Besides Heroes Mode, which is just a series of team battles without a story, you can also take on a friend in wireless multiplayer. This is a nice incentive to keep playing the game. Also, completing almost any task in the game rewards you with Ninja Points, which can be spent unlocking extra features like character art and songs. Although this mode runs the risk of being repetitive because there are over 100 floors to get through, this certainly adds a tremendous amount to the game's total play time, which is a great feature for Phantom Fortress. There are six different scrolls which activate varying game types, like running up the side of a tree while avoiding obstacles, following a series of button commands or answering Naruto-related questions. Essentially, you have the power to control what scenario plays out in each room. The gameplay of the Mugenjo Mode harkens back to an old-school dungeon crawler, where you move your character icon from room to room, fighting battles and playing mini-games depending on what type of scroll you use to stabilize the space of the room. Obviously having the Mugenjo appear above the Hidden Leaf Village is a problem, so Naruto intends to do away with the dark sanctuary. In this mode, Naruto and company traverse the dark and misty corridors of a mysterious - you guessed it - phantom fortress, which saps the vitality out of all nearby life. The biggest change to Phantom Fortress over the original Ultimate Ninja Heroes is the inclusion of a story, in the form of the Mugenjo Mode. But again, it's still fun to flip around the screen, throw knives at your opponent and execute visually striking Secret Techniques, so I won't complain too much.
That's fine if you're not too adamant about having a complex fighting game, but it can make battles feel shallow at times. Although Phantom Fortress may seem like it has a great deal of depth due to the seemingly large number of gameplay elements, it's ultimately pretty simple because you really just need to worry about hitting the circle button. On top of these mechanics, you can also use a number of items during battle and there are a few universal defense skills as well. Besides your standard health gauge, each character also has a Chakra gauge which governs how many Jutsu moves and Secret Techniques you can perform. All attacks are mapped to the circle button and most combos and special moves require a simple directional input along with a few button presses. Hardcore fighting game fans will find Phantom Fortress's gameplay mechanics pretty easy, though the game still demands an adequate sense of timing. So while the locales and character models are all fully 3D, Phantom Fortress is more of a 2D fighter than anything else. Phantom Fortress is a pretty straight-forward fighting game where battles take place on two 2D planes - one in the background of the environment and one in the foreground. If you didn't play the first game, let me fill you in on some basics.
And while Phantom Fortress has a fair number of problems, it still delivers the same entertaining (albeit simple) gameplay that made the first Ultimate Ninja Heroes enjoyable.
If you're thinking about picking this game up, I'd like to first clarify that Phantom Fortress is actually just a revamped version of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes, which was released in August of last year. Everyone's favorite yellow-haired ninja has been around the anime and videogame scene for quite a while and makes yet another appearance in Phantom Fortress, a casual fighting game for the PSP. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress proves - quite clearly - that the more games there are in a franchise, the longer the titles become.