Naruto: Ninja Council 2 starts after Naruto and his team mates' first mission as they start their path to becoming second level ninjas, or Chunin.
Levels are a mix between side-scrolling action, one-on-one fighting and races to the end before a timer ticks off. The changes between the level types are smooth and typically make sense. For instance, a level might start off with your typical action level and in the middle, you will have to face off against one of the series' major enemies (like Orochimaru and Gaara) only to have to rush back through the first part because the cave you were fighting in is collapsing.
Unfortunately, the game rushes through the show's story really quickly. There is one point where a majority of the second Chunin exam is just skipped over with a quick statement about the main characters passing. So this means, if you aren't already familiar with the show's events, you might get a little confused.
Each of the playable characters not only has the standard attacks, but they can also use some of their signature Jutsu in order to attack one or more opponents on the screen. Naruto can pull off his Sexy Jutsu in order to dazzle the opponents or summon Gamabunta. Sasuke can unleash his Sharingan to increase his speed and power or even unleash a massive number of attacks in his Barrage of Lions move. And of course, Sakura's chakra comes out in full force with much stronger attacks.
One odd thing about this game is that even though these moves are fairly simple to pull off, I forgot about them almost immediately (my first time through the game anyway). Because I was able to plow through the game without using the super flashy moves, I had to wonder why they needed to be in there. Of course, the answer to that is it wouldn't be a Naruto game without the special attacks. Either way, it was quite comical to see how the various moves were portrayed in the low-rez GBA graphics.
