...its NARUTO!!!
Whether your playing by yourself or with a group of friends, Ultimate Ninja offers up a myriad variety of modes to keep you entertained. The main single player offering, Scenario mode, has you picking one of six Naruto series characters and then fighting through a multi-stage, story-driven scenario.
To Become Hokage Is My Dream
Each level is filled to the brim with interactivity, including characters in the background that throw out helpful items. If you're low on health or need an attack boost, the background characters prove to be invaluable. But, you'll need to get to them quickly, since they'll also throw out items to your opponent. Each stage is set up in a three-tier level system, one in the foreground, one in the middle of the screen, and one in the background. If the level you're playing in doesn't tickle your fancy, you can also completely change levels mid-fight. Every so often a text box will pop up when you playing, letting you know that you can change the level that you're currently in. It's a neat feature and helps to change up the pace of the game dramatically.
But despite that neat feature, the real draw of the game is in its fighting action. Each character has a standard attack that, when strung together, unleashes fairly powerful combos. If you want to fight from a distance, each character is also capable of utilizing a projectile attack, although they usually don't do too much damage. Dishing out major damage requires the use of special attacks that come in up to three different power levels. As you play through a fight a special on-screen meter will fill up. Once full, you can unleash a powerful special move with your character. This meter, however, can be filled up to three times, thus increasing the power of the move you'll unleash.
Once you've connected with a special attack you'll get to play through a fun button-sequence mini game that dictates how powerful the attack will be. If you mess up the button sequence input, however, the attack will lose a bit of its punch. Interestingly enough, your opponent also can get in on the button-pressing action with their own set of sequences to input. If they succeed in hitting all of their correct buttons within a certain amount of time, they'll reduce the amount of damage that they receive from your attack.
Hello Students, Today I Got Lost On The Road of Life
It's an interesting concept and adds a bit more tension to each encounter. Each special attack is accompanied by elaborate cutscene-like sequences, too, which only adds to the flair of each powerful blow. But while visually impressive, it does get a bit old watching the same animations over and over again, so it would have been at least nice to have the option to shorten them or get rid of them altogether.
If the Scenario mode isn't your thing, there are thankfully quite a few other modes that offer up some fun. Mission mode has you playing through special battles that come complete with certain objectives. For example, one fight stipulates that in order to win you not only need to defeat your opponent, but also collect a special item handed out by a background character. There are six different difficulty tiers in Mission mode, which lends itself well to both newcomers to the game and ninja experts. If you're lacking in your skills, you can hop in to Practice mode to try out moves, while Free Battle is a care-free mode that lets you jump straight in to a fight.
There's No Meaning to a Flower Unless it Blooms
As you're fighting through Scenario and Mission mode you'll start racking up money for pulling off wins, gathering items, and accomplishing other tasks. This money, though, isn't just for show. You can take your winnings to the Shop and try your luck at a capsule toy machine that spits out all kinds of crazy rewards. You can win music soundtrack files, special character figures, and even animations of each character's special attack moves. There are a ton of different items to discover, which should give collection junkies hours upon hours of fun. The only real drawback is that some of the capsules you can win actually end up being empty, which is a bit of a slap in the face and a waste of your hard-earned money.
Visually Naruto: Ultimate Ninja does an admirable job of capturing the look of both the anime and manga series. While character models tend to be a bit too small during fights, they animate fluidly, especially during special attacks. The rough-hewn, hand drawn look is appealing and should make series fans happy. Environments are also pretty well detailed and are filled with lots to see and interact with. Especially cool is the comic-book paned look that accompanies a full level switch.
The Weaker You Are The Louder You Bark
Capturing the look of the Naruto series is one thing, but what about the audio? Ultimate Ninja is jam-packed with voice-over dialogue that pops up during fights, cutscenes, and even menu navigation. The voices are all provided by t
he folks who lend their talents to the animated series, so you'll get to listen to all your favorite characters the way they were meant to be heard. Granted, some of the voices do get a bit repetitive now and then, but for a series follower, simply having the real voices in the game is a very nice touch.
If you're a fan of Naruto and his bizarre allies and enemies, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja will make you happy -- very happy. Besides finally making a debut on the PS2, this installment in the Naruto series offers up an enjoyable time whether you're playing by yourself or with someone else (the game supports two-players). While some of the lengthy animations get repetitive at time, and the voices start to wear thing after a few listens, the unique visuals and hectic fighting make for a worthwhile time. Believe it!