I got jutsu out in the middle of no where

User Rating: 9 | Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 PS3
By ireland505 | Review Date:
I've been a Naruto fan for a long time, or at least enough to have seen every episode and to read the breadth of weekly chapters to date. So I have more or less plot-wise and fight-wise, knowledge of the story thus far. And I've got to say this game does an amazing job with keeping with the plot, although it leaves out some characters and sub-plots that were important such as Guren, and Naruto's training to master combination jutsu but I suppose they wanted to include the major players, and plays only. And the little tid-bits between plot sections with filler missions I found enlightening. For I hate when anime video games' story modes are strictly the main "boss" fights of the story because it cuts out everything else. So the missions you do in between the main plot points are a nice way to explore and to get a better feeling of what the show really is - the life of a ninja because realistically even in this world, every day wouldn't be a fight to save the world. It's almost a mix between fighter and rpg the way it's laid out. So I disagree with gamespot's assumption that it was tedious to play through small missions in between larger ones. When I buy a 60$ game I like it to last more than an hour which this story mode would have if it didn't implement rpg elements and a free roaming world where you physically travel from place to place which I loved in previous games (though NSUNS2 is much better) such as DBZ Budokai 3. The story mode in that game lasted a long time to complete, and in this one it's no different. And with features such as handpicking a four man squad when doing various sub-missions throughout the story, you can chose who fights in the battle and who's the support which is also like an rpg. The shops are still present like they were in NUNS 1, though in this game they offer more, such as having the Leaf and Sand Village to be able to travel between and various peddlers on the road.

The anime art-style rendered environments are gorgeous. It make you feel like you're traveling through art, reminiscent to games like Okami. Also the fights are even crisper than they were in NUNS 1, and the game does a fantastic job of showing the grand scale of the fights since the fights in this game, like the story of Shippuden rather than Naruto, get bigger and bigger. Although the fights in this game can be even more dramatic and action packed than they would've been in the show due to the real time choice situations but I found it fun and it didn't deter from the story. You can feel the escalation of the combat as the story progresses which is difficult in a fighting game.

The game also offers some new features from the previous title such as the letter system which gives the game almost a .hack sort of feel for you can exchange letters between your friends in which friendly answers raise your friendship levels. These letters give the player insight, though glazed, into the various characters thoughts giving a more well rounded feel. And with online ranked battles, you can keep fighting even when you've completed the story mode 100%.

There are a few minor downsides to the game. First, the load times for they can bog down the flow when loading new areas and battles. Second unlike the first game, no jutsu clashes like chidori and rasengan. Third, I would've liked more characters, or at least have some DLC characters like Guren, the 4 tails, or others that made a smaller but still important impact on the story, good and bad. DBZ games have become formulaic and uninventive ever since the innovation that was Tenkaichi but the makers realized what makes a fighting game great other than gameplay - characters. A substantial character roster is essential in a fighter, especially one based on an anime with a world containing a gigantic character roster. Though this game provides a vast array of characters at 42, there are still characters they could've added although Minato and Killer Bee were nice touches. But still for a fighting game, I believe this game is amazing and should be emulated in further versions and in the genre as well.

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