What is the test for an argument that the jury improperly instructed the jury to convict defendants for aiding and abetting assault or murder?

Defendants argue the trial court improperly instructed the jury regarding the mental state necessary to convict defendants for aiding and abetting assault or murder; the extent to which the defendants' voluntary intoxication could be considered; and the definition of a criminal street gang.²² We review defendants' argument on appeal despite their failure to object at trial because " '[w]hether claimed instructional error affected the substantial rights of the defendant necessarily requires an examination of the merits of the claim' ... ." (People v. Ngo (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 126, 149; 1259 ["The appellate court may also review any instruction given, refused or modified, even though no objection was made thereto in the lower court, if the substantial rights of the defendant were affected thereby."].)