Wii owning Naruto fans rejoice! The latest title for Wii, Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution III is on store shelves and it offers up some solid fighting game action. Dating back to the GameCube, the Clash of Ninja titles on Nintendo’s properties have always looked great on the hardware and as the Naruto story matures and progress so does the gameplay. What can gamers expect from the latest offering, lets take a look …
Gameplay – It’s a fighting game that can be controlled with any Wii control configuration, so no real need for motion controls, unless gamers want to do hand-sign attacks, which require the remote but don’t limit gameplay if other options are picked. The story mode takes gamers into the first story arc of Shippuden with the retrieval of Gaara, vs. mode is just that, 1:1 battles while other modes have gamers trying to survive foe after foe or doing Time Attack. Pretty standard with one exception; the addition of Wi-Fi battles. The Wii does an adequate job Wi-Fi gameplay and while Naruto does have some lag it’s an overall fun experience with up to 4-players.
Graphics – Outside of a first party Nintendo title CoNR3 is really one of the better looking third party titles on the Wii. This could be due to the long running roots of the franchise on Nintendo’s hardware, refining the look and feel. The settings look really good and there is only some, a little bit, of that last gen feel to the graphics but overall it does feel like gamers are playing the anime. The best Naruto on the Wii by far.
Sound – Like the previous entries the background music is pulled from or inspired by the anime and does a nice job of matching the action. The voice work, limited, is spot on as the series voice cast lends their talents as with most Naruto titles on any system.
Design – As with prior Clash titles this offering pulls levels and design right from the anime and manga and adds a little flavor from multi-leveled levels to that familiar character or building in the background. Since it’s a fighting game there is no need for the larger levels and design seen in other Naruto titles. CoNR3 also has all the prerequisite updated looks for characters, over 35, closer to 40 total, but there is not much to do with a title based on such a popular license whose look and feel is set.
Miscellaneous – It’s Naruto … not too much more to add here. This latest title is more of the same from the previous offerings with updated levels, characters and of course new Wi-Fi, but otherwise there is no miscellaneous to mention.
Overall, Clash of Ninja Revolution III is the only Naruto franchise on the Wii but it’s no slacker. The fighting action is solid and the graphics great for the system. Dragon Ball Z left a lasting mark on the last generation of systems for its excellent fighting game mechanics and the Clash series of Naruto games on Wii are quickly doing the same now. For gamers looking for a good fighting game this is a rock solid purchase and/or rental and for Naruto fans, this is all you get on the Wii and thankfully it’s a good gaming adventure … even if you know the story already.
