Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2

"Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2, one year later."

Whether you watch it as "Dattebayo!" or "Belive It", if you know your Naruto, you know that Clash of Ninja 2 came out a while ago. And while the rest of the reviews are all hyped up, the hype has long died out and now an unbiased review can come out.

Gameplay:

Ok, what everyone looks for in a fighting game. Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 is a game that basically any human can start to play, whether you're a crazy Naruto fan who calls people with suffixes as -san, -kun, -sama, etc... or a lonesome teenager who wishes school didnt exist. The gameplay is relatively simple. The menu format and style is simple, but done well. Nothing fantastic. You can "buy" characters with money you get for doing missions, or doing modes. There are a multitude of characters, almost double the last.

Fighting in CoN2 is simple as well, to some extent. Each character has a unique "Special Move", simply by pressing x. You can unleash combos with the B and A buttons, but the catch is that with enough "Chakra", or energy, you can escape out of a long combo by pressing either R or L. This is to stop the "cheapness". The AI is relatively stupid at levels 1,2 and even 3. However, at 4, it simply becomes a pain when the computer becomes cowardly and just shields half the game. Gameplay is fun at first, but quickly becomes bland.
Score- 6.5/10

Graphics:

Even one year later, CoN2 looks fresh on the Gamecube, the Nintendo system long mocked for its pitiful graphics (ever play Need for Speed: Most Wanted? Try it on XBox...). The Cel-shaded characters and enviroments are still great today. Characters are handdrawn with custom finishes drawn by Matsumoto himself. Good looking game.

Score - 9/10

Sound:

Another thing about CoN2, the great sound. While music is somewhat "there", the hits, bangs, smashes, and whatever other noises you can think of sound great. When you punch, you really do punch. Music is repetitive, but a good addition.

Score - 8/10

Replay Value

Oh dear. Do you have friends? Do they like Naruto? If you do, you're in luck, because multiplayer is great fun. But... playing alone as the orange jacket kid gets boring, and boring fast. After you unlock everything, you probably won't touch the game ever again. I pick it up about every 5 weeks.

Score - 6/10

Presentation:

New Naruto Game!? That was the presentation scheme back then. It did ok. "nuff said.

Score - 8/10

Overall:

While it was a fun game to play at that time, CoN2 quickly loses its hype after you bore yourself tirelessly of getting 100,000 money to buy a character which isn't that great.

Score of 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/21/07