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Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2By Marlon Esmeralda - 09-25-09 Print  EmailNaruto Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 is the follow-up to last year's first Ninja Destiny for the Nintendo DS. The game received some praise for being a great fighter, and for turning the series around into a better direction from the previous handheld Naruto titles. Now Ninja Destiny is back again with an updated roster and storyline. However, fans of the first may be bit disappointed that the game lacks much improvement over the original, but the game still has its pick up and play style that new players can easily get into. As the name suggests, this latest Naruto offering expands the Shippuden storyline. Along with the story, the cast of characters themselves have been updated as well to match in. For those following the story, the game will take you into the early story arcs of Naruto Shippuden, which includes highlights like fighting Sasori of Akatsuki and meeting Sasuke again after his departure from the Leaf Village. Of course, those who follow the Naruto storyline already, won't be in for any surprises. The scenes themselves are pretty lackluster though, and don't really get too into detail. If you're expecting a deep storyline, you won't get that here. Aside from Story Mode, you got your usual fighting game modes like Vs. and Survival. Story mode is a played out a bit different from the original as you'll encounter a dungeon crawling type level in between certain storyline events until you face off in an actual plot-progressing fight. It's still an alright experience, and is what players will probably spend the most time playing. Survival mode is fun too, as the battles are fast paced so you can easily build up quite an amount of victories if good enough. The newly added mode is Quest mode, and it expands on the dungeon exploration that was used in Story Mode. It's pretty bland though as the dungeons all look the same and it seems like you're just in an endless abyss full of many random battle encounters. The actual fighting system is unchanged and plays the same as the original. It's too bad nothing much was done to expand on the system. Using two buttons as your means to attack(soft, hard) and a designated button for specials is easy to get into, but lacks the depth you see in most 2D fighters. The expanded character list does make up for it in a way though, as each character does have their own style of play. It's just a shame that the game doesn't dwell too far into the Shippuden storyline, so a few characters are left out of the roster, with some original Ninja Destiny characters coming back. The visuals did get a little improvement as well, and the system interface has been updated. The specials performed are much more appealing now and look great. Animation is fluid most of the time, with a couple slowdowns here and there. Voices also accompany the characters during fights, but not used for the story. It would have been a nice thing to have, since it will add more to the overall Naruto experience, but there's a good amount of voice work present in the game as it is. Unfortunately, for this sequel there's still no online play present. Multiplayer battles can only be done locally and with another DS owner who has the game. As a single-player affair, the game is still a bit lengthy. Unlocking all the characters will take a while, and getting through Story Mode will take a little over a couple of hours. Unless you're a real die-hard fan of the game, chances are you won't be spending too much time with the game after you've unlocked everything. Hopefully for the next Ninja Destiny release, something is done to make the game a bit more lasting, like the addition of some online play. Ninja Destiny 2 is a good overall fighting game, despite its flaws. However, those who played the first won't be getting much of a new experience. An updated roster and storyline are the only real changes from the original. The fighting system is still simple enough for new players to get into, so those who didn't experience the original can easily get into this sequel without having missed much. For Naruto fans, it's a good addition and DS owners who've been wanting a decent fighter, will be pleased enough with this game. Ratings |
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