Wii's Best Fighter, Believe It!
If there's any genre that's extremely tough to pull off correctly on Wii, it's fighters. MK: Armageddon didn't feel quite right when using the main brawling controls. Soul Calibur IV isn't coming to Wii due to the lack of high-end graphical horsepower, in addition to what I believe to be Namco's less-than-noticeable desire to try to map the franchise to the remote and nunchuk. Even Bleach: Shattered Blade, reviewed courtesy of COE's Mr. MacKenzie, turned out a waggle fest, lacking serious depth. Well, Wii owners that love fighters can finally be happy, because even if you aren't a fan of anime, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution deserves to be the newest addition to your library.
It's not just the $39.99 price that should appeal to you and your wallet, the first Naruto fighter on Wii proves to be as fun as the GameCube's Clash of Ninja 2, while providing enough new content to satisfy. The mission mode, which are the games' way of letting you experience the actual series' plot, follows Naruto as he's just beginning to train with legendary Sannin Jiraiya (Sannin is the most prestigious title under Hokage, a village's head ninja). It progresses to when Tsnuade, the fifth Hokage of Konoha, and Jiraiya join forces to whup Orochimaru's ass. The cool thing is, while I was initially shocked at having completed the 19 scenarios in the matter of a couple hours, you gain access to two more difficulties (Genin, Chuunin, and Jonin) that ups the difficulty of each, and sometimes slightly alters the completion requirement(s). I especially like that because it offers more variety than previous CoN's that just had more missions and a harsher progression of challenge. Plus you also fight with quite a few characters throughout, which makes things less repetitive.
It's extremely disappointing though that the developers did virtually nothing to differentiate between the GameCube fighters and Revolution in the visual department. That doesn't mean this game doesn't look good, but we're in a new generation and the Wii is more capable graphically. Seeing battle arenas and characters that look ripped directly from Clash of Ninja 2 just doesn't sit well with me. On the flipside, the animations are a little smoother and the special move effects have been upgraded, which definitely helps, just not enough to impress me overall. Still, it's a good looking game in the very least.
What pleases me most about Clash of Ninja Revolution is the accessibility. Similar to the upcoming Smash Bros. Brawl, this game supports five different control schemes. The Classic and GameCube controllers, two setups for the Wii-mote/nunchuk combo, and just the remote by itself are possible. I'm easily the biggest fan of the combo motion configuration, as the gesturing is just plain fun. I recommend staying away from just the remote or the combo button options though, because the battle functions are mapped too awkwardly in what is a very intense, fast-paced fighter. If you play, use one of the other three possibilities, and you should enjoy yourself. If motion isn't your thing and you enjoyed the GameCube CoN games, you'll feel right at home with the GCN or Classic controllers. If you want a little more immersion, take advantage of the remote and nunchuk. Reason being, when you initiate a fighter's special (everyone has at least two), you can add some more damage upon finishing by appropriately gesturing according to the prompts that appear at the bottom of the screen. It's a little tough to follow at first, but once you memorize what you're supposed to do, the motions feel quite rewarding. I simply can't get enough of doing Naruto's Rasengan. The combo setup isn't perfect though. While it's a rare occurrence, waggling the remote to do light attacks does at times stall on you. Meaning, you may be shaking the controller, but your character stops in mid-combo all of a sudden, or doesn't do anything altogether. It can prove disastrous, especially when battling human opponents, if it happens at the absolute worst time, but it's usually not much of a problem.
Speaking of human adversaries, the CoN series has always thrived on promoting multiplayer brawls, and CoN Revolution is no different. It's easily the best in this game for a number of reasons. The first of which is that every player can choose what controller setup makes them the most comfortable. Second, two players can now team up in Survival mode to exact some ninja domination on the poor foes that the game forces in your way. Then of course, you have two player and four player versus. In pure concept, these modes are no different than in the previous games. However, the arenas now have a bit of an influence on battles. Not only are there physical obstacles such as tree stumps and crates that can be used for cover, or be destroyed, but every fighting area is now double-tiered. In other words, if you strike an opponent appropriately, you will send them to a completely different part. When that happens, you can also try to exact a little more hurt in mid-air or teleport behind them for when you eventually arrive at your destination, leaving them open for a nasty combo if you time it well. What this entails is simply more action and less defending, even though there're still plenty of moments where you can block any attacks that come your way, with the exception of specials of course. My only complaint is the lack of online support for the game, but the developers have seemingly promised it for the next time.
If you're not in the mood for pure fighting though, CoNR features the series' first ever set of mini-games. Bear in mind that they serve merely as pleasant distractions and aren't deep whatsoever, but they can put your mind at ease if you're frustrated about something in the game or whatever. Shuriken Training has you use the Wii remote's IR to point at cutouts of Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura, pressing A to toss your spiky metal thingy. Everyone Sakura scores you points (she makes you lose some), and the objective is to aim for a high score. Shadow Clone is similar to The Price Is Right's Shell Game. Yes, weird reference I know, but it's the first thing I could think of, leave me alone. Anyway, Naruto summons a number of clones, and after his movement stops on screen, you have to use the nunchuk's analog to focus on the one you believe is the real yellow-haired troublemaker, and toss a kunai at him. Again, a high score is your objective. Finally, Rasengan Training is self-describing. You gesture with the Wii controllers to form a blue ball of chakra in the real Naruto's right hand, and you then have to pay careful attention to a Konoha leaf prompt above the skill's power meter in order to demolish a set of dummies. Unfortunately I've yet to figure out how to do it, but I'd imagine that's just because I'm stupid, as I'm sure any of you could accomplish it without problem.
When it comes to how Revolution sounds, it's pretty good. While I do miss Clash of Ninja 2's menu music [as CoNR's just doesn't feel the same, and not to mention Sakura voices the selections this time], the rock riffs in the Mission mode selection screen is something I could easily listen to at any time and enjoy it. A few of the battle arenas also output some very appropriate themes, especially the one that takes place on the streets of Konoha (outside the Chuunin exam arena) which also happens to be set in the night. This is where you actually face off with Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke's evil older brother, a couple times, which makes the setting that much more fitting. The rest of the music is pretty forgettable, but at least it's helped a bit by the satisfying battle effects, especially with the special jutsus. The voice acting reflects the English series perfectly, but being so used to the Japanese line at this point, I simply can't stand Jiraiya's voice. Although Gaara's is just awesome, with his raspy, adult-sounding vocals that definitely put his Japanese counterpart's to shame.
If you happen to enjoy the tv series and Clash of Ninja games as much as I do, then I see no reason why you wouldn't have room in your heart for CoN Revolution. I already know it's guaranteed that we see this game featured in anime convention tournaments across the country, which definitely says something about how special it is, along with its predecessors. While it does somewhat suck that unlocking new characters, of which there are 20 total (but why is Kiba missing?!), is a bit of a pain since there's no shop to buy things in this time, it gives you unique incentive to complete everything the game has to offer. Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution isn't without its flaws, but it's easily the best Wii fighter, and with such fulfilling single and multiplayer modes to participate in, why pass it up, especially for $39.99?