Coming to the USA in September is the follow up to the Gamecube fighting game, Naruto: Clash of Ninja from D3 Publisher. While Clash of Ninja had a few characters, Clash of Ninja 2 brings together all of the fighters from the Chunin exams. We’re talking about the rookie nine, Gai’s squad and Iruka sensei as playable characters. As a special treat for all of our readers, we profiled some of the characters in the game and have two new gameplay videos of Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2.
Naruto
Naruto is a close ranged fighter who can do a five hit air combo by pressing the “b” button alone. For long range attacks he can throw kunai by pressing A or do an underground uppercut by pressing down+A. Lastly he has his trademark sexy jutsu, which acts as a counter when back+A are pressed. Be careful though, the sexy jutsu uses chakra every second it is out.
Super Move: Uzumaki Barrage
Sasuke
Like Naruto, Sasuke is a close ranged fighter, but with a couple more ranged attacks. His most basic combo is a seven hit air assault from just pressing the b button alone. He has his trademark fireball jutsu that can be done by pressing A. The fireball jutsu is a wide range and damaging attack. It is very useful during four player fights, but it leaves Sasuke open for a second while he is using it.
Super Move: Barrage of Lions
Lee
Most of Lee’s combos knock opponents back or to the ground. He also has his trademark leaf whirlwind attack (down+A) and the ability to open the gates for increased power. If Lee chooses to open the gates his attack will go up, but he loses life every second if he opens the second gate. Since opening the second gate is a risky prospect Eighting gave Lee the Hidden Lotus as a second super attack.
Super Move: Primary Lotus / Hidden Lotus
Kiba
Kiba is a fast character who jumps around the screen wildly. This makes him hard to hit, but also difficult to control for first time players. Instead of throwing kunai or other ninja tools, Kiba has his dog Akamaru by his side to attack. When players press the A button they can command Akamaru to jump and bite an opponent.
Super Move: Fang over Fang
Gaara
His ability to control the sand is helpful during four player assaults. Some of Gaara’s attacks have a wide radius, which allow strikes to hit multiple players. Gaara also benefits from high damage and a technique which causes sand to rise from the ground at a distance. The major downside to Gaara is that he is slow compared to the rest of the characters.
Super Move: Sand Burial
Sakura
Sakura’s greatest advantage is her fast use of shuriken. Instead of having ninjutsu mapped to the A button she has various shuriken combos. One of her best moves is her lock on attack, which can be done by holding down the a button. During four player bouts Sakura can easily snipe other players from a distance with the homing attack and her shuriken combos.
Super Move: Inner Sakura
Hinata
While she isn’t the strongest character or the fastest, Hinata makes combo chaining easy. In the middle of attacks Hinata can flow from one combo to the next with little time in between. Hinata also has a useful anti air attack where she throws three kunai at a 45 degree angle by pressing up+A. This move is perfect for interrupting jumping attacks like Kiba’s and Naruto’s combos.
Super Move: Hyuga Combo
Shikamaru
Being one of the brightest ninja in Konhoa, Shikamaru uses his brains to fight instead of strict strength. Most of his attacks involve teleporting behind enemies, which make him a hard target to pin down. Shikamaru also has a second set of attacks that can be done when he changes his stance by pressing back+A. The major disadvantage Shikamaru has is with the range of his special move. He needs to be really close to get the first hit in, which can cause lots of wasted chakra.
Super Move: Shadow Posession Jutsu
Kakashi
Kakashi is an interesting character to play. He has a decent counter attack (back+A) where he uses the thousand years of death attack. He also has an underground grab attack, which allows Kakashi to dodge a hit plus attack simultaneously. His major disadvantage is that he has short combos. Another neat trick with Kakashi is that he can charge up the lightning edge by holding down X to increase the amount of damage.
Super Move: Lightning Blade
Ino
Ino is one of the fastest characters in the game, but this comes at a price since her attacks are slightly less damaging. One of her best combos is BBBA where she ends with teleporting behind an opponent at no cost. Ino’s super attack is a double edged sword. The Mind Transfer Jutsu has lots of range, which is great for pulling off surprise attacks in a four player match. However, if you miss Ino is left wide open for attack.
Super Move: Mind Transfer Jutsu
Iruka
Even though Iruka doesn’t have much action time in the series, he’s a playable character in the Clash of Ninja series. Iruka is a fairly balanced character. From the rear he can throw large shuriken that gives multiple hits by pressing the A button. Up close he can do medium length combos with the added bonus of teleporting back and forth.
Super Move: Shuriken Combo
Neji
Neji’s special skill is his chakra draining ability. Only some combos have this ability, but this is a useful technique to prevent opponents from using the replacement jutsu. For a counter attack Neji uses the eight palms full rotation attack. The blast has a sizable radius and is one of the few counters that can block a replacement jutsu counter if used correctly.
Super Move: Eight Trigrams 64 Palms
Naruto versus Kiba
Sauske versus Gaara
