Reviews

Posted by: jkdmedia

Wii hasn’t been the most eventful console for fighting games. Aside from Smash Bros., none of the big sequels to games from the previous generation (Tekken, Mortal Kombat, SoulCalibur, and Virtua Fighter) have come to Wii in their true forms. Two of them – Tekken and Virtua Fighter – haven’t come to the system at all.

There is one fighting franchise, however, that has been a big supporter of Nintendo’s platforms from day one: Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution. Finally in its third chapter, Clash of Ninja Revolution comes back to Wii with Wi-Fi multiplayer, an expanded list of characters, and an updated story mode. In other words, Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 follows in the footsteps of Tekken 6, SoulCalibur IV and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe by taking the route of minor gameplay changes and/or upgrades.

As such, the attack and combo systems – which are loved by tons of Naruto fans – return to the series with few changes. That may be a good thing, if all you wanted was more of the same. But it is ultimately a mixture of greatness and unavoidable repetition because, after several years of Naruto games of varying complexities, the Clash of Ninja Revolution series still doesn’t have the guts to go beyond its original concept of being a two-button fighter.

First, let’s discuss why it’s great. As with the previous iterations, most of the attacks come off as being really powerful. The pop-up combos are particularly impressive – and these days, are pretty unique considering how other fighting franchises have started to shy away from them. Unrealistic or not, pop-ups are fun.

Best of all, these combos don’t just look cool or deal a fair amount of damage, they actually feel just right. This goes back to Mike Jones’ belief that it’s the less perceptible gameplay elements that may be the most significant – things that can only be included in a game after years of programming and testing and knowing exactly what gamers want.

The tag battle features are really well done, giving players the chance to tag their fighters in and out without any hiccups. You can’t tag in as quickly as in Marvel vs. Capcom, but you definitely have a greater degree of control – and faster speeds – than Tekken Tag Tournament.

Unfortunately, the game does stumble in the area of combo variety. With only two buttons dedicated to attacks, you will encounter a nearly endless list of combos that incorporate the same (or very similar) two-button sequences. No matter what, you always know that the next button in the combo is going to be a strong attack or a weak attack. This makes it easy to button-mash, and certainly opens the door for newcomers to jump in and play.

 
Nothing beats a pop-up.

But the same could be said for the previous iterations, which most Naruto fans have likely experienced. If the developers really wanted this to be a fighting game that was open to everyone, they should have made a better tutorial mode and offered better attack explanations in the manual, which were confusing at best. In the case of the tutorial, you have to slug through a bunch of boring Simon Says motions just to read a description about how you can perform the game’s most crucial moves. This development choice feels like one that was made for veterans of the series, who don’t even need a tutorial. But if the game was for those fans, the developers should have ignored what other fighting game developers are doing (rehash, rehash, rehash) and realized that it’s time to evolve the Naruto fighting engine. New Jutsu moves – no matter how cool – are not enough.

Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 offers the same controller options as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which means you don’t need four Wii remotes and four Nunchuks to get the most out of the offline (same screen) multiplayer mode. Since many Wii owners have four remotes, that won’t be something most of them think about. But they’ll love the variety just the same. When playing with the remote/Nunchuk combo, the game plays more like a Wii action/adventure where you shake to execute a weak attack. Since weak attacks play into the combo system much more heavily than the strong attack button (A), you’re going to be shaking the remote repeatedly through each match.

When playing with the Classic Controller, a GameCube controller, or just the Wii remote by itself, both attacks are assigned to individual buttons. I could see where a young kid may enjoy shaking all day, but for a game like this, the buttons are definitely the better way to go.

Whichever controller you use, Clash of Ninja Revolution 3’s controls are tight and responsive. The game moves fast, both in combo attacks and in the way the characters move around the environments, and contains a great Dead or Alive-inspired level dynamic that allows you to knock your opponents off a cliff and continue fighting in the area below.

Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 may not a fighting game revolution, but it is a fun game. It won’t attract many newcomers and it doesn’t have what it takes to win over the Tekken or SoulCalibur-obsessed crowd. The core Naruto fans, however, will be wholly amused. They may complain that Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 wasn’t a big evolution, just as I have. But they’ll make those complaints with a controller in hand while staring at the screen and finding it difficult to turn away.

Gameplay: 7.2
A fun but fairly shallow fighting game that sticks to an old formula that this series – and many other fighting games – have been using for several years.

Graphics: 7.5
The cel-shaded effects look good, but it's clear that the Wii's old graphics processor has prevented the series from advancing its visuals.

Sound: 7.0
Catchy but hugely repetitive.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Though the single-player AI may be cheap, this isn't at all a difficult fighting game. Anyone can pick up a controller and start winning battles.

Concept: 6.0
There may be some new additions, but Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is very much the Clash of Ninja Revolution game you're used to playing.

Multiplayer: 8.2
You can't play this game alone. The story mode is weak and its battles are kind of boring. But throw in another player (or three of them), and you've got one of the most exciting multiplayer experiences the Wii has seen. Expanded tag battles and Wi-Fi gaming make it even better.

Overall: 7.8
Like any good fighting game, Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 thrives on multiplayer action. It stumbles in a few areas, and is certainly one of the more repetitive fighters released this year. But it's also a really good game that, when played with others, can be very addictive.