Publisher: D3
Developer: Aspect
Genre: Beat-'Em-Up
Release Date: Oct 4, 2006
ESRB: Everyone 10+
The definite Naruto brawler will have you pounding enemy ninjas while playing as Naruto, Susuke and Sakura.
SPOILER WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILER CONTENT ABOUT THE NARUTO ANIME AND MANGA, SPECIALLY THE FIRST 80 EPISODES. IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE MANGA OR WATCH THE ANIME, STOP READING!
Note: This review is written for audiences that are familiar with the Naruto universe. If you’re looking for a general propose review check here
Note: This review compares this game with “Naruto Ninja Council” for Game Boy Advance. If you haven’t played that game, read a review about it here
Gezegond Score: 7.0
Pros: Switch between characters on-the-fly • Use scrolls to summon allies • Use combos to perform ninja techniques • Challenging boss fights
Cons: Way too short • Some contents that existed in the first Ninja Council are removed • Bad sound design • Complete lack of voice • Altered story-line that ruins the great Anime and Manga
“Naruto Ninja Council” was a Naruto themed platformer game that was released for the GBA. The game featured a lot of platforming and a little quirky fighting. As for Ninja Council 2, the designers realized that Naruto is more about fighting than it is about platforming. So in this GBA title instead of improving the previous game they designed a completely different “Beat ‘em up” title (using new sprites and animation) that is more about fighting than anything else.
Having that in mind a lot of good stuff that existed in the first Ninja Council like elemental scrolls and wall climbing is completely gone. Unlike Ninja Council, Ninja Council 2 has an actual storyline that is taken directly from the anime series episode 22 to 80 but it has altered it to adapt to GBA limits. The most noticeable changes include a complete new assignment given to team 7 between the preliminary matches and the third exam (where in actual anime series Naruto meets Jiraya) and the complete lack of Gamabunta in the last confrontation with Gara. But the story is just a mere excuse for you to take your GBA and start beating a lot of ninja foes up!
Naruto is back to pound some Ninja
That’s where Ninja Council 2 shines more. It somehow manages to mix platforming and fighting elements and offers you something that you haven’t seen in other Naruto titles. You can now change your character right in the middle of the game using L button. Selectable characters are Naruto, Susuke and Sakura (and an additional Lee if you complete the game and go for another run). Using the R button let’s you guard the enemy attacks which is vital to your survival during boss fights. You can also use scrolls while you’re guarding. Scrolls in Ninja Council 2 are completely used for summing purposes. Using a scroll will freeze the enemies while one of your friends corresponding to the scroll you have acquired performs a technique. Choji will turn into a meatball and attack one of the enemies in the screen, Shikamaru will freeze nearby ninjas using Shadow Imitation Nojutsu, Shino will use his bugs to kill all of the ninjas in the screen, Kiba will use his Double Fang Destroyer and finally Kakashi will use Lightning Blade. You can carry three scrolls at a time and they offer a hight degree of variety to the gameplay. Using ninja tools are on the other hand really limited. When a tool is acquired, it will be thrown when you use the attack button and there’s no way to save it for future use. Fortunately there has been a great improvement science the last Ninja Council in performing ninja techniques. Like performing techniques in fighting games, nojutsus can be performed using a simplistic combo (like Up, Up, Attack). Naruto can use his Sexy jutsu to freeze enemies, perform an “Uzumaki Barrage” or summon Gamabunta. Susuke can use his Lion Combo, Chidori and Sharringan. Sakura has the ability to higher her speed and punch an enemy 20 times in a second.
Flashy finishers are a trademark for Naruto games
The thing that the first Ninja Council lacked was variety, and that problem is completely gone in Ninja Council 2. The enemies are now enemy sound ninjas instead of some “never before seen” ninjas, and each of them acts completely differently by using a certain tool or technique. Leaving the playable characters and scrolls aside, it also features variety in level design: Unlike in the first title where all levels were simple left to right side scrollers, this game features actual searching and item hunting like Sonic the Hedgehog titles. Boss fights are also done great, each of them has a set of attacks that needs to be learned in order to survive which makes the game more challenging than the boss fights of the first title. However, the game is much shorter than the first title. Giving the amount of improvements, it could have offered at least a double playing time.
In short, “Naruto Ninja Council 2” is a great improvement to the first title and it’s an entertaining brawler for all Naruto fans.
| Rating Out of 10 | Description |
| 6.5 | Story-Line The story-line is an altered version of the original anime episodes 22 to 80, the complete lack of Gamabunta while confronting Gara is not nice. |
| 7.5 | Graphics The graphics are good for a GBA title, big sprites and flashy techniques are just great. |
| 5.0 | Sound The sound is not done so well, Naruto doesn’t shout “Believe It!” anymore and instead of using some Naruto anime themed music, some normal music is used that can be found anywhere. |
| 8.0 | Gameplay Gameplay is a great mixture of platforming, fighting and management. Challenging boss fights and variety in enemies and levels increase the Gameplay value. |
| 6.0 | Replay Value After the game is finished (which takes less than a few hours) you will have the option to start the game from the beginning with an additional character: Rock Lee |
| 7.0 Good | OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average) |
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