Toronto Thumbs

Interview
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Recently, Toronto Thumbs conducted a Q&A with Namco Bandai’s own Andrew Davis about Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2; this title is one that I am very much anticipating (like this is a real surprise to anyone who reads this site regularly). Andrew was full of useful information and awesome humour; we would like to share some of what he said with our readers.

1. I hear that this game is going to span from after the time-skip to the attack on Konoha. May I ask if the battle at Konoha includes a fight between Pain and a certain knuckle-headed sagely ninja?

It would be sort of disappointing if it didn’t, wouldn’t it? The intro to the game sets up this epic confrontation, before jumping back to the beginning of Shippuden and the happier times of Naruto’s return from training.

2. I thoroughly enjoyed the first game in the series. Now, Xbox 360 owners will get to enjoy the sequel as well as the PS3 owners. What motivated you to span consoles? Why didn’t you develop for the 360 in the first place? Why did you choose PS3?

At the time the first game was released, our license to publish Naruto games only covered Sony platforms; this is one reason that all the Ultimate Ninja games up till now were on PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PSP. Now that we have the ability to reach the 360 audience as well, we thought Storm 2 would be the perfect opportunity to introduce a new set of gamers to the series.

3. How many characters will there be?

Storm 2 will have more than 40 fan favorites which actually exceeds the number found in the first game. Also Lars Alexandersson, of TEKKEN 6 fame, will appear as an unlockable guest character and wear his TEKKEN 6 costume designed by Masashi Kishimoto.

4. How are you handling the logistics of Pain?

I know there’ve been some questions among fans as to how exactly Pain’s six paths manifest themselves in combat! When you control Pain, primarily you control Deva Pain as his main body. However, the other paths will appear as part of his combos and jutsu.

5. Will there be local multi-player battles with more than 2 people playing?

Local multiplayer will be the same as online multiplayer, with 1-on-1 battles.

6. Will there be even more hidden goodies?

The developer, CyberConnect2, is committed to putting in many more hidden things to find. You can search the environment for materials to craft new items, or exchange letters with famous Shippuden characters (and a few you might not be expecting!). Also, if you perform well enough in the cinematic boss battle scenes, you can unlock a “secret factor”, an extra scene to give the battle that much more emotional weight.

7. Will there be trophies/achievements for the PSN/XBLive?

There will! Quite a lot, too!

8. Will this game be getting the limited edition treatment as well?

We currently do not have plans for a limited edition version.

9. When is this game being released in North America?

Storm 2 will be hitting stores on October 19, 2010.

10. Has work begun on the next sequel?

As of right now, we’re still putting all our chakra into Get-Storm-2-ready-for-release-no-jutsu… Maybe we’ll have time to think about the future once things have settled down!

11. Will this game use Playstation Move at all?

Storm 2 will not be compatible with the PlayStation Move.

Thanks goes out to Andrew for taking the time to answer our questions!

Posted in Interviews, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 |