Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2

"Ninjas are definitely cooler than pirates"

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Naruto. I love the manga and I love the Japanese version of the TV series, but I've always been a little disappointed with the video games that have been released that are supposed to represent this great, great franchise, which is the best shonen I've had the pleasure of indulging in since Dragon Ball came out. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 is a great fighting game that provides plenty of characters from the Naruto universe to play as and also provides intense, fast-paced fighting in the vein of Super Smash Bros. What more could you ask for?

The single-player experience in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 is what takes the game down from a better score like a nine or a ten to an eight. The reason for this is that the single-player mode is painfully boring and some of the tasks it asks of you are insanely difficult, requiring mastery of a game that shouldn't demand that from the player, especially since here in America the franchise is marketed towards children. You do differently ranked "missions" that are basically just fighting with some special stipulations thrown in and the only thing the story mode is good for is to get a feel for the universe (if you are unfamiliar with it) and to unlock other characters to play in the multiplayer mode.

The real reason why anyone would play this game is the multiplayer mode and you can choose up to 33 characters from the Naruto universe to play as. These characters include Jiraiya, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and plenty of others. Unfortunately, America isn't as far into the storyline as Japan is, so some of the moves that you'd want in here don't show up, so that's somewhat of a disappointment. Also, some of the characters are painfully broken and their moves can make matches with them nearly impossible to win, especially if you are playing with someone who likes to spam moves.

The environments you can fight in can be explored a little deeper than in most fighting games because you can move to a spot in on the field farther away from the screen by teleporting there via your ninja powers. This adds a little more dimensions to the fighting and is definitely a nice touch.

Breakable objects are abound in Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2, so there has to be something in them, right? Of course! A major part of the Super Smash Bros. games is the use of items, and since Ultimate Ninja 2 tries to emulate the success of those games, it might as well have items in it too. These items are actually pretty entertaining to use, like various ninja weapons that include shuriken and kunai. Exploding daggers can also be utilized to humorous effects while other items simply restore your health or your chakra (for uninformed gamers, this basically magic points). Another item allows you to summon your "support" character to, hopefully, perform an attack on your opponent, and it's interesting to note that this mechanic didn't appear in a Super Smash Bros. game (Brawl) until after this game was released, so it's interesting to see that the Super Smash Bros. series took a few notes from one of its copiers.

The matches do sometimes feel a bit short since you only fight one round, but these one rounds are insanely intense. Your mana is used up by various special moves you can perform based on your character and you can perform awesome counter-attacks by nailing the counter button at just the right moment. If you want an intense fighter to play on your PlayStation 2, Ultimate Ninja 2 is definitely the way to go.

But what makes the game most intense isn't its fast counters, environmental hazards, or its violent items. The most intense aspect of the game is pulling off one of your more powerful moves, which you activate by pressing the triangle button. Depending on whether you press it once, twice, or three times affects what move you are going to perform, and you have to hit your opponent fast after you hit the button or else it goes away. This makes the game so much more intense, but it is somewhat flawed as activating these moves becomes somewhat unresponsive.

If you manage to nail your opponent with one of these moves, some cut-scenes appear that are accompanied with some entertaining mini-games. Sometimes you'll have to rotate the analog sticks faster than your opponent; sometimes you'll have to mash on a certain button faster than your opponent; sometimes you'll have to hit buttons in a certain order before your opponent can; regardless, any of these actions affect the move's overall performance. While these are pretty cool at first, the overly long cut-scenes can become a nuisance as you plug more hours into the game, so the action can get boring sometimes.

Ultimate Ninja 2 provides one of the most customizable fighting game experiences I have ever had. You can do so much to make your matches better that you'll be tinkering around with these options more than you ever had in any fighting game before Ultimate Ninja 2.

Gamers who aren't familiar with the manga or the show probably won't get much from the amazing Naruto story, but the game does a decent job of presenting the story to newcomers. Naruto Uzumaki, as a baby, had a demon fox put inside of his body and now as a teenager, Naruto has decided he is going to do whatever he can to become the next hokage (believe it...sorry for that). On his ninja team are Sakura, a girl that Naruto likes, and Sasuke, a depressed boy that Sakura likes. They are mentored by a great ninja named Kakashi who is very powerful. While that description probably doesn't mean anything to anyone who doesn't know much about the Naruto universe, fans know exactly what I'm talking about.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 has cel-shaded graphics to capture the feel of the anime and it does a great job at doing that. I felt like I was actually playing the show, but the environments aren't as detailed as they could have been. All of the moves look freaking amazing, but the game really could have provided more pleasing graphics if it tried.

Everyone knows that the American voice actors for Japanese anime are terrible, and Naruto is no different. Hearing Naruto's voice in American makes me cringe and the music isn't all too memorable. I know you're going to get really annoyed with Naruto (the character) pretty fast and some of the other characters are just ridiculous.

The single-player mode won't last you that long, maybe a few hours at the most, but unlocking more characters is the only reason why you would play it in the first place since it truly is terrible. The multiplayer is amazing and will last you hours upon hours upon hours; you'll feel like you're playing Super Smash Bros. Melee for the first time again, it truly is that great of a fighting game. I really wish the single-player experience offered more because if it did, then this game would have earned a much higher score.

I love Naruto, but the Naruto universe is, unfortunately, poorly represented in many of its games. I have played countless games based on anime that were painfully terrible, but Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 proves that anime-inspired games can hold their own against the video game fighting powerhouses like Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/25/08

Game Release: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 (US, 06/12/07)