"Another good Naruto game to add to your collection"

Naruto is a manga series created by Masashi Kishimoto. It was about a boy who had a demon fox sealed inside him, and he wanted to become the Hokage (fire shadow) of his village. It became popular, and got its own anime series. Three years later, dubbers FINALLY realized of Naruto's existence, and it was dubbed in English. However, because they were so late, by the time Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3 would be ready for release in English, the GameCube would be dead, so they moved it to the Wii. And that's how Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution was made. But, now, onto the review.

Graphics: 9/10
The menus and cutscenes are all designed with an anime feel in mind. In-battle, the fighters are cel-shaded, to capture the feel of the original anime, and manage to look visually appealing. The stages look pretty good too. No complaints.

Story: 5/10
This depends if you've seen or read the Naruto anime or manga. If you haven't, you probably won't expect what's going to happen next. If you have, then you can easily predict what happens. This game covers from when Naruto meets Jiraiya to the point where Tsunade becomes Hokage. However, since the plot only starts in the middle of the Chunin Exam, it can be very confusing for Naruto newbies, and a few battles (like Shino VS Kankuro) are left out.

Gameplay: 8/10
You can play this game with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Classic Controller or a GameCube controller, if you are used to the GCN Naruto games' control scheme. However, although the weak attacks feel tacked on (swing the remote side to side to punch?), the movements during the special moves manage to feel accurate. Basically, this game is a fighting game in which you control characters from Naruto in an attempt to get your enemy's HP to zero. You can fight in one-on-one battles, or even in four-player free-for-alls. Series veterans will recognize most of the features, but there are a few new ones, like the ability to knock your opponents out of the ring and into a new area. And as for the character roster, 13 out of 20 characters return from Clash of Ninja 2 (like Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Lee, Neji, Ino, Shikamaru, Hinata, Gaara and others), and they are joined by new characters, such as Temari (a Sand Village ninja that controls winds), Shino (a member of Squad 8 who uses parasitic insects in battle), Itachi (Sasuke's brother), Kisame (Itachi's blue-skinned, sharklike partner) and more. However, while the majority of CON2 fighters made it over in the transfer, some of them didn't (namely Kiba, Iruka, Haku and Zabuza), and some new characters from GNT 3 (such as the Third Hokage and Choji) aren't playable either. While this is understandable, seeing as how the game would be in development longer, the Third Hokage has a VERY important battle during the series, and it's during one of the story arcs this game covers. Still, the gameplay is mostly flawless, although the CPU is way too easy (even on level four, the highest it can go).

Sound: 8/10
Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Please tell me there are Japanese voices!" And the answer is no. However, you should be thankful, because the English voice actors do a good job and fit their characters well (especially Kakashi). The music isn't really memorable, though.

Replay Value: 6/10
It won't really take long to unlock all the characters, and unless you have friends, you probably won't have any motivation to play it again.

Overall: 8
Overall, this is a good game that lives up to its predecessor, but most hardcore players will probably leave it untouched. In a nutshell, if you're a fan, get it. If not, don't.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/07, Updated 05/07/08

Game Release: Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution (US, 10/23/07)