Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2
Score: 92% ESRB: Teen Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Games America, Inc. Developer: Cyber Connect2 Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting/ Themed
Graphics & Sound: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is not only the continuation of a great line of Naruto fighting games, but it is also the first Ultimate Ninja title to not be on a Sony system. As always with this series, Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 looks and sounds great. While the between-fight world isn't nearly as vast and open as what we saw in the previous game, what it does offer seems to be much more detailed and full of life. The Leaf Village itself only contains a dozen or so screens to run around in, but each one is filled with villagers and provides an old-school fixed-camera designed to let the art team show you Konoha exactly the way they want to, and it isn't bad at all. Sound is always a plus for the Naruto games since the voicework and background music always fits perfectly. While there isn't as much spoken dialogue in this particular game, what is used, typically during boss battles, is done really well, though some of the lip synching issues are a bit annoying, but that's really a small problem given the overall scope of the game.
Gameplay: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 starts off with Naruto's return to the village after training with Jiraiya for several years. This game actually goes pretty deep into the new storyline as it takes players all they way to Pain's attack on the Hidden Leaf Village, a segment which is teased at the very beginning of the game's Ultimate Adventure Mode. We see the Akatsuki member's blasts turns the village into a massive crater, only to have Naruto appear as the dust clears in his newly mastered Sage Mode. Ultimate Adventure Mode not only takes you through the main story points from the anime and manga, but it also contains quite a number of side missions and extra odd-jobs to do while between major events. One of the interesting elements introduced in the previous game, but greatly expanded upon here, is the ability to collect recipe components to be able to buy new items in the various shops. Previously, this was only a feature of the Ichiraku Ramen Bar used to get more healing foods, but now you can collect tons of random ingredients to not only make more foods available in more shops, but also in a couple of non-eating establishments as well. That's not the only feature the developers at CyberConnect2 have expanded upon. Ultimate Ninja Storm 2's Support Character system takes all of the good points of the previous game's mechanic and adds to it. Support Characters are helping hands you select before the fight that can jump in and provide a bit of backup with the tap of a button. What's added this time is the ability for these support characters to grow a little. There are three support types available, Defense, Attack and Balanced, and the different types tell the character what to do when he or she jumps into the arena. While characters won't start off with all of these support types, they will grow as the game progresses and you will be able to use them more effectively as you continue. On top of that, the more you use a character in a fight, the more likely they are to come out on their own at opportune times and help you out, and you can eventually pull off team attacks with your support character to deal some major damage to your opponent. While Ultimate Adventure Mode is the game's main focus and is what allows you to unlock new characters and fight them, Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 also comes with a Free Battle Mode for playing against your friends locally, but unlike the previous game, a new Online Battle Mode option is available.
Difficulty: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2's Adventure Mode has a pretty good handle on balance. Early fights, like proving to both Sakura and Kakashi that you've been training hard, aren't too difficult, but definitely get you into the feel for the game, while later ones become more and more of a challenge. Then again, as you progress in the game, you gain more support characters to help you in your attacks, as well as more powerful attacks you can pull off. While there were several fights along the way that took a few times to get past, I never felt like the battles were hopeless, and for the most part, I was able to plow my way through the battles in a steady enough pace to not feel like the game was too hard or too difficult.
Game Mechanics: The Ultimate Ninja series has been on only Sony systems previously. The original five titles were on the PS2, while the Ultimate Ninja Heroes line has been relegated to the PSP. Last year's Ultimate Ninja Storm title was the line's jump to the new round of consoles on the PS3, and now, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 finally brings the game to the 360 (as well as the PS3, of course). What's good is that gamers who have been following the series on the PlayStation systems shouldn't have a problem making the jump to the 360 as far as controls and feel of the game are concerned. Pretty much everything translates over to the larger controller well, and performing the various attacks and moves ingrained into you by the last eight games come across nicely. Where your basic attacks and combos came from the (Circle), that's now the (B) button. (X) on the PS controls was jump, and is now (A), while defensive moves like guarding and the Substitution Jutsu are the trigger buttons. Positionally, everything is the same, so if you want to make the jump to the 360, you don't have to worry about retraining your fingers. The Ultimate Ninja series has been one of my favorite fighting game lines for a long time, and is my favorite out of all of the Naruto titles out there. It is nice to see that this latest installment not only keeps up that high standard, but adds just enough new features to make the game feel like more than just a re-skinning of the previous one with a new story.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Related Links: PSIllustrated’s Review of Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 Game Vortex’s Naruto Coverage
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