Video Game Vintage Title: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, known in Japan as Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 is the sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai Games. It was released during 2010 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 15 in Europe, October 19 in North America and October 21 in Japan.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Gameplay

The gameplay retains many of the elements from the first game and has 23 fighting stages. It has 9 chapters including the prologue and extra chapter. Each character can also gain new combos and jutsu by activating the Awakening Mode. As the story progresses, players will unlock new Jutsu and Ultimate Jutsu for certain characters. Jutsu clashes, however, have been removed.

Support characters return with 2 new features. The first feature is Support Types. These types are Defense, Attack, and Balanced. Each of these can be unlocked for each support character and will decide the actions of the support character during Support Drive level 1. The 2nd new feature is the Support Drive. Support Drive has 2 levels. Level 1 is activated once the players support characters are summoned enough times. When Support Drive level 1 is activated, the players support characters will summon themselves automatically depending on their support type depending on what actions the player is executing. When a support character automatically summons itself, it will not reset the support character charge gauge, and can even summon when the gauge is not full. A support character cannot be manually summoned by the player if it has already automatically summoned itself. If a support character is set to Defense, it will automatically summon itself when the player is charging chakra, block the opponent from dashing into the player. When a support character is set to Attack, it will help the player attack the opponent through combos, and knock the opponent back when a combo sends them flying. When a support character is set to Balanced, they will throw projectiles alongside the player when the player uses chakra projectiles and block incoming Ultimate Jutsus, at the expense of losing that support for a while. When Support Drive level 2 is activated, for a limited amount of time the player will be capable of releasing a Team Ultimate Jutsu. A Team Ultimate Jutsu is activated by hitting the chakra button 3 times and then the attack button. A Team Ultimate Jutsu drains an enormous amount of the players chakra, and does massive damage if it makes contact with an unguarded opponent.

The game does not have free roaming in the same sense as the original, instead it is replaced by more traditional JRPG screens and movement. In addition to the Leaf Village, players are able to travel outside the village, ranging from forests to deserts, and also the Hidden Sand Village. Boss battles have returned, with quick-time events and cutscenes.

Players can access multiple online features; quick matches have opponents chosen at random, ranked matchees with leader boards, match customization, as well as the availability to host matches.

Reception
GameSpot awarded the game 7/10 and said "A flair for the dramatic elevates Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 above its shallow combat." While the users awarded the game with 9.1 GameTrailers gave it an 8.4/10 saying "this is one of the best games based on an anime and it's extremely faithful to its source." Video game talk show Good Game: Spawn Point's two presenters gave the game a 6 and 7 out of 10 calling the fighting fun if a bit simple however saying that going to different shops just searching for health potions and battle buffs means more running around. However stating "The real value of Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is that it gives fans a chance to relive their favourite fights from the show.

Namco Bandai hoped Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 would have sold 700,000 units by November. The game shipped 1 million copies worldwide; 500,000 in Europe, 340,000 in North America and 160,000 in Japan by November 25, 2010. In May 2011, Namco Bandai reported it became its second best-selling game from 2010 behind Tekken 6 with 1.1 million units sold.