Naruto: Ninja Council 2
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Tags: NARUTO: Ninja Council 2 Categories: GBA Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Nov 8th, 2006
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| NARUTO: Ninja Council 2 (title page) | 1 - 2 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Platformer | No | ||
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While Tomy has made some great uses of the Naruto license, Ninja Council 2 seems to fall short of the benchmarks of its console cousins. A side scrolling “beat ‘em up” ala Final Fight, Council 2 could be a great trip down memory lane. It’s just awkwardly executed.
The visual feast here is up to par with the rest of the franchise. This seems to be as far as the GBA can reach graphically. The levels are each well detailed with lush colors. The backgrounds seem to have real depth to them. The character sprites are animated quite well. With graphics this great, it does seem that most of the development went into the look of the game.
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There wasn’t much development into the storyline. This plays over the same patch of ground as the Clash of Ninja game. There are some additional characters that pad out the sparse fighting game format. However the additions don’t seem to be enough because playing time comes in at about two and half hours. The whole thing flies by in a flash. It’s understandable that they didn’t want to overrun the shows current pacing, but since the first Ninja Council game out in March, they could have waited until the next season on Cartoon Network.
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The shortness of the game would be forgivable if it didn’t end by the time you get the hang of the buggy controls. They seem to have ported fighting game controls down to the GBA’s rather limited configuration. The shoulder buttons are used for switching characters, and summoning allies for team attacks. The team attacks are pretty lack luster. There are scrolls stashed through out each of the levels. You use these scrolls to summon one of Naruto’s supporting cast. Their attacks range from brutal decimation of all enemies on the screen, to slowing everyone down.
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The teleportation is combined with the jump function, and this has to be one of the more tricky aspects of the game. This takes the most skill to master but it doesn’t seem worth the effort in such a short game. The usual fighting game dash is present via a double touch of the D-pad. While this usually works easily, you end up stuttering forward more often then not. This is most frustrating when trying to fight one of the many bosses. They move fast, and you end up doing some sort of moonwalk right into the attack. This is one control issue that never really works itself out.
Ninja Council is full of warts, and the only thing to write home about is the multiplayer mode. The versus mode allows for a fighting game on the GBA, which the system doesn’t have many of. The co-op mode is featured as well, but as there isn’t much of a challenge in the single-player mode, don’t expect much.
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With Naruto fandom spreading like wildfire, there is bound to be interest in this game. It’s console cousins do a much better job in brining the anime to life. The controls are tricky, and by the time you master the game is at an end. There is a bonus character to be unlocked upon completion, but there isn’t much point in replaying. The only reason to pick this up is the versus mode. It wouldn’t be bad to have a fighter in your GBA collection.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ The graphics are a nice treat, and the best the GBA has to offer. + The multiplayer versus is the best this game has to offer. |
3.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- The controls are awkward and take far too long to get the hang of. - This is far too short of a game. |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| The multiplayer is fun, but forget playing this alone - there's not enough here. | |
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Tags: NARUTO: Ninja Council 2
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Nov 8th, 2006 and is filed under GBA Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
