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Naruto: Path of Ninja 2: Reviews

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Game Score: 9/10

Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 for the DS... at first it didn't strike me as game that's worth a buy or download, but even then I gave it a try. The result was a game that was way better than I ever expected. I will summarize the information in the following sections:

1) Opening Statement: Summarized information about the game, like what's it about. (This one doesn't get a score)
2) Gameplay: Pretty obvious, how the game is played, are the controls good, interaction and variety.
3) Graphics: I don't see this as an important section when judging a game, but it still helps.
4) Sound: It has always been one of the most important aspects of a game, are the songs catchy? do they sound good? Does it match the atmosphere of the moment?
5) Storyline: I will consider it in most games, but mostly on RPGs, since the storyline is almost everything in these games.
6) Lenght: how much time will you play this game?
7) Replay Value: One of the aspects hardcore gamers look at the most when getting a game, of course we don't want a game that we will play for like a week, and then no more.
8) Personal Opinion: My opinion of the game. (This one won't count on the final judgment)
9) Final Judgment: After taking into consideration all other aspects, if the game is good/fun/worth it or not.
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Let's get started

1) Opening Statement: So, what is Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2?
Simply put, it's a turn RPG based on the widely known anime "Naruto", featuring most of the animation's characters (from the first season, not Shippuden). However, this game's storyline is totally original, and it's not present on the anime, so it makes this game more interesting than playing trough the main storyline from the anime, where we all will know what is going to happen.

2) Gameplay: The gameplay in this game is rather basic, but so is in many Turn-based RPG games, such as the Final Fantasy series. You control your Party, which consist of up to four characters, and you walk around in a map. Of course, as any RPG, you can talk to poeple to get information, buy equipment, items, etc., and of course, enter battles. Talking about battles, it is the most important aspect of the gameplay. When you enter a battle (Random encounters, most of the time), your character will appear on the right side of the screen (the touch screen, to be more precise, while the upper screen shows your HP, Chakra, Level, etc.), and your enemies on the left side; when the turn of one of your party members arrives, many icons will appear on the screen, each with a different available action, they go from Attacking, Defending, or using items, to using the Powerful techniques known in the anime and other games as "Jutsu".
These Jutsus are your Special techniques, which are generally stronger than your standar attacks and/or cover a wider area of attack. In order to be able to use these Jutsu, you need enough Chakra to use them (The Chakra points appear below your HP), and many of them require an action via the Touch screen (like rubbing it) to power the Jutsu up. When you defeat the opponents you get EXP, and when a character gets enough, he or she will Level Up, and maybe get a new Jutsu to use in battles.
However, Leveling Up isn't the only way to get new Jutsus; there are certain items known as "Ninja Tags" that are card-like items that you can equip to your characters to get abilities, status boost, or attack resistance. In order to equip these important items, your Ninja must have enough "NIN" in order to equip it, the NIN gets up as the character levels up, and ,obviously, stronger Ninja Tags means higher number of NIN, like Naruto's best Technique, Rasengan.
So, in the Gameplay section, RPGs can't doo much with interaction with the gamer, but this one at least makes an effort in battles, the battle system is very fluid and you have plenty of things to do, just don't be reckless.

8.5/10

3) Graphics: This one will be short, because you can't really say much about Graphics, can you?
Well, for Path of the Ninja 2, they look fine, the sprites while you are walking aren't awesome, but at least you can recognize every character without any problem. The in-battle character sprites look much beter, with many expressions and moves. The background is very colored, there's no problem there.

8/10

4) Sound: In RPGs, music is probably one of the most important aspects to take into consideration. With Path of the Ninja 2, the music gets no complain, it matches the current atmosphere pretty well, also the game contains many voice clips by the Voice Actors from the anime, so taht's an extra.

9/10

5) Storyline: The storyline is completely exclusive of this game, and there are many characters from this game only. It follows a certain village called the Village of Great Evil, which has sealed a powerful Beast Spirit, everything was under control until three Ninjas come in order to take control over that Beast, wreaking havoc in the Village. In order to use the power of this Beast, certain five mirrors must be collected first, so that's the intention of the Three Ninja.
Nazuna, a girl from the village, takes one of the Mirrors and goes to Konoha asking for help, so Tsunade, the Godaime from the Village, gives Naruto and Sakura the mission to collect the mirrors.
At first you start with just those two characters, but while you progress in the game, you will have over 20 different characters to use.
Overall, I liked a lot the story of this game, while it could be considered in the "filler" of the anime (after the Sasuke Retrieval Ark), I liked a completely new story instead of playing the story of the anime.

9.5/10

6) Length: This game's main storyline will last you about 8-10 Hours if you like to use time in Leveling Up. It's not it's best aspects, as RPG should be at least 20 Hours long, at least most of them are (But this game makes up for its replay value)

8/10

7) Replay Value: This game's got plenty, after you complete the game, there are still things to do, there are the Kumite mode, which is divided into several sections, such as Regular Kumite and Limited Kumite. In this mode you will have to fight certain enemies with your party, or even with a pre-set party, and depending on your Rank when winning, you will get an item.
There are plenty of Kumites, so you will use a lot of time here, and BTW, you will have to Level Up a lot for this, since some of the Kumites pit you against some of the most powerful enemies from the game, or with pretty Limited options. There is also the Wireless and Wi-Fi mode, where you will be able to fight against a friend or someone random on WiFi with your team.

10/10

8) Personal Opinion: So, this game is really good, it's fun and it has the essence of the anime.
I wouldn't expect an RPG based on an anime to be this good, but obviously it is practically for fans of the series, because of the character's relations, and techniques, that many are taken from the anime series.
The Wifi mode is pretty good, but I would suggest getting Friend Codes, bacause the game have some Overpowered characters, and people in Random Battles use them a lot.
The Kumite mode is also pretty challenging, and you will have to level up a lot in order to clear it completely.
Overall, a good game, not just a good Naruto game, there's many things to do and will have you occupied for some time.

9) Final Judgment: After taking into proper consideration the before mentioned aspects, I would say that this game is pretty good, even that is was based in the Anime, it is not limited by it, since many characters have abilities that they haven't used in the series, so that makes it better. The graphics are rpetty decent, the sound is good, and it's not an easy game, there are many times when you will have to fight three bosses in a row (even if you get healed before the last one or something), and they have pretty strong and wide-ranged attacks.
The multiplayer is just what you would expect: Battles, just like in single-player, so that's great.
As the last comment: If you like RPGs and like Naruto, give this game a try, it's worth it, however, if you don't like RPGs or Naruto, it's unlikely that you will like much this game.

Final Score: 9/10