During the late 90s, the term “old-school RPG” was as common as “Final Fantasy VII clone.” First and foremost, people liked the retro RPG style. Second, it isn’t very expensive to produce a game with SNES-quality graphics. But as every RPG fan knows, underneath the 16-bit visuals is a gameplay format that favors excessive town exploration, text-only dialogue, and a turn-based combat system that is quick and enjoyable.

Those words can certainly be applied to Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2. Drenched in the Naruto license (the cast, locations, monsters, etc.), Path of the Ninja 2 is very much a game for the Naruto faithful. And though it has a few annoyances, it is also a great RPG for fans of old-school role-playing.

The basics are what you’ll expect – or at least what you’ll anticipate assuming the developers got it right. For the most part they have. Utilizing a top-down view, Path of the Ninja 2 begins with a brief story introduction, followed by a quick look around town. Players can get a reminder of the current quest at any time by tapping the X button. But it is sometimes best to put that aside for a moment, as you’ll find valuable items throughout this town, including health replenishing pills and attack scrolls that let you inflict fire and water damage (once per item) without actually possessing that magical skill.

During the opening battles, Naruto and Sakura are the only characters you’ll get to control. But it won’t be long before your party expands – up to three characters may be used at one time plus one alternate. The alternate character works the same as the alternate monsters in Pokémon except you won’t waste a turn for switching characters. In fact, you can switch as much as you like and still be able to make a move. If death strikes one of the three main warriors, he or she is instantly replaced by the alternate character.

Though the battles are turn-based and are very much like the early Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games, there are 12 spaces of movement (four in the front, middle and back) where your characters can reside. Enemies have an equal number of spaces, and this is where the game’s strategic elements are revealed. Players can attack closer to their enemies to inflict greater damage. But by doing so, they open themselves up to greater retaliation. You can only move a character when it is that character’s turn.

To make things even more interesting, players can throw bomb items that explode when the enemy approaches a specific area on the battlefield. Suppose the enemy spends a lot of time attacking in the front. Then you could throw a bomb at one of the four front attack spaces and hope the enemy approaches. If you have several bomb items (or the appropriate Jutsu attack), it is possible to litter the area with bombs over the course of several turns. And since you must throw the item at an enemy to begin with, you’ll inflict a small amount of damage no matter what. If they stay in that area or return later on, the bomb will explode.

Path of the Ninja 2 wisely differentiates between characters with a wealth of unique Jutsu skills. Sakura is your everyday healer. She has the power to cast spells (using Chakra power – this game’s equivalent to MP) that can revive dead party members and heal those who are failing. She can remove various battle ailments and may also deliver a handful of Jutsu attacks.

Naruto’s approach is much different. Though all characters have a similar standard attack (of which the power and style change from weapon to weapon), Naruto can also attack with clones, poison enemies with a fart, and blast them with a water balloon bomb, among other assaults.

Yet another path is taken by Choji, whose attacks include the Human Boulder (a giant boulder rolls across the battlefield, damaging enemies) and the Partial Expansion Jutsu (a large hand slams on top of the targeted enemy group). With 27 other characters available, Path of the Ninja 2 will keep you busy for a while.

Most of these moves can be enhanced with touch screen interactions, such as fast rubbing/scratching or quick circle drawing. Touch mechanics are also incorporated into the puzzles (very basic puzzles), and the microphone is used sparingly as well.

Path of the Ninja 2 is very successful at being a classically inspired, classically developed RPG. If you like the genre you’ll definitely enjoy this one – but it does have a couple of issues. First, battle encounters are extremely high. When away from a town or village, you can’t walk a few footsteps without triggering a random battle, which might annoy casual players or even those who just don’t want to spend every second of the game battling.

Second, while there are many different places to explore, once inside a particular area (a cave, for example), you’re bound to feel like you’re walking in circles. Most rooms, tunnels and passageways are close to identical. Towns are a little more varied with unique building structures and all, but that doesn’t help the woodsy areas, which are packed with similar-looking walkways and tree formations. The tired backdrops are enough to bore anyone but the most loyal Naruto fan – especially those who have spent the last decade or two playing RPGs.

In spite of these flaws, Path of the Ninja 2 is still a very entertaining RPG. Most of the missions are straightforward, and with save and health-replenishment platforms dispersed pretty fairly, you should be able to play through the game without much stress.

Gameplay: 8.0
Engaging turn-based battles with a wide variety of characters and Jutsu moves.

Graphics: 5.0
My phone rang today, got a call from "Graphics." No number was given, but he said he was calling from 1994. Kind of freaky, don't you think?

Sound: 6.8
A little on the dated and repetitive side yet still a bit catchy.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Naruto: Path of the Mainstream Difficulty.

Concept: 7.8
Enjoyable turn-based combat with Final Fantasy inspiration and a couple of Naruto-based twists.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Wi-Fi battles let you compete for points and ninja cards.

Overall: 7.7
A significant improvement over the first, Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 is one of the best original (non-port) RPGs released for the DS platform. Naruto fans will definitely be engrossed by the story and anime-inspired scenarios, but this is also a quality role-playing game that RPG fans will want to check out.