Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is the second instalment in the Ultimate Ninja Storm series, is the sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. It was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gameplay
The gameplay retains many of the elements from the previous game. The game features 23 stages and 42 playable characters, two of which are secret characters. Some characters can also gain new combos and techniques 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. There are now "single" matches, which lets players play one on one matches in Vs mode, without the use of support characters.

Support characters make a return. This time around, there are three types of support characters: attack type, defence 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. For example, if the player has the drive gauge half full, then if the player does certain actions, the support characters will do a special action. For example, if the player has an attack type support and then starts a combo, they will add to it; if the player has a defence type, then they will guard the player while charging chakra or when the opponent dashes at the player; if the player has a balance type, then they will throw their chakra enhanced shuriken when the player use chakra and get in the way of the player if the player is about to get hit by an Ultimate Jutsu (the support character will take the damage instead of the player, in turn that support cannot be called upon again for an extended duration). Additionally, choosing certain support characters with a chosen character can strengthen attack and defence, and give the player's team a name. For example, choosing any combination between Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi will be called 'Team 7'. Reverse Chakra Dashing is now included. Ultimate Jutsu 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 Jutsu 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 technique, then turning into Big Ball Rasengan by holding the attack button). Some characters can use their jutsu in mid-air. Also, health has been reduced to 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, where the shuriken button must be pressed repeatedly to give or receive damage

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. Instead of being sandbox-style free roaming, the game is more RPG-like when it comes to exploration. 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 techniques that the player must avoid.

In the quick-time event portions of boss battles, pressing the buttons quickly enough earns "Stars". Earning 80% of the stars by the end a battle activates "Secret Factors" which drive away from the main story to show what a character is thinking or flashbacks to Part I of the series; the Secret Factors further flesh out the story that is occurring at the current time.

Players can access multiple online features: quick matches, ranked matches, match customisation, as well as the availability to host matches.

Development
Naruto Shippūden: 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. Its 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 (even containing the preview of the future Naruto vs. Sasuke clash, although the preview is of Pain destroying Konohagakure) to the end of Pain's Assault, 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 mode you can go through the Konohagakure, forests, deserts, and Sunagakure. The game lets you play through the "Rescue Gaara Arc" as Naruto, "The Hunt for Itachi Arc" (as Sasuke Uchiha), "The Amegakure Infiltration Arc" (as Jiraiya) and "The Pain Invasion Arc" (as Naruto). 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, messenger birds, and items (battle items, collection items). You will also, at some points of the story, be accompanied by team-mates 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 successfully complete the mission. The stores that are spread in the World will have different types of products eg. ninja info cards, figures, music, dioramas, movies, additional Ulimate Jutsu, 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 computerised character in the landscape. It will incorporate all the known Konoha spots such as Yamanaka's Flower Shop, the Hokage office (the room and the rooftop) Ramen Ichiraku and some bars, such as the dumpling bar and some leisure bars.

Playable Characters
Parenthesis indicate character's Awakening Modes.

Bosses

 * Kakashi Hatake
 * Deidara
 * Sasori
 * Orochimaru
 * Sasuke Uchiha
 * Kakuzu
 * Itachi Uchiha
 * Pain (First Animal Path)
 * Pain (Deva Path)

Story Mode Support Characters

 * Shima
 * Fukasaku

Teams
Parenthesis indicates what are the members of the teams:
 * Aiming for Sasuke (Sakura, Ino, and Karin)
 * Akatsuki (three Akatsuki members)
 * All Boys (Sai and Sasuke)
 * Artists (Deidara and Sasori)
 * "Best Friends" (Naruto and Sasuke)
 * Brotherly Love (Taka Sasuke and Itachi)
 * Children of Prophecy (Naruto and Pain)
 * Chūnin Exam Supervisors (Shikamaru and Temari)
 * Curse Mark (Sasuke and Jūgo)
 * Dangerous Characters (Itachi and Kisame)
 * Eternal Rivals (Guy and Kakashi)
 * From Anbu Black Ops (Kakashi, Yamato, and Itachi)
 * God and Angel (Pain and Konan)
 * Grandmother and Grandchild (Sasori and Chiyo)
 * Great Snake and Tactician (Orochimaru and Kabuto)
 * Hebi (Sasuke and/or other Hebi members)
 * Hidden Rain Master and Student (Jiraiya, Pain, and Konan)
 * Hot-Blooded Master and Student (Lee and Guy)
 * The Hyūga Clan (Neji and Hinata)
 * Immortal Duo (Kakuzu and Hidan)
 * Inherited Will (Shikamaru and Asuma)
 * Ino–Shika–Chō (Team Asuma members other than Asuma)
 * Jinchūriki (Naruto, Gaara and Killer B)
 * Jiraiya's Apprentices (any combination involving Naruto, Minato, Pain, and Konan)
 * Junior and Senior (Tobi and Deidara)
 * Kannabi Bridge Engineers (Kakashi and Minato)
 * Leaf Chūnin (three of the Konoha 11 other than Naruto and Neji)
 * Leaf Higher-Ups (any combination involving Tsunade or Jiraiya with Kakashi, Yamato, and Guy)
 * Leaf Jōnin (any combination involving Neji, Asuma, Kakashi, Yamato and Guy)
 * Leaf Peers (Naruto and two of the Konoha 11)
 * Legendary Guts (Naruto, Jiraiya, and Minato)
 * The Legendary Sannin (all three Sannin)
 * Like Cats and Dogs (Karin and Suigetsu)
 * Make-Out Comrades (Kakashi and Jiraiya)
 * Mangekyō Sharingan (Taka Sasuke, Itachi, and Kakashi)
 * Monster Strength (Sakura and Tsunade)
 * My Son's Enemy!? (Kakashi and Chiyo)
 * Mutual Respect (Jiraiya and Minato)
 * New Jutsu Development Team (Naruto, Kakashi, and Yamato)
 * New Team Kakashi (Naruto, Sakura, Yamato and Sai)
 * Odd Beast and Scourge (Guy and Kisame)
 * Old Friends (Jiraiya and Tsunade)
 * Ones of Wind Nature (Naruto and Asuma)
 * Orochimaru's Gang (any combination involving Orochimaru or Kabuto with Sasuke, Karin, Jūgo, and Suigetsu)
 * Past Hokages (Tsunade and Minato)
 * Parent and Child (Naruto and Minato)
 * Powerful Tag Team (Sakura and Chiyo)
 * Puppet Masters (Sasori, Kankurō, and Chiyo)
 * Rivals in Love (Sakura and Ino)
 * Sages (Sage Naruto and Jiraiya)
 * The Three Sand Siblings (all three members)
 * Seven Blades of The Mist (Kisame and Suigetsu)
 * Siblings (Sasuke and Itachi)
 * Sublime Art (Itachi and Deidara)
 * Secret Lovers (Naruto and Hinata)
 * Taka (Taka Sasuke and other Taka members)
 * Team Asuma (Team Asuma members)
 * Team Guy (Team Guy members)
 * Team Kurenai (Team Kurenai members)
 * Team New Kakashi (three Team Kakashi members)
 * Team Seven (three Team Seven members)
 * Team 7 Captains (Kakashi and Yamato)
 * The Two, Grown up (Sage Naruto and Taka Sasuke)
 * Those Who Know Loneliness (Naruto and Gaara)
 * Those Steeped in Darkness (Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Kabuto)
 * The Truth of the Uchiha (Taka Sasuke and Tobi)
 * Utterly Gusty Master and Student (Naruto and Jiraiya)

Playable Stages

 * Training Field
 * Konohagakure (Normal, Destroyed)
 * Konohagakure Forest (Day, Evening)
 * Forest of Death
 * Sunagakure Gate
 * Sunagakure
 * Five-Seal Barrier Cliff
 * Forest of Dead Trees
 * Forest of Quiet Movement (Day, Evening, Night)
 * Amegakure (Upper, Lower)
 * Uchiha Hideout
 * Orochimaru's Hideout
 * Mount Myōboku

Battle Arenas
These areas are only accessible during a battle and cannot be accessed outside of battles.
 * Grassy Waves Prairie
 * Akatsuki Hideout
 * Site of Planetary Devastation
 * Valley of the End

Reception
Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 has had generally positive reviews. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the Xbox 360-version of the game has an average score of 76%, based on 25 reviews. On Metacritic, the Xbox 360-version has an average of 74 out of 100 based on 31 reviews. It was slightly better-received on the PlayStation 3, with Game Rankings and Metacritic giving it a 77% and a 75 out of 100, respectively.

Namco Bandai hoped Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 would have sold 700,000 units by November 2010. The game shipped a 1 million copies worldwide; 500,000 in Europe, 340,000 in North America and 160,000 in Japan by November 25, 2010.

Trivia

 * Naruto in his Hokage attire is playable. In the Hokage costume, Naruto is still able to throw the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, even though he is not in Sage Mode.
 * Though pre-timeskip Naruto is not playable in the VS. and Online modes, he is playable briefly in the boss fight against Sasuke in a flashback in his one-tailed form. At this moment you play against pre-timeskip Sasuke in his cursed seal level 2 mode.
 * Previous game-only characters, created specifically for the Ultimate Ninja series, are all mentioned by Naruto at some point in the game. In Ultimate Adventure Mode, after purchasing and reading books that hint at previous adventures from the previous games, Naruto will receive letters from each of these characters. These characters include Aoi, Tsukino and Kasumi.
 * There is also a glitch that allows the player to go out of bounds. When a player controlling Pain, (most effective on the Training Field stage), executes the chameleon summoning combo where only the chameleon's tail hits the opponent, the other player is knocked out of the boundaries of the stage. They are still bound to the area due to restraints keeping the other character from getting to far away, but this can be countered by using a technique that causes Pain to use Substitution to teleport behind the other player.
 * The Yamanaka Flowers shop is not open until the start of the final chapter.
 * When Sasuke (Hebi) reverts from his awakening, his kimono remains undone for the remainder of the match.
 * There is a glitch that allows the player to have both forms of Naruto as support characters during an online team match. The player must first select one of the forms, have the cursor set on the other, and wait for the time limit to run out. They will then have both Sage Mode/Hokage costume Naruto and regular Naruto as supports.
 * One of the many issues in the game is that Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan is facing the wrong direction.
 * In Tekken 6, Lars Alexandersson's third costume is the same one he wears in Storm 2. This costume was designed by Naruto's author, Masashi Kishimoto. Therefore, it is most likely that Namco allowed Lars to be a guest character in the game for that reason.
 * Lars is the only character in the game to not have an English audio and only one winning phrase: "We have injured. Send a medic". Even if the player changes the language to English, he still does not speak English.
 * There is an extra chapter that is the story of Sasuke fighting Killer B. This story is unlocked by collecting all of the cursed dolls. The only differences are Sasuke doesn't have the rest of Taka (Suigetsu, Karin, and Jūgo) with him and they fight at the Forest of Quiet Movement (Evening) instead of the real location of Storm Cloud Ravine.
 * In Sunagakure, there is a shop called Karakuri Item Shop, most likely being named after Masashi Kishimoto's first manga series, Karakuri.