Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2
by Namco
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Brand: NamcoRelease Date: 2007-06-12
Platform: PlayStation2
Model: 10065
Publisher: Namco
Product features:
- Play as one of over 30 playable characters from the hit TV show including Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Rock Lee, Gaara, Kiba and many more
- Customize your favorite character&get an edge in battle - earn points toward upgrading and character's strength, defense, chakra, agility and even special abilities
- Play through key plots in the anime series -- from the Chunin Exam through the Tsunade story arc, including all of themajor battles
- Unleash your chakra to perform multi-level super attacks capable of defeating even the most deadly of enemies
- 16 unique stages with close combat or a variety of ranged weapons -- call on friends and allies to help with super-attacks&power-ups
Video Game Reviews of Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2
Customer Review: Another good game in one of the best Naruto fighting game series
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this game at the same time as I bought Ultimate Ninja 1, since they had been out a while, and were both relatively cheap. Because of this I also got the added benefit of not having to get used to the controls twice, and being able to easily change from one game to the next. In many ways Ultimate Ninja 2 is a huge improvement on Ultimate Ninja 1. The story is continued further, there are over twice as many characters as in the first game, more stages to fight in, and the secret techniques, and story mode have been completely redone. With all these improvements however, there come new drawbacks, which I hope will be fixed with the coming (or my buying) of Ultimate Ninja 3.
The graphics are just about the same as in the last game, but this is far from being a bad thing. More than ever, I feel like I'm reading manga rather than playing a video game (especially during the secret techniques). The music has been added on to, due to the increase in the number of stages, and has just as much appeal as the music of Ultimate Ninja 1.
One of the best improvements I think that the producers made to this game though, was the increase in characters, and fighting stages. Now there are over 30 characters (including the Akatsuki members, Itachi Uchiha, and Kisame Hoshigake) to play as, many of whom should have been featured in the last game as well. Unfortunately about five of the "new" characters are simply alternate versions of existing characters, such as ANBU Kakashi, or Sealed Orochimaru. I suppose I would have liked to see more variety of characters, even minor ones, such as the sound Genin, or even Asuma. Nevertheless, I am still pleased to see characters from the Chunin Exams who should have been in the series to begin with.
There are more stages in Ultimate Ninja 2 as well, though not that many have been added. Now along with the stages of Ultimate Ninja 1, you can also fight in Konoha Forest, Tanzaku Town/Outskirts, and The Leaf Village Hot Springs. As a Dragonball Z fan, who is used to hundreds of characters, and close to that many stages, I can't praise this game enough for this improvement. Unfortunately this increase in stages also has its drawbacks. Now it is impossible to switch freely between stages, when knocked down enough times. In order to change locations in Ultimate Ninja 2 you need to successfully use a special projectile, which doesn't appear frequently.
The Story Mode is my second favorite improvement to Ultimate Ninja 2. This mode has been completely redesigned, and it combines the story mode of the last game with the mission mode. Both of these modes are now blended into one, and thrown into the mix as well is an adventure/RPG game aspect which I personally enjoy. The cutscenes have been rethought, and are much better, than they were, since they now look like real cutscenes (if you've played the last game you know what I mean if not see my review). They could still be better though, since in almost every other game I have ever played the graphics in the cutscenes are much better than in normal gameplay. In Ultimate Ninja 2 however, the scenes look just like the fighting characters, who are moving slightly differently than normal.
On a slightly less important note, the Story Mode also has mini-games now, which are a nice distraction now and then from story battles, and missions. The three biggest are Lee's push-up challenge, a contest to see wheter you, or the computer can press the circle button more times, Guy's Handstand Race, which is essentially self-explanatory, and Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Challenge/Guy's Pose Challenge (their basically the same thing). In the last game, you have to repeat in exact order a sequence of button combinations, which get progressively longer as the game goes on. If you win at any or all of these games you will receive much money which you can spend on Extras, in the Shop mode of the game.
The Story Mode also brings up one of my biggest complaints about the game. In Ultimate Ninja 2, the story essentially picks up from the last game, and goes up to the end of the Search For Tsunade arc. After that they made up a story about Kakashi losing the use of his Sharingan, due to Orochimaru. Most of this I can accept, since they hadn't aired up to the Sasuke Retrieval arc in America yet when the game was made, and because they needed some way of making a new interesting story to take up space. But the story of the game rushes through the Chunin Exams, and doesn't even cover any of the story before that. I understand that the makers of the game assumed that most, or at least a lot of the people who would buy this game had already bought, or played Ultimate Ninja 1, but that doesn't mean that you should cut out story. If anything it means that you can make the story longer, and expand upon what you already have.
My last complaint is with the controls of the game. For the most part they are the same as in the last game, with a few alterations, which are not really noticeable except during secret techniques. There are also now more projectiles, and items in this game as well. The two biggest differences to the secret techniques, are that sometimes you have to either win a button pressing contest with the opponent or CPU, or an analog stick spinning contest. Whoever spins the analog stick more, or presses the button more, does the most damage, or blocks the most damage. The rest of the time you are still pressing randomized button combos within a time limit. Partly because of this though, and partly for other advances in the game, the controls of almost every single character are identical. The only difference is how the character reacts, when you press a certain combination. This aspect is much worse than in Ultimate Ninja 1, and this leads to my related complaint with the secret techniques. The visuals for the techniques looks, at least to me, to be the same as in the first game, and though there are more now than before, I would have like to see more variation. The only thing that is different about the techniques now is the audio component, which for now is enough for me.
Overall I enjoyed this game just as much if not more than the first, and hope to buy Ultimate Ninja 3 very soon. The game may have its flaws, but no game is perfect, and this is still one of the best Naruto-based fighting game series out there. I would definitely recommend this game to Naruto, DBZ, and even fighting game fans alike. The game is fun, fast-paced, and even with its drawbacks it doesn't deserve much less than 5 stars. I would give it 4.6 stars, if I could but don't think any less of the game because I only gave it 4.
Description of Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 lets you battle the best in the land. Fight head-to-head against other great ninja warriors, with over 30 playable characters and 16 unique stages. Choose from more than 60 exciting missions, test your skills with challenging mini-games or play through the anime storyline - and even unlock an original story - in the all-new mode, Ultimate Road. Earn money and points to unlock tons of bonus content as you unleash your chakra and ascend the ranks on your way to becoming the greatest ninja of all! Play Ultimate Road to follow the anime storyline and unlock an original plot, take on over 60 challenging missions or play through six unique mini-games Practice mode perfects your techniques, or VS mode to take on the computer or fight head-to-head with friends Tons of unlockable characters, movies, music, cards&moreAll Games
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