Can the orange-jumpsuited ninja hold up for another round of RPG gaming? TOMY is putting Naruto to the adventure test with the development of Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2.
By nestlekwik
Skipping over Naruto RPG 2 from Japan to move on to part three, TOMY is swinging for the fences with Naruto Path of the Ninja 2. While the original U.S. Path of the Ninja title was originally developed for the Game Boy Advance and bumped to the DS, Path of Ninja 2 exudes 100 percent Nintendo DS in its features - touch screen functions, wireless sharing and game play, Wi-Fi and more. It may seem like a confusing move to skip out on part two, TOMY knows Naruto fans and wants to provide them with a new experience instead of back peddling through a story they already know.
The biggest hook for Naruto Path of the Ninja 2 is in its original story, scripted exclusively for the game. The story is penned by a freelance writer in Japan who is close to the series and has been contracted by the company in the past and pits players against ancient beasts that are poisoning the land. At the beginning of the title, a group of rogue ninjas unleash the demons from their ancient bindings and, of course, it's up to Naruto and the extensive cast of the series to put an end their attack. Those who follow the series can also place the story along with the series canon as Path of the Ninja 2 occurs when Sasuke leaves the village to train and pull power from Orochimaru.
"Path of the Ninja 2 is very close to the original story from the series while still being original," noted Glenn Stotz, product specialist at TOMY Corporation. "While you still encounter key enemies from the television series in flashback form, everything will be new and exciting for the player."
With a jump to full Nintendo DS development, the team has been able to do more than just update graphics and sound. In a massive jump to the playable character roster, players can wrap their hands around 30 characters from the Naruto universe as opposed to Path of the Ninjas's meager seven. Thankfully, with such a number, those who hover over the progress of the game to see whether their favorite ninja is included can put their minds at rest.
"What characters doesn't it have?" remarked Glenn Stotz. "The choice is 30 versus seven from the original game. There is a ton there. For playable characters, 30 is a big number. Everyone is in there ... [and] the number of encountered characters is even larger."
Amid game play, players can also manage up to four ninjas at a time, managable from an out-of-battle menu, with one acting as an inactive member. Players also get their choice in naming a squad leader, which alters the stats of that character - Naruto's attack power rises but his defense lowers and Sakura regains health outside of battle for example.
What would Naruto be without its trademark jutsu? Stotz has confirmed the jutsu will make use of the touch screen in order to make them more effective, requiring sylus rotations or rapid rubbing on the bottom screen. To lend a bit of real-time feel to the battles, players can execute substitute jutsu by tapping on the screen during a defensive time window to avoid damage or even counter attack. With the move to the DS, players are also promised more intense cinematics resulting from jutsus and action sequences.
Outside of battle, though, players will also have to manage new ninja tags and points that grant the characters abilities they wouldn't normally have. By attaching ninja tags and using ninja points, players can have their characters execute new jutsu and build resistance to certain elements and attacks. With a combination of such elements, Stotz notes the game is quite strategic.
"There are tons of strategic elements in single- or multi-player modes," he said. "It's a big game of chess - you have to know what to do in battle but you also have to know how to prepare for it. With the new battle elements and features, the complexity is there if you want it to be and I'm sure players will enjoy it more if they get into the complexity."
With the said multi-player mode, players can take on another human opponent, pitting their four-ninja squads against each other in RPG combat. Not only can players play multicard wirelessly, but Path of the Ninja 2 allows gamers to play anyone in North America with a copy of the game and Wi-Fi. Currently, Laura Yoshioka, director of consumer software at TOMY confirmed there would be friend code and random matchmaking, but also noted a number of possible online features are at this time pending with more news being made available in the next few months.
"Wi-fi pretty much makes the game play infinite," noted Stotz. "Fighting another human is like fighting a really hard enemy. It's something AI can't reproduce and nothing is scripted. It's challenging and I think that is appealing to RPG fans. If you're looking for a really good challenge, multiplayer is the way to go."
Even if you don't know anyone with a copy of Path of the Ninja 2, players are able to wireless zap a buddy a short demo of the game. Other notable additions to the series include one new music track played during battle sequences just for the U.S. version, variable paths and side quests, along with a few alternative modes.
While, seemingly, Naruto might be viewed as being better suited to a fighting game, Stotz noted the strategic link makes perfect sense for the series.
"In Naruto's story, the characters are always with a teammate," he explained. "It's always about teamwork. With the combo jutsu and character protection featured in the game, it truly embodies the series."
While it's safe to say Naruto still has quite future in U.S. games, TOMY is being quite tight-lipped about future releases, not even making mention of its recently-announced Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 for the Nintendo Wii. With TOMY handling Naruto games for the Nintendo format in North America, Yoshioka confirmed TOMY has no plans to bring Naruto RPG 2 stateside and the RPG format will most likely never spill over into home systems as the company feels "the Nintendo DS is the best format for RPGs."
With such a diverse feature set, Stotz is confident even gamers who are not fans of the series will be able to enjoy Path of the Ninja 2.
"The strategy is immense and the character are so accessible, it's really fun to find out who the characters are and find a favorite if you aren't a fan," he noted.
Currently, the game is expected to ship to U.S. stores on Sept. 23.
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