By Jason Nimer
As I said in
my review for Naruto: Path of the Ninja for Nintendo DS,
Christmas ’07 belongs to the little ninja that could. He has no less than three
games bearing his name on shelves this shopping season, so needless to say,
he’ll probably be fighting to become the Hokage in more than a few homes the
morning of December 25. Here’s hoping no one is subjected to the previously
mentioned DS game (it received my lowest score ever – 5 percent… out of 100),
but anyone who opens up a copy of Naruto Clash of the Ninja Revolution for
Nintendo Wii has reason to be excited. This fighting game is not only the best
Naruto fighting game ever, but ties last year’s fabulous Dragon Ball Z: Budokai
Tenkaichi 2 for the best fighting game available for the Wii. Not bad for an
orphan with a fox made of fire living inside him, if I do say so myself.
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Naruto Clash of the Ninja Revolution, like nearly every single Naruto title
available in the U.S., follows the titular hero Naruto as he goes from obnoxious
street kid to obnoxious ninja. If you’ve seen the show or played any other
Naruto game, you know the story. If not, what I just told you should be enough;
this is a fighting game, not a novel. Being so, you won’t actually get much
storyline in this game unless you are playing Mission Mode, but we’ll talk about
that in a minute.
When it comes to gameplay and the controls, Naruto Clash of the Ninja
Revolution is second to none. The fighting, though not as deep as, say, Bleach
DS, is simple and fun. Each of the characters has a good set of moves, and
they’re offset with some fun to watch and perform specials. Naruto, for example,
can either clone himself many times over and send enemies careening between
himselves with a whole bunch of attacks or let loose a giant devastating
fireball. As cool as everything looks, Wii-mote and nunchuk movements make your
specials even more powerful, so you’ll be actively engaged rather than just
watching the action.
The variety of control options and how well they all work is really the high
point of the game. If the Wii-mote/nunchuk combo isn’t your thing, you can play
with the Wii-mote held sideways. Or with your Wii Classic Controller. Or with
your original Gamecube controller. The developers really went the extra mile to
make sure that no matter how you like to play your games, you are covered. My
personal favorite scheme is the Wii-mote/nunchuk, but fans of the previous GCN
titles will be most comfortable with what they are used to. No matter how you
play, the controls are tight and responsive. It is often hard to believe that
the crazy ninja action onscreen is controlled so effortlessly. I’ve always
thought that the hallmark of a great fighting game was the ability to both pick
up and play and cater to hardcore fighting game fans. Naruto isn’t Virtua
Fighter, but fighting game fans of all kinds will be pleased as punch.
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