

But name change aside, the controls are just as simple to learn as they have always been, but the chain and combo mechanic still provide the battle system with some necessary depth. Although, for some reason, this game refers to the chakra attacks as "Jet" attacks. The controls are almost identical to Ultimate Ninja 3, as they still use the Circle button for your main attacks and the Triangle button for chakra attacks.

Naruto shippuden ultimate ninja 5 ps2 gamestop series#
In addition to all your favorite characters, some new ones have been added specifically from the Shippuden series including Sasori, Chiyo, and art-obsessed bad guy Deidara.Įven though the story and the roster have changed quite a lot since the previous Ultimate Ninja games, one thing that has stayed faithfully the same is the battle system. But, if the person you are playing with wants to play as the younger version of Sakura, from the original series, they can select the second tier and play against her older form. So for instance, if you wanted to play as the Shippuden version of Sakura, you can go to the Shippuden character menu and select her. Instead of having a single "character select" area for multiplayer matches, you are able to choose from different tiers of characters, which sort them by affiliation and time period. The story is actually rather morose, considering the events of the previous Naruto series, but it is a nice transition into the darker Shippuden series as a whole.Īnother thing that is different this time around is the character roster. While most in the village seem to tolerate this idea, Naruto has a problem when he sees the young girl who is to be their sacrifice walk into the demon's cave to meet her death. Luckily, the story here is completely new, revolving around Naruto and Jiraiya's discovery of a hidden village that must make human sacrifices to an evil demon overlord in order to stay alive. The Ultimate Ninja series up to this point has basically only retold events that happened in the anime, and if you are an obsessive franchise player like me, the same old same old wears on you after awhile. While I might have forgiven this shortcoming if it were any other franchise, Ultimate Ninja 2 and 3 had made such progress in regard to the main story mode that it was all the more disappointing when Shippuden failed in this regard.Īlthough the gameplay in the main mode is rather boring, I do have to give it some credit in terms of story. Ultimate Ninja 4: Naruto Shippuden eschews all the progress made from the first title, and goes right back to the format of the first Ultimate Ninja game an almost completely linear story with non-random battle events and ridiculously simple level-based puzzlers interspersed between levels. If you played the last Ultimate Ninja for the PS2, Ultimate Ninja 3, you may recall that the main story mode, Ultimate Contest, was overhauled to incorporate new fighting styles and an RPG-like quest system to give it a little bit more staying power.

Although a lot has changed in the years between the two series, the beginning of the Shippuden spinoff sees Naruto returning once again to the Leaf village to continue his path towards finding Sasuke and bringing him back. Several years have passed since Sasuke's departure, and Naruto has been hard at work training with the frog sage, Jiraiya. In case you are unfamiliar with the Naruto Universe, the Shippuden subtitle is fairly significant, as it begins "phase 2" of the series. However, Ultimate Ninja 4: Naruto Shippuden does not keep this trend going and defied my high expectations for the series. With titles on the PSP, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3, the Ultimate Ninja series has always featured a consistent battle system, excellent visuals, and immersive battle-based gameplay. However, if you asked my opinion about which Naruto option was the best, I would tell you that it was the Sony-exclusive Ultimate Ninja series. From the story-intensive Naruto RPG series to the action-heavy Clash of Ninja, and even the mini-game-centric Ninja Council series, the Naruto franchise is certainly expansive. If you walk into a game store and ask for a Naruto title, you will be bombarded with options.
