Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Review (Bangledeschler)
The UNS game that solidified the formula for Ninja Storm games to come. This covers the first portion of Shippuden and just about all of the Akatsuki arc. Removing the open village travel of the first and enacting a more limited hallways traversal yet now expands past the Hidden Leaf Village allowing for more sites giving a bit more of a drawn and detailed aesthetic. Combat is relatively the same but now has Team Ultimates. There are no more minigames, only fights and fetch quests which is slightly disappointing but also understandable. We also no longer see Giant Battles but instead we get our QTE's in major fights that when done quickly reveals a "hidden" extra scene.
General improvements all around, though some of the boss fights are kind of tedious and boring. I did have weird camera moments where it would get stuck on something in the background and obscure my vision until it became unstuck. It was only really in one general area and was easy to fix, but something to note. I was kind of disappointed they glossed over some fights that felt overall important for their character growth but overall covers a decent amount.
Steamdeck: Unlike the first UNS game, this runs very smooth. From my experience there have been no slowdowns on any arena, ultimate move, or cutscene.
Recommend? Yes, it's a solid entry though it can feel like a slog to get through at times.
Rating: 7/10
Completion Note: There are a few multiplayer achievements, one of which would require up to 70 online battles if done right. Needless to say you'll likely not get this without help.