And back to gaming, Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

This isn't a new game, it isn't even really a popular game it's just one of the games I'm playing at the moment when I'm bored and putting flame to incense.  Naruto Shippuuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is based on the Naruto Shippuuden anime and thus the Naruto manga and as with many anime based games there is an option to have the audio in English or in Japanese(being a HUGE sub fan, I of course opt for Japanese with english Subtitles), mainly because they usually get the actual voice actors who play the characters to do the voice overs. So it's pretty much a seemless immersion into the anime. NS2 is along the lines of a fighting RPG you have to walk around and do quests to help you get items to get strong but for the most part the story moves along once you go and have certain fights. You don't really level up though in this one, you get new versions of the character as the story moves along and you get past certain chapters of the story, that coincide with things that happened in the anime. In this case you get regular Naruto who just knows how to use the Rasengan, then you get Naruto who knows how to use the Rasen Shuriken, then you get access to the "sage mode" Naruto who also uses the Rasen Shuriken but it's alot stronger. There is also an "unlockable" Naruto if you beat the game.

Fighting Role Playing Games also differ from normal RPG's in the fact that your main goal is to get characters, items, and abilities to use in the actual tournament or P v P action outside the main story. You really don't have to play the Main story at all and can just fight with friends using the characters unlocked when you first open the box, there is also an online component. If you are going to play online though, I recommend you play out the story otherwise you will be catching a few Sasuke Uchiha Kirin, and Naruto Rasen Shurikens to the face. If you are a fan of the anime you will recognize some of the locales and the epic battles. In some of the fights there will be added "interactive sequences" where you can use button combinations and directional pad presses to attempt to earn stars. The faster you enter in the combinations the more stars you get(if you fail you will be sent back to the beginning of the sequence), you have the chance to earn what is called a secret factor. Which is usually a scene from the show itself or the Naruto anime in a kind of faded out 2D. It makes you want to fight harder and pay attention more, while it adds to the story it's unnecessary to go ahead and finish out the game. For those who have to have absolute 100 percent "gotta catch them all" completion of the game there is an option to go back and attempt to earn those stars later in a game. In the Hokage's(or Kazekage later in the game) office there is a ninja who will offer you the chance to go back and refight battles. 

Being a Shippuuden game you will only fight against characters who made an appearance in Shippuuden(up to this point), so any ninja from the first Naruto game will be absent and you also won't be refighting the battle against Sasuke in the Final Valley, well not the full battle there is like a mini sequence in between where you fight with you both transformed but it doesn't last long. You'll see: teenage Naruto, Sakura, Neji, Hinata, Kina, Shino, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Lee, Tenten, all the members of the Akatski. While for the most part the game ends at the battle between Pain and Sage Mode Naruto in Konaha for those who complete all the quests there is supposedly some rhyming homicidal insect that you might get a chance to see. Dunno what thats about I haven't completed all the quests yet I did beat the game though(okay I'm lieing I know EXACTLY who they are talking about because I'm a Naruto fan but why give it away go play the game).

While the item gathering in this game is a little repetitive the fights are fun, I also like that you can decide to rearrange what bento you use before each fight, as well as heal any characters whom you might have forgotten to before the battle proper commences. Again this is not a ground breaking game, if you aren't a huge anime fan you probably won't like it anime based games get panned all the time because anime's tend to be over the top anyway so a game based on an anime is just asking for people to go "oh please, really this is so unrealistic and unbelievable how can you even play this?" because it's fun. You can button mash or you can actually try and kick out the individual combos they aren't really that intense the "B" and a few thumbstick moves to get off most combos, hit the "Y" in the right spot in some to finish off with ninjitsu, or just keep pounding it out with B, you can hit Y and X to throw chakra charged items at your open or use the directional pad to use battle items. Lots of options on how to make it through a fight without being overly complex. IF you happen to have support with you the top two buttons can control when you help comes into the fight. If you have one person LB or RB will bring the person into the fray to perform either an attack or a defensive manuever. Two people in support one is designated for the right button and one for the left. In the story mode you can increase your "friendship" level with the various characters and they will become more in tune with you and will sometimes come into the fight automatically(without draining their support gauge) to help you out either tossing in an extra hit or blocking some damage for you. There is also a team gauge that gets built up with each successive support attack/intervention if you get that built all the way up you can perform what is called an ULTIMATE TEAM JUTSU, which is a much stronger attack where you and your support work together to pound your opponent into the ground. For some characters the ultimate jutsu changes the further along you are in the story(say for Naruto and Sasuke) but others what you see is what you get.

Okay I just wanted to get this out of my head since I haven't posted anything in a few days. I may do some gaming memories later. I hope everyone is staying out of the heat and enjoying this wonderful weekend