as a "lifebar". The objective of the game is to fully drain the yellow portion of this bar, also referred to by some players as "life". When attacked, the damage inflicted turns red before disappearing from the bar when struck again.
In games that feature tag battles, the character's red health will slowly recover if the active character tags out. Some characters can also recover red health, such as Tsunade or Kabuto.
- When a player's health reaches a certain point, they will enter a "critical" state. What happens in this state depends on the game:
- In Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4, when a player's health reaches 20%, chakra gain increases.
- In Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 and Naruto Shippuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! Special, when a player's health reaches 30%, Latent Ninja Powers will activate.
Chakra gauge: Referred by some players as a "super gauge", this gauge is responsible for some of the actions the player can execute. When his gauge is filled, a blue flame will appear in the sphere and a character's Secret Technique can be performed. Executing one of these actions consumes a part of the gauge.
| Cost | Action(s) |
|---|---|
| 25% | Y-Cancels, regular team swap, activating Sasuke's Sharingan |
| 50% | Character state changes (Kakashi's Sharingan, Lee and Guy's Gates) |
| 75% | Substitutions, tag substitutions, non-cinematic Secret Techniques |
| 100% | Cinematic Secret Techniques |
This gauge increases when a player:
- attacks
- blocks
- successfully tech rolls
The gauge also gradually increases when a player tags out in any of the Clash of Ninja games that feature a tag system.
Combo counter: When you perform a series of consecutive attacks, this is called a combo. When you land a second hit, this counter appears. As you land hits, this number increases. Once you stop landing consecutive hits, this counter disappears.
Guard gauge: A player's guard (which varies depending on a character's Defense) is represented by colored circles. Upon a successful block, these circles turn black depending on the value. When a character's guard is depleted, you will break the character's guard.
Round markers: When a player wins a round, a small kunai "marker" will be displayed underneath a player's chakra gauge. When a player wins the number of rounds specified by the "Match Point" setting in the game's options (default is 2), the match ends and a winner is decided.
Moving
In this game, your character can 
walk forward, 
walk backward, dash, backstep, 
jump, double-jump, and sidestep with 
or 
when you're not being attacked.
Starting with Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4, you can now sidestep while dashing, making this a very safe maneuver.
In Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 onward, your character is temporarily invulnerable when sidestepping and back-dashing.
More information coming soon.
Blocking
Blocking, or "guarding" in the Clash of Ninja titles is very easy: you can either hold away from the opponent or do nothing (don't touch Control stick or buttons)
Blocking isn't free, however: every character has a finite value of how much they can guard (represented both in the guard gauge and by the color of the hitsparks when blocking: blue when full, then yellow, then red) and when this value has been depleted, your character's guard will break (represented by an animation and a "shattering" sound) and your character will be temporarily defenseless.
Blockstun in GNT4 is dependent on which move is blocked. However, the numbers don't wildly vary, as they can only be one of a few set numbers.
Here are the various categories of attacks, along with the corresponding blockstun amount. (The frame of impact is included as frame 1 of these numbers)
Very Weak: 15 Frames
This length of blockstun is reserved for shanks (thrown kunai and other weak projectiles) only.
Weak: 20 Frames
This is the most common, and includes jabs and a lot of midstring moves.
Weak Lift: 3 Frames
These are weak attacks that lift the opponent into the air when blocked. As you can guess from the blockstun, these moves are absurdly easy to punish, even with some crappy divekicks. An example of a weak lift could be Kabuto's 
or each hit of Kimimaro's 
.
Medium: 19 Frames
Despite the game classifying these moves as medium strength, and the fact that they commonly do more damage than weak attacks, these have just one less frame of blockstun. That's pretty odd, huh? Most lows seem to be this, but this is not reserved for lows by any means. An example could be Naruto's .
Medium Lift: 7 Frames
These are medium attacks that lift the opponent into the air when blocked. These are generally punishable by jump kunai (often referred to by the community as "shanks"), depending on the matchup or if it's in the corner or not. An example could be Kyuubi Naruto's .
Strong: 24 Frames
These are the big heavy moves that do a lot of damage. Very commonly found at the end of a string or on a lot of weapon based attacks. An example could be Naruto's or 
.
Strong Lift: 12 Frames
These are, you guessed it, strong attacks that lift the opponent when blocked. This is on a lot of single hit moves that launch opponents. These are far more likely to be safe than medium lifts are, especially in awkward corner angles. An example could be Naruto's .
Pushback: 29 Frames
If you block some powerful blows while standing, your character will slide across the stage in a very long blockstun. If you block some of these moves while cornered, it can be pretty darn scary. An example could be Kakashi's .
Standing Pushback: 23 Frames
While very rare, there are moves that will put you in a pushback stun where your character is standing, rather than crouching. The blockstun here is notably less. An example could be Kimimaro's .
Air Pushback: 12 Frames
If blocked in the air, pushback attacks are treated as lift attacks, at least from a blockstun perspective. Every pushback move I tested was a strong, so while I'm not sure if there are weak or medium pushbacks, I severely doubt it, due to the very nature of these attacks. If a weak or medium is pointed out, just know it has the blockstun amount of lifts of that type. Despite the decreased blockstun compared to blocking it while standing, punishing most of these attacks is still pretty rare.
Spikes: 8 Landing Frames
Some moves, when blocked in the air, will leave your character spiked into the ground, stuck in blockstun for a moment. Punishing with a throw can be possible against some of these moves, but you'll definitely want to be familiar with the matchup and recognize what height you were at when you blocked it. An example could be Lee's 
.
Air Blocking
If you block an attack in the air, blockstun is reduced by 1 frame. This barely effects much at all, but if you want to lab this game intensely, this could prove to be useful to you eventually. Also, please note that blockstun will end immediately when you hit the ground, but you will suffer the regular 5 frames of normal landing recovery, effectively adding 5 more frames of blockstun, since you can block during this recovery. Lastly, blocking lift attacks while already airborne won't result in the 1 less frame of blockstun.
Attacks/Combos
Coming soon.
Throws
Coming soon.
Types of throws
Overhead launch throws
Coming soon.
Ground-slam launch throws
Coming soon.
Air throws
In Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4, the following characters can grab mid-air by pressing 
after jumping while the opponent is in spiraled knockback:
| Naruto | 
|
Kakashi | 
|
Kiba | 
|
| Kimimaro | 
|
Kabuto | 
|
OTK Naruto | 
|
In Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3, air throws are universal; any character can perform them.
Custom Throws
Coming soon.
Throw teching
If you press , or at the same time as your opponent when they attempt to throw you, both characters will push one another away and the throw will be cancelled.
Secret Technique (Ougi)
Coming soon.
Tech roll
Coming soon.
Quick recovery
Coming soon.
Substitution/Kawarimi no Jutsu (KnJ)
Coming soon.
Y-Cancel
Coming soon.
Latent Ninja Powers (Rev3, SP)
When a character's health in Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 and Naruto Shippuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! Special drops below 30%, they'll enter a Critical state and begin to glow. This means "Latent Ninja Powers" (or LNP for short) are active - and the exact boost depends on the character. The type of boost given depends on the color of the aura.
More info to come.
Training mode reset
You can hit on the C-Stick to reset the characters' positions, damage, etc.