Every day is the "End of the Week"

Hey guys, to make up for my life being completely consumed by one class this quarter, I'm here to give you guys my take on the new Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3.

First off, when it comes to traditional-like fighters (AKA not Brawl), the guys at TOMY have complete bragging rights to say that they have made the best fighter on the Wii, and I would argue that they have made on of the best fighting games this generation. Anyways, while the game is definitely made for those who are into Naruto, it's a very tournament level fighting game with easy to learn controls with a semi-deep learning curve, and a ton of characters who are very balanced.

If you played any of the Clash of Ninja games and/or the Japanese only EX series, then you know how this game works, but for those who haven't, matches can be played either in best 2 out of 3 rounds singles or one round two-man squads where you control two characters alternating between the two during the match. It's a basic 3-D fighter like Soul Calibur, and you utilize combos and use special attacks to basically beat your opponents into nothing but a bloody smear on the ground, but with Naruto characters (that's the selling point, and it's a good one at that). It all sounds simple, but there is definitely a lot of skills to be mastered here. New the Clash of Ninja series is the addition of LNP's or Latent Ninja Powers, which activate when a character's HP is low and grants them new lasting abilities. For example, characters like Itachi now use up chakra (special for those less Naruto inclined) to make clones and teleport behind opponent,s but at low HP he starts glowing purple and crow feather surround him, and he can do all that stuff without using up any chakra. It's a very nice addition and LNP's can sometimes turn the match around for a skilled player who just had some bad luck.

The game also supports four different controller types: the wii remote, the wii remote plus nunchuck, the classic controller, and finally the GameCube controller. The Gamecube controllers seems to be the standard one that everyone prefers but compared to the waggling of the Wii Remote and nunchuck it offered more precision for combos. Now however, the developers have added button and swing input into the game, the former being a way to perform basic attacks with the down button the D-pad which offers just as much control over combos as the GCN controller, but now with all the advantages that Wii remote and nunchuck had from the previous editions, such as the ability to make hand signs and throw paper bombs which give a nice advantage to those who have embraced the new controler scheme.

Now, for all Naruto fans, the best thing about these games are the characters. The game offers 40 characters, all updated to the Shinpudden selves along with new moves to go along with it. Some of the stuff is pretty cool, Naruto has a giant rasengan, Kakashi has six specials, Sasuke has a sword, and Kakuro has two puppets (although he isn't as good as you might think). New characters also join the fight such as more Akatsuki members like Sasoir and Deidara, and supporting characters like Granny Chiyo (an old lady with two puppets) also join. And TOMY didn't stop there, they even through in all the Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 exclusive characters in there too, and as a bonus, if you have CoNR2 data you can purchase them from the shop right at the beginning of the game. To top that all off, the game has done a really good job of balancing the characters. While not perfectly tuned, every character has apparent advantages and disadvantages. Longer range characters tend to have lower defenses, people with powerful specials have weaker everything else, and those reliant on special attacks now spend chakra for it. With all that, it really does feel like anyone's game when two evenly matched people engage in battle. Speaking of engaging in battle, the high point of the game is definitely the use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection. With worldwide ranks and ranked battles for both two man squads or single, as well as a robust friend and rival roster, and the vast uniqueness of the characters ensures that Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 will be a game that will be played for a long time.

My final verdict: This is a good game. No doubt Naruto fans who own a Wii will get this game, but those looking for a excellently crafted fighter will find all the parts of one right here. The sinlge player story mode covers the early parts of the anime, and offers very other than unlocking characters to buy once completed (wihch if you skip all the cutscenes, can be done in about two hours). Mission mode has definitley been beefed up, but with wi-fi earning you money just like the single player modes, multiplayer is where this game lives, breathes, and yells "believe it".