NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 (NSP, XCI) ROM

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 is a video game that belongs to the Naruto franchise. It is known for its impressive depiction of the Naruto Shippuden storyline and faithful representation of the anime universe.

GAMEPLAY

The player controls Naruto Uzumaki (center) and summons assistant character Sakura Haruno (right) to help him fight Kakashi Hatake (left). Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2’s gameplay retains many elements of the first game and includes 23 combat phases. It consists of 9 chapters including a prologue and extra chapters. Each character can acquire new combos and techniques by activating Awakening Mode. Lars Alexandersson, a guest character from Tekken 6, is also playable in the game. As the story progresses, players unlock new Jutsu and ultimate jutsu for certain characters.

The supporting character returns with her two new features. The first features are defensive, offensive, and balanced support types. These can be unlocked for each supporting character and determine their actions in the first support drive level. The second new feature is a support drive with two levels. Level 1 becomes active when the player’s support character is summoned enough times. When Support Level 1 is activated, the player’s support characters will automatically be summoned to each other depending on the support type and the player’s actions.

When a support character is automatically summoned, the support character’s charge meter is not reset and can be summoned even if the meter is not full. Support characters cannot be summoned manually if the player has already auto-summoned them. If the support character is set to defense, the support character will be automatically summoned when the player charges the chakra to prevent the opponent from charging the player.

When a support character is set to Attack, they will help attack an opponent through combos, and knock the opponent back when a combo sends them flying. Set to Balanced, it 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 two is activated, for a limited time a player will be capable of releasing a Team Ultimate Jutsu, activated by hitting the chakra button three times and then the attack button.

A Team Ultimate Jutsu drains an enormous amount of a player’s 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 being replaced by more traditional JRPG screens and movement. In addition to the Leaf Village, players are able to travel outside the village, through environments ranging from forests to deserts, and the Hidden Sand Village. Boss fights are back, with quick events and cutscenes added. Players have access to multiple online features. Quick Games includes random opponents, ranked games with leaderboards, game customization, and the ability to host games.

PLOT AND CHARACTERS

The game’s adventure mode covers the original manga and anime and begins with young ninja Naruto Uzumaki returning to the ninja village of Konohagakure after three years of training under Jiraiya. In the story mode, Naruto and his companions fight against many enemies of a criminal organization called Akatsuki. In the first chapter, we capture Gaara, the former leader of Sunagakure Village. The second chapter depicts Naruto’s team unsuccessfully trying to steal their former ally Sasuke Uchiha from the criminal Orochimaru. His next two chapters will focus on Shikamaru Nara, a member of Konohagakure, as his team faces off against the new members of Akatsuki once again. The next chapter has Sasuke betraying and defeating Orochimaru while forming his own ninja team to track down his older brother, Itachi, who murdered his entire clan years ago.

The last two chapters follow Pain, the acting leader of Akatsuki, as he kills his teacher, Jiraiya, and Naruto trains to avenge his death. Clearing the story mode unlocks an additional “fragment” chapter detailing Sasuke’s team’s failed capture of Killer Bee, following their alliance with Akatsuki. Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 has 44 characters and 15 support characters. While Naruto is at first present with his initial Shippuden techniques, later in the game he is playable with his “Sage” techniques as a separate character. Tekken 6’s Lars Alexandersson is a guest character. Lars appears in his third alternate costume from Tekken 6 designed by Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto. While unlockable through the game, the character of Minato Namikaze can be used instantly with a code that comes with the game’s limited edition.