Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (Wii)

One small leap for ninja-kind.
11/25/2008 12:00 AM | 1 Comments | Page 1 of 2

When it comes to anime-based videogame franchises, the two heaviest hitters on the market today have to be Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. But while Goku and his friends seem to be in a slump as of late, the Nine-Tailed Fox is still pushing forward, stronger than ever. Case in point: Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, the sequel to last year's popular Wii fighting game. Packed with new features, new fighters and a host of gameplay tweaks over the original game, is this sequel enough to entice Wii owners to go another round with Naruto and the rest of the Hidden Leaf Village? To quote Naruto himself, "Believe it!"

One main reason that Naruto has grabbed hold of so many fans is that the series places an ensemble of interesting and unique characters in genuinely entertaining situations, while packing the story with so much action it nearly bursts at the seams. Clash of Ninja Revolution brought that formula to the Wii, but there was still plenty of room for improvement. For the sequel, developer Eighting has listened to fans' criticisms and polished things up considerably.

A common thread between all the Naruto games, regardless of the developer, publisher or system, is that they don't seem to have been designed for the average gamer. Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 is not different. If you're looking for a deep fighter, you'll probably find the game on the shallow side. But odds are, if you're playing Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, you're more interested in seeing Naruto and his crew dish out fast-paced ninja action than in memorizing hundreds of button sequences for combo chains. And this game is big in fan service.

Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 adds seven new characters to the roster of available fighters, bringing the total number of playable characters to 35. It also features a storyline unique to the game, as opposed to trying to shoehorn in an existing Naruto story arc. As a result, the game has more freedom to put together a plot for its Story mode that won't necessarily be picked apart by hardcore Naruto purists.

Revolution 2 also ups the ante in visuals with brand-new, more detailed character models and the addition of 16:9 widescreen support. While no one will mistake the Wii's 480p resolution cap for true high-definition graphics, the new models and the widescreen option together make Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 much better-looking than the last game, and also one of the better-looking Wii games on the whole.

Of course, having the best-looking game in existence doesn't mean squat if it's no fun to actually play, but Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 is just that. Gameplay is quick and easy, geared more towards button-mashing than strategy. The controls haven't changed too much from the last Revolution game, and you can still pick and choose between using the Classic controller, a GameCube controller or the default Nunchuk/Wii remote option. Revolution 2 mixes up the gameplay by adding new hand signal motion controls to recharge a character's life or chakra during battle. It's a step up from previous games, if not a revolutionary leap for the franchise.