Gamertell

Title: Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution 2
Price: $29.99
System(s): Wii
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Tomy (Eighting)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for Cartoon Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
Pros: Simple control scheme, lots of characters, interesting story mode and lots of arcade mode options.
Cons: Lots of unlocking and some challenges may be too difficult for younger players. No Wi-Fi multiplayer.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up, 90, A-, * * * * out of 5

When an anime is successful, video game publishers waste no time in localizing Japanese games for a worldwide market. Since Naruto is unquestionably one of the most successful series at the moment, this means plenty of Naruto video games.

Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution 2 is one of the latest Wii Naruto games, and one of the best. While it is a straightforward fighting game, it also offers an interesting story mode, a large cast of fighters and interesting “missions” for players to accomplish.

A strange jutsu is turning ninja against ninja.

Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution 2‘s story mode begins with two Anbu members investigating some suspicious looking rogue ninjas. After a battle, the rogues disappear, and the two Anbu come across a village where it appears everyone killed one another for no apparent reason.

It then shifts to Naruto, Kakashi and Gaara. Unknown ninja have found their way into the Hidden Leaf Village, and they’re casting a powerful jutsu on residents. Those affected come under a sort of spell that makes them attack friends. It’s up to the three of them to try and find the rogues while freeing brainwashed friends along the way. Players, as their favorite Naruto characters, have to help the ninjas find out who’s behind this horrible jutsu.

Ninjas have a very active lifestyle.

The control system is very easy to learn and master, and reminds me a bit of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There’s a normal attack and a strong attack, and those can be combined to lead into additional moves. Special jutsu attacks are typically unleashed by pressing one button. Plus, it’s easy to counter or evade moves. I found the remote and nunchuk control scheme most comfortable, but the Gamecube and classic controllers also worked quite well.

Another plus is the large character roster of over 30 ninja. There are multiple ways to unlock characters in Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution 2, but they can be tedious. Usually it’s an either/or situation. Either win this mission, or play some-hundred battles. I can see frustrated players turning to the internet (like I did) for a completed save file rather than jumping through all the unlocking hoops.

The game also offers quite a bit of variety. There are single or tag matches in the arcade mode portion, as well as four player multiplayer. In arcade mode you can face off against the computer, engage in endless fights or try to accomplish missions. It keeps things from getting boring.

The story mode also stands out from standard fighting games. Two new Anbu characters (think of them as masked spies) are introduced, and the player gets to control many Naruto characters in a quest to protect the Hidden Leaf Village. What stands out here is the point of each match isn’t always to just beat your opponent. Sometimes you have to unleash a certain jutsu or protect another fighter.

A fun, and fairly affordable, Wii fighter.

While Super Smash Bros. Brawl has ingrained itself in the minds of Wii owners as the fighting game, people who’ve beaten that game, enjoy the Naruto animated series or are simply looking for a cheaper fighting game should keep Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution 2 in mind. It’s a solid game with lots of single and multiplayer options. In fact, if it did have Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection multiplayer, it would probably be the best Naruto game released so far.

Site [Naruto: Clash of the Ninja Revolution 2]