The assist characters cannot be turned off. There are many updated ultimate jutsu, including the aforementioned assist-specific ones.
Many of the character's jutsu from the previous game were updated. Certain combinations of characters create unique jutsu in a match these combinations reflect the associations of those characters in the anime and manga. Assist characters are chosen during character selection, and can be called in during a match to deal extra damage. One of the new gameplay additions is the introduction of assist characters. The game features 62 characters and continues the Naruto Shippuden storyline, going up to the end of Sasuke and Sai arc, following the manga (the anime had not finished working on the arc at the time).
It is the only game in the series not to be released in North America. It was released in Europe on November 27, 2009, and in Australia on December 3, 2009. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 5, known in Japan as, Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Accel 2 ( ＮＡＲＵＴＯ－ナルト－ 疾風伝 ナルティメットアクセル２, Naruto Shippuden: Narutimetto Akuseru 2), is the fifth installment in the Ultimate Ninja series, and was released in Japan on December 20, 2007.
