Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2

The cover for Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2

Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 (known as Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 2 in Japan and Naruto: Clash of Ninja European Version in Europe) is the second installment of the Gekitou Ninja Taisen (Clash of Ninja) series. It was released for the Gamecube in Japan on December 4, 2003 and in the US on November 24, 2006.

Gameplay

Clash of Ninja 2 offers several different game modes such as Arcade mode, VS mode, and Story mode. You can unlock new features such as new characters, stages, and modes by accomplishing certain tasks in the game. Once accomplished, an item will appear in Anko's shop and the player may buy with money earned from fighting.

The game follows the plot of the series, in story mode, starting from Naruto's graduation from the Ninja Academy to the end of the Chūnin exams. There are also several fights which may be purchased from Anko that go into detail about things not fully explained in the series.

Playable characters

A list of playable characters is shown below. Characters new to the series are marked with an asterisk (*):

• Naruto Uzumaki
• Sasuke Uchiha
• Sakura Haruno
• Kakashi Hatake
• Iruka Umino
• Rock Lee
• Haku
• Zabuza Momochi
• Nine-Tailed Naruto
• Kakashi with Sharingan
• Hinata Hyūga
• Kiba Inuzuka *
• Neji Hyūga *
• Might Guy *
• Shikamaru Nara *
• Ino Yamanaka *
• Gaara *
• Kankurō *
• Orochimaru *
• Akamaru *
• Crow *
• Mizuki *
• Sasuke with Sharingan *

Reception

Reviews and awards

Publication	Score	Awards
IGN	8.2 of 10	Best Fighting Game of 2006 (for GameCube)
GameZone	7.4 of 10	N/A
GameSpy	3.5 of 5	N/A
X-Play	3 of 5	N/A

Critical reaction ranges from average ratings to fairly high and respectable ones. G4's X-Play gave Clash of Ninja a three out of five, claiming that while the game has "slick cel-shaded graphics and strong animation," the game's characters are all somewhat similar and lacks in the two-player department. Mark Bozon at IGN gave this game an 8.2 out of ten, and said that the game is quite easy to get involved in, even for those unfamiliar to the Naruto series. He also praises the game for its easy-to-learn combos and character roster.

Trivia

• An extra 10,000 coins can be earned if there is a saved file of Naruto: Clash of Ninja on the player's memory card.
• There is a limited edition Naruto trading card in every marked box of Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2. It's a holofoil Mission featuring Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke with Gamakichi, a slug, and a snake respectively. The card does not come in Player's Choice editions.
• The GameCube Clash of Ninja series was ended after Clash of Ninja 2 in America, primarily because of the Nintendo Wii console launching close to Clash of Ninja 2's release date. As such, this is the last game in the American Clash of Ninja to be a translated version of a Japanese game; with the Revolution series that has continued for the three years since, new games have been created for the Wii, featuring characters and stages that were not in the subsequent non-localized GameCube counterparts.
• Later on near the end of 2006 Clash of Ninja 2 was realsed in a combo pack with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess