Straight from the TV set and onto the PS2, Ultimate Ninja 2 takes us back to Naruto and his friends as they battle against evil to save Leaf Village.
Simply put the game is a 2D beat em up, but to compare it with the likes of the Street Fighter series is unfair.
The controls seem quite simple at first, using circle to attack, x to jump, up and jump to teleport, triangle to prepare your secret technique, square to use items, L1 and R1 to scroll items and L2 and R2 to guard. It is when you start using the more complex special moves that the controls get a bit confusing, but the screen displays what you need to press during these moves so this helps, but only a bit.
The main part of the game is Ultimate Road, were you play through various scenarios as Naruto and a few other characters, though these are one on one fights, you need to carry out certain requirements to move on, be it simply defeating a foe, finishing in a certain time or just surviving. The pace of the fighting is very fast and it can get a bit hectic on screen with the flashing prompts for special moves and characters screaming at each other and add to this the fact that you need to keep an eye out for any items you can pick up that help along the way, from bricks to throw at enemies to Chankra power ups.
As you play through the game you will unlock the remaining 31 characters for later use, you also collect Ryo points that enable you to purchase items in the shop, here you can buy cards, mini films and music, then visit Naruto’s house to view them all.
Each battle is set in one of sixteen large arenas, at first it seems that you have a very small fight area, but with a few teleports you will find that you are able to move to different parts of the level such as the roof tops or tree’s etc.
You also have a Training Room to practice all of your important moves and finishing techniques as well as a VS room, where you can pick one of your unlocked 32 players and fight out to the end against either a 2nd player or a computer controlled opponent.
The graphics in Naruto are very impressive, it has a very crisp anime look that does the show justice. Combat looks particularly impressive as when pulling off some of the bigger special moves, the screen will zoom in and show your attack in slow motion.
Naruto has an age rating of 12+ and this is probably just about right as the game is pretty difficult and some of the requirements to defeat an opponent will seem impossible to the younger player. Naruto is a fun game to play and it looks fantastic, it may not appeal to the more hardcore fighter fans amongst you but for fans of anime and particularly the TV series then this could be a game to pick up.
