Sidesteps are performed by pressing the or buttons and allow the player to circle the opponent, moving in the z-axis of the game. In addition to the basic standing sidestep, starting in GNT4 and all future games, running sidesteps can be performed while in the run animation. In the GameCube GNT games, steps towards the camera and steps away. In all Wii games, steps to the character's left and steps to the right.

Usage

The exact properties of sidesteps change game to game, though in general there are about three frames of startup followed by a rapid repositioning in the z-axis which lasts a few frames, followed by a longer period of recovery. Sidesteps have utility in a number of ways:

To escape from certain block strings
To turn around safely while being attacked or hit from behind
Used after the opponent jumps, a sidestep will move the player out of the line of attack and re-align to face their opponent
- This counterplay is important for punishing jump back and jump attacks
In GNT4 forward, the starting invincibility frames of sidesteps can be used to avoid an otherwise unblockable wake-up-super (WUS).

In general, when backturned to the opponent, two sidesteps will turn the character around. In CON/GNT1-4 pressing the same direction twice will reverse the character's orientation relative to the camera and result in a second step back into the original position, turned around. Using one press and one press will result in the character stepping in the same direction twice in a row and is usually preferable as it is more likely to keep the player out of the line of the attack of their opponent.

Differences between games

Naruto: Clash of Ninja! 1

Sidesteps are 20 frames total
Characters can block for the entire sidestep (DEFOK flag active)
Characters can be thrown for the entire sidestep (THROWOK flag active)
steps towards the camera, steps away from the camera when facing the opponent

Naruto: Clash of Ninja! 2

Characters cannot block for frames 2-20 of the sidestep (DEFOK flag removed)

Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 3

No changes from CON2

Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4

Frames 1-3 now have total invincibility (TDMG flag)
Sidestep is no longer throwable (frames 1-3 are invincible, THROWOK flag removed frames 2-20)
Running sidestep added: or pressed during the run state now performs a sidestep with a different animation
- Running sidesteps have the same properties as standing sidesteps
If you have distance from your opponent and are holding forward by frame 11, your sidestep will cancel into a run forward on frame 12.

Super Naruto: Clash of Ninja! 4 (fan mod)

Sidesteps are once again throwable for the entire duration (THROWOK flag restored)
Frames 1-3 of the sidestep are now only invincible to attacks and not throws
Sidesteps have been slightly edited in their movement, to start moving on frame 4 when invuln ends, instead of on frame 5 like vanilla.
Running sidestep has been altered to be more like Rev 3, where you face your opponent immediately (for example, backturn running sidestep allows you to run back towards the opponent). This also makes them better for threatening and closing the distance on jump back and retreating air options.

Sidestep

Contents