theman61890's Full Review: Naruto: Ninja Council 2 for Game Boy Advance (GBA)
The first game was very bad and I did not even complete everything, which is strange since when I usually buy a game I complete it in its entirety, a testament to how bad the first Naruto Council really was. I picked up the second one since I heard good things about it and I was really glad I did since it was exceptionally better than the first one.
Story 6/10
In the first game the story followed nothing from the show and the story was blatantly boring. The second game follows the Chunin exams Naruto and his friends endured. Even though the game really does not follow the storyline in the anime and manga, it is still refreshing seeing that the story was made up from some plot of the anime. I still don't like how they still stray from the show however. It is still a mystery to me why the makers of this game would not follow the actual storyline of Naruto since it is phenomenal for the most part.
Graphics 10/10
The first game had superb graphics, this game has TERRIFIC graphics, easily the best feature of the game. The characters are even more detailed than before. now you can see every portion of each character, from folds in their shirt up to their headbands. Also the character animations are better. The characters actually goes through some motions when doing their special jutsus.
Also the villains are more detailed. Also unlike the first game there is more variety when speaking about villains. The first game had about a dozen villains you constantly wage war against, this game seemingly has new bad guys on each level. Also each level has been rendered to a greater extent, there are now more moving parts in the background and foreground of every levels to give the game a more realistic look.
Sound 6/10
This game still has a song for each stage. Also there is a different song for each character when they speak. The moves also sound more realistic. Unlike the first game everything does not sound the same. Essentially the stronger the move the louder the impact is going to be. The game also uses more themes from the anime in the game, there are about three anime songs in the game which is three more than the previous Ninja Council had.
the only problem I have is that everyone speaks in text. Not even your main character can speak. There is no voice acting at all, which is lame considering even the first one had some vice acting. Overall the sound was exceptionally improved, but it still was not that great.
Gameplay 8/10
The controls are very easy to learn. And they are for the most part the same as the first game. The controls are A to jump and B to attack. The R button will make your character throw a projectile, which range from shurikens to darts. But there are also some new button combos that gives the controls some pizazz.
In the first game you only could use one character at a time. In this game you can use three characters at once, each having their own life bar. In the game you play as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, you can also unlock another character to join you on your journey. Indicative of the first game each charatcer can perform their own Jutsu special attacks. But unlike the first game which used a Chakra Bar to perform the Jutsu attack, this game makes you press buttons to make a combo in order to do certain jutsus. This is an improvement since this makes pulling off jutsus harder and more rewarding when you do them.
The level scheme is the same as the first one, this game is also a side scroller in which you need to pick up scrolls and fight bosses in each level. this game however have really toughen up there bosses, as now some of them are actually challenging. Also some bosses has taunt animations that look cool. Enemies like Orochimaru plays with snakes and Kabuto does his glasses flick thing he always does during the show.
Some new additions to each level are mini missions which range from beating the clock to saving something. These are good additions to further add to the new gameplay. Anyway there are more enemies to fight against now, and they are all smarter since they can now teleport and annoy you from different angles. Along with the enemies being able to teleport your characters can also teleport, but you only could teleport behind an enemy. You can now also switch characters during battles. With the tap of a button you can go from Naruto to Sasuke, or from Sakura to Naruto. This is cool since you can always switch out right before a character dies. You can also call upon one of you "benched" characters to aid you in a fight, by pushing a button combo one of your fellow ninja will perform a jutsu upon your enemy. Overall levels have been made harder and quite challenging when compared to the first one. Also the three party dimension adds a new flare to the gameplay.
Also after every stage the game will give you a grade. There are four factors to the grade you receive. Your grade is dependent upon the time it took you to beat a level, how many things you collected, the number of enemies you defeated, and how many characters survived. You get a letter grade for each for factors, which combine to a total grade for a level. For example getting an AAAA will combine to be an A, while ABBB makes a B, essentially they average the four grades to give you won major grade.
Replay Value 5/10
After beating the game you unlock a secret character whom I wont tell you whom it is, but the character is really cool. You will easily want to play through this game more than once. You can also play a multiplayer mode by linking up with a friend to conquer the story mode as a team. But do to the lack of modes, there only being multiplayer and story mode, the replay value is relatively low.
Overall I recommend this game to fans of this show and people who are not familiar with Naruto. This is a great game that really improved upon its predecessor. The game still lacks in some departments, like no voice acting, but they will be easily overlooked due to the stunning gameplay and superb graphics.
Switch between 3 playable characters on the fly - Players can choose to complete the different levels with their choice of Naruto, Sasuke or Sakura Pl...More at Amazon Marketplace
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