Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

is the sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the month of October in both North America and Europe.

Gameplay
The gameplay retains many of the elements from the previous game. The game features 23 interactive and destructible stages and 44 playable characters, two of which are secret characters. Each character can also gain new combos and jutsus by activating the Awakening Mode. Lars Alexandersson, a character from Tekken 6 whose third costume was designed by Masashi Kishimoto, is also playable in the game. You now have the ability to play one on one matches in Vs mode without the use of support characters.

Support characters make a return. There are 3 types of support characters: attack type, defense type and balance type. There is also a new feature, named "Drive Gauge", in the game. Depending on the Drive Gauge, players will be able to unleash devastating team jutsu with the support characters. When the drive gauge is full, the defensive support character will automatically protect the player. Reverse Chakra Dashing is now included. Ultimate jutsus have been shortened to real time, and button combinations do not make a return, this keeps offline and online gameplay fluid. For some characters, there are two usable jutsus in one match: one basic jutsu and an enhanced version. When using the jutsu for the character, if the attack button is held, the jutsu will be enhanced (Ex. Naruto using Rasengan as his normal jutsu, then turning into Great Ball Rasengan by holding the attack button). Also, health has been reduced, so now there are only two health bars, instead of the three given in the previous game. An exclusive "Shuriken Clash" is available in the "Sasuke Vs Itachi" boss battle.

Free roaming also makes a return. The game features a 1:1 recreation of Konohagakure. In addition to the village, players are able to roam outside the village, ranging from forests to deserts, and Amegakure to Sunagakure. Boss battles return, with quick-time events and cutscenes. Boss battles are divided into 2 or more parts, depending on the boss fight. For example, the Naruto vs. Kakashi boss fight (which is held at the Training Field) contains 2 parts: one of them is normal fighting; in the other part, after Sakura smashes her fist into the ground, the scene is changed into a new stage with water and rocks; in this part of the battle, Kakashi attacks with long-range jutsu that the player must avoid. Boss battles include Naruto vs. Kakashi, Gaara vs. Deidara, Sakura vs. Sasori, Four-Tailed Naruto vs. Orochimaru, Naruto vs. Sasuke, Naruto vs. Kakuzu, Sasuke vs. Itachi, Jiraiya vs. Pain, and Sage Mode Naruto vs. Pain.

New to the Ultimate Ninja series are also the aerial battles, where players are able to fight in the air, such as Gaara vs. Deidara.

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

Development
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 was officially announced on December 21, 2009 by Namco Bandai Games at a Jump Festa event. V Jump magazine revealed the game a few days beforehand. As CyberConnect2's first multi-platform project, they worked closely with Microsoft. On July 16, the demo release date was announced in the official website. It was officially released July 29, 2010 on the Japanese PlayStation Network and Xbox Live (The Latter requires a gold membership). The European release date for the demo is August 25 2010. It contains the Naruto vs. Kakashi boss battle. It's North American release date is October 19, and its European release date is October 15. On September, 27th it was announced that Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is past the development stage and is in publishing as of the finished date.

Story
The story of Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 begins from the very first Naruto: Shippūden episode to the end of the Invasion of Pain Arc, a content of 3 years of anime broadcasting. The game features a deep three-part story from the point of view of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Jiraiya.

In Free Roam you can go through the Hidden Leaf Village, forests, deserts, and Sunagakure. The game lets you play through the "Rescue Gaara Arc" as Naruto, "The Hunt for Itachi Arc" (as Sasuke Uchiha), and "The Amegakure Infiltration Arc" (as Jiraiya). In addition, there are certain times where you can control others in the overworld, such as Shikamaru and Asuma. The story mode is no longer played by doing missions, but is now an RPG with no connection to unrelated story parts. You'll be able, as always, to play side-story missions, from the easiest to the harder ones. You'll collect cursed dolls, memories, Messengers, and items (battle items, collection items). You will also, at some points of the story, be accompanied by teammates and friends. Scroll collection is here to stay; you will collect different types of scrolls: blue, yellow, green, and red scrolls. Each scroll will have to do with the things you did before collecting them. If you had fought a major battle before, and you go to the same spot, you will find Red Scrolls signifying Major Battles or Blue Scrolls which signify an Important Memory. There are also Memory Crystals that you can use in The Hokage's Mansion, to see memories of before the time skip.

The missions include Correspondence Events, Friendship Events, Tests, and battles. You'll earn money and items that will be needed to unlock and complete other challenges when you sucesfully complete the mission. The stores that are spread in the World will have different types of products, such as additional jutsu, ninja info cards, figures, music, dioramas, movies, additional ougis, and special items that help you continue the story. You will find missions by talking with people in bars, talking with Tsunade, with your friends and by people in the street.

The trophy system is very linked with the storyline and the Free Roam Mode, such as getting a gold result (S-rank) when you win a boss battle, getting a lot of money and collecting special items that are important for missions.

Thanks to a new technology developed by Studio Hero outside Japan, the scenery in the Free Roam is the same as the anime, it's basically putting the computerized character in the landscape. It will incorporate all the known Konoha spots such as Yamanaka's Flower Shop, the Hokage Mansion (the room and the rooftop) Ichiraku Ramen Shop and some bars, such as the dumpling bar and some leisure bars.

Playable Characters
Parenthesis indicate character's multiple Awakening Modes.

Playable Stages

 * Training Field
 * Hidden Leaf Village (Normal, Destroyed)
 * Hidden Leaf Ruined Land
 * Hidden Leaf Forest (Day, Evening)
 * Forest Of Death
 * Hidden Sand Gate
 * Hidden Sand Village
 * Akatsuki Hideout
 * 5 Seal Barrier Cliff
 * Forest Of Dead Trees
 * Forest Of Quiet Movement (Day, Evening, Night)
 * Hidden Rain Village (Upper, Lower)
 * The Uchiha Hideout
 * Site Of Planetary Devastion
 * Valley of the End
 * Grassy Waves Prairie
 * Orochimaru's Hideout
 * Mount Myōboku

Updates and Patches
Although in all the interviews made to the CyberConnect2 staff they all confirmed the Six Paths of Pain, only the Deva Path is playable. In his moveset, the other Pains attack, which might be a demonstration of their personal moveset. In the Jiraiya vs. Pain boss battle, 3 of the Pains fight. Only the Animal Path has moveset, the other two only throw black rods, but the animations are made to all the Pains. In the last part of the battle, all the Paths use a simple move. Nothing is confirmed, but maybe in 2011, the CyberConnect2 team will release an update or patch in the online stores of PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. The question left is "Will the roster be changed?". The other Pains can't be an alternate costume because the moveset won't be the same.