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The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series (known in Japan as Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen) is a series of 3-D cel-shaded fighting games based on the popular manga and anime series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. They are developed by Eighting and published by D3 Publisher and Tomy. Various installments of the series have appeared on both Nintendo's GameCube and Wii. Four games are available for the GameCube and two are available for the Wii. The first two installments are available in the United States and in PAL regions, with a third released on October 23, 2007 as a North American exclusive. All other installments have been released in Japan.

Each installment of the series has had numerous methods of play with varying types of stipulations known as "modes." New games have introduced additional modes that generally appear in subsequent games. The player directly controls a character taken from the Naruto series, and uses their unique abilities to battle and defeat an opponent. New games in the series include more of the Naruto plotline in a "story mode," and it generally stays true to the source material. As a result, the character selection increases with each installment due to the inclusion of more of the Naruto plotline. With the newer games incorporating Naruto: Shippūden, the second part of the Naruto series, many of the characters have been substantially redesigned, and the selection correspondingly limited. Reactions to each installment have been mixed, with many praising the simple and easy-to-learn fighting system, with others lambasting the fighting system, and the lack of significant unlockable content.

Gameplay
In each game of the series, the player controls one of many characters directly based upon their counterparts in the Naruto anime and manga. As in practically all fighting games, the player then pits their character against another character controlled by the game's AI or by another player, depending on the mode that the player is in. The objective of each game is to reduce the opponent's health to zero using basic attacks and special techniques unique to each character that are derived from techniques they use in the source material. For instance, Naruto Uzumaki is able to use his signature Shadow Clone Technique, and Rock Lee utilizes many of his Strong Fist style techniques. To use these techniques, characters have available a chakra bar, which depletes upon the execution of a special technique. Each game in the series also possesses numerous modes that offer different styles of play. The game's story mode generally follows the plot from the anime and manga, with a versus mode pitting two players against each other also included. Each game in the series adds new modes, as well as incorporating new features into the game.

Naruto: Clash of Ninja
Naruto: Clash of Ninja (known in Japan as Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen) is the first installment of the Clash of Ninja series and the first Naruto game released in Japan and North America. It was released in Japan on April 11, 2003. On October 27, 2005, both this game and its sequel, Clash of Ninja 2, were confirmed for a 2006 release in North America. It was released in North America on March 7, 2006. The game has a total of ten characters that come from the Land of Waves arc and the start of the Chunin Exam arc of the series. Masato Toyoshima, one of the executives of Eighting, stated that the game was designed to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. The only significant difference made by Eighting in the development between the English variant and its Japanese counterpart were the voice-overs, which were done by the English voice actors in the Naruto anime. Toyoshima claimed that the development team was especially "proud that [they] were able to accomplish" creating the cel-shaded graphics that closely matched the scenes in the Naruto anime and manga.

Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 (known as Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 2 in Japan and Naruto: Clash of Ninja European Version in Europe) is the second installment of the series. It was released in Japan on December 4, 2003. It was announced alongside its prequel, Clash of Ninja, for a 2006 release in North America. It was released in North America on September 26, 2006. The game follows the plot of the series, in story mode, starting from Naruto's graduation from the Ninja Academy to the end of the Chunin exams. The game retains the characters from the first installment, and added characters from the Chunin Exam arc. This installment allows 4 players to fight in multiplayer at the same time. Unlockable features in this game are acquired by accomplishing certain tasks to add them to the game's shop, and then using money won in fights to buy access to the features.

Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3
Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3 is the third installment of the Clash of Ninja series. The game was announced on August 3, 2004, and released in Japan on November 20, 2004. The game covers the events of the anime from the Invasion of Konoha arc to the Search for Tsunade arc. This installment introduces the ability to change forms during combat. In addition, players can now use a team of three characters against an opponent. This game keeps the shop feature from Clash of Ninja 2, although the sequel Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4 loses this feature.

Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4
Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4 is the fourth installment of the Clash of Ninja series. It was released in Japan on November 21, 2005. It covers the events from the Return of Itachi arc to the Sasuke Retrieval arc. The game adds a tag-team mode, referred to as 3-man cell, which allows groups of characters to fight each other in turn, with certain combinations of team members enabling special attacks. The game also introduces the ability for multiple characters to fight one another at once, ranging from a 2-on-2 match to a 4-way brawl. Most noticeably, the game does away with the shop feature, and unlockables are now acquired by simply meeting certain criteria in the game's new Mission mode. Mission mode forces the player to fight increasingly stronger opponents under specific circumstances and with different methods of winning in order to complete each mission.

Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX
Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX is the fifth installment of the Clash of Ninja series. This game is the first Gekitou Ninja Taisen game to be released for the Wii in Japan, and was released in Japan on February 22, 2007. The game uses the Wii Remote by waving the controller in different directions, but the GameCube controller and the Wii Classic controller can be used with the game as well. The game takes place during the Naruto: Shippūden series, specifically the Rescue Gaara arc. The game replaces the cast of characters in the previous games with a new set based specifically on the Shippūden series. The game was originally set to be released in North America as Naruto: Clash of Ninja MVZ, but this was abandoned in favor of Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.

Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution, which had a working title of Naruto: Clash of Ninja MVZ, is an installment of the Clash of Ninja series was released on October 23, 2007. It is the first Clash of Ninja game to be released on the Wii in English, and is set to be a North American exclusive. The game features 23 playable characters. Also in an interview, a representative has also stated that some characters not featured in Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 will be featured in the game. Clash of Ninja Revolution covers the events of the Chunin Exams arc to the end of the Search for Tsunade arc. Clash of Ninja Revolution will use the same gameplay engine as Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX. The game utilizes the Nunchuk accessory for the Wii Remote, for basic attacks and for special attacks that require specific movements from both items. The classic controller and GameCube controller are also compatible with the game.

Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2
Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2 is the sixth installment of the Clash of Ninja series. The game's full retail release date has yet to be revealed. This will be the first Naruto Shippūden game to feature time-skip Sasuke Uchiha as a playable character.

Playable characters
The characters in the Clash of Ninja series are directly based upon characters taken from the Naruto manga and anime. Each game introduces a new set of characters, with their appearance and abilities derived directly from the source material. As Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX and its sequel, Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2 take place during Naruto: Shippūden, which is two and a half years after the initial storyline, the characters' appearance is significantly different. As such, many characters in the GameCube games differ drastically from their Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX and Naruto Shippūden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX 2 counterparts.


 * Asuma Sarutobi||||||||||||||

Notes:


 * 1.   This marks an in-game transformation of said character.

Reception
Clash of Ninja has received mixed reactions from critics, receiving criticism and praise from reviewers. Metacritic, a website that compiles scores from numerous video game publications, gave Clash of Ninja a "universal score" of 72/100. IGN gave the game a positive review and a score of 7.8/10, lauding the game's battle system as "very balanced, amazingly quick, and still a lot of fun." In addition, IGN commented on Clash of Ninja ' s "impressive visuals" and "strong audio," but noted that the battle designs were "a bit basic." GameSpot provided a more negative review, deriding the game's different modes as "seriously boring and predictable," as well as criticizing the lack of significant differences in the playing style of the game's characters. GameSpot characterized the voice acting as having "some of the worst stereotypes of anime voice acting," and noted the lack of unlockable items and other incentives to continue play. G4's X-Play gave Clash of Ninja two out of five stars, lambasting the fighting engine as "ridiculously basic," and "shallow." It also criticized the lack of a story or use of cutscenes or extras. GameSpy also commented on this, noting that "considering the charm of the source material, [the game] is really a disappointment." Despite the average reviews, the game sold well, becoming part of Nintendo's set of Player's Choice games, which lowers the retail price to $19.99 if the game has sold at least 250,000 copies.

Critical reaction for Clash of Ninja 2 has been similar to its predecessor, with mixed opinions from critics. Metacritic compiled a "universal score" of 74/100 from 22 reviews for Clash of Ninja 2. X-Play criticized the game for its limited two-player game and similar fighting styles of the characters. They did, however, praise the game's four-player mode and animation, commenting that it "[nailed] the look of the cartoon characters," and referred specifically to the characters' special techniques animation as "remarkably impressive." IGN agreed with this assessement, noting the game's "sharper look" and "overall depth." GameSpot, echoing its sentiments with Clash of Ninja, called the fighting system "simple," to the point that it made the game's expanded roster "irrelevant," and the game "not very satisfying to play." Although GameSpot remarked favorably on the game's "high-energy Japanese-themed background music," it criticized the "obnoxiously repetitive" voice acting, and its constant presence in the game. It went on to remark that Clash of Ninja 2 "ultimately [did] little to improve upon the original," and felt more reminiscent of an "upgraded game than a true sequel." IGN heavily disagreed, claiming that although the game was similar to the original, it had a "ton of added depth" in the fighting system and character options. IGN lauded the game's characters' "depth and complexity" as "awesome," and "a blast to play." GameSpy focused on the game's four player multiplayer, comparing it to the best-selling Super Smash Bros. Melee and that it was a "recipe for plenty of fun." Like its predecessor, Clash of Ninja 2 achieved the 250,000 unit sales benchmark, earning it a spot in Nintendo's Player's Choice games.

Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3, 4, and EX have not received reviews from major English video game publications due to not being released outside of Japan.

As with previous incarnations of the series, Clash of Ninja Revolution received a high score from IGN, who noted the game as "fun whether you're a fan of the anime or not", and went on to name it the best Wii fighting game to date, giving it an 8.4 as the final score.