By Jason Van Horn
People are very particular when it comes to their fighting games and the
character of choice they use. Sometimes they stick with a character because it's
the only one they've ever used. Sometimes they look for the god tier characters
because they think it will automatically give them the advantage when it comes
to battling online. Sometimes, however, they pick a character because of their
looks and moves. A big secret regarding Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 has been the
final roster that the game will be shipping with on November 17th. With 40
characters to ultimately choose from and only eight to start with, there's a lot
of wiggle room there for fan favorite characters to shine, slip through the
cracks, or have some newcomers enter into the fray for the first time.
Before we get into anything else, lets dig into the goods before we delve into
the specifics. During a recent press conference call, TOMY revealed a handful of
characters that were speculated to be in the final game, but hadn't officially
been confirmed. We can now tell you that the game will include Chiyo, Anbu
Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, Kagura, Bando, Towa, and Komachi.
Chiyo is an important addition, because to my knowledge, she's never been a
playable fighter in any other Naruto game (at least when it comes to North
American releases). Anbu Kakashi is also a big revelation, as it's a part of his
past rarely referenced, so to see a more obscure side of the character being
brought to the forefront is very interesting. Also surprising is the inclusion
of Sai and Yamato, who are big players starting in the second arc of the Naruto
Shippuden series, but who aren't even around in the Gaara Retrieval Arc (the
story that Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is concerned with). Finally, TOMY is
bringing back some of their own original creations too, which first appeared in
Clash of Ninja Revolution 2. Towa and Komachi are two Anbu ninja, while Bando
and Kagura are two villains. Bando is especially unique, as he's the only
character that uses a gun in the game.
Besides revealing a few of the more hidden characters in the game, TOMY also
talked a great deal about how those character were included in the game and
adjusted for proper play. During the development phase of the game, for
instance, special attention was paid to Chiyo, Gaara, Anbu Kakashi, and Kakashi.
With Kakashi, the character has always been a fan favorite, but he's never been
that great of a fighter in the games or even really had his moves properly
recreate the power and skill he possess in the manga and anime; TOMY made sure
to address this issue and give fans the Kakashi they've always wanted. Anbu
Kakashi, meanwhile, was described as being an Akuma (Street Fighter series) type
of character, who has really high attack values, but equally low defenses. The
team actually spent a lot of time fine-tuning characters and bringing in expert
players to try and break the game and find the weaknesses they needed to fix to
ensure proper gameplay balance.
Clash of Ninja Revolution 3's characters aren't the same carbon copies of last
year's game either, as many of them have had their move list and look changed to
reflect them growing older and wiser. Hinata, for example, has a new
transformation that makes her play more like Neji, and she even has her own 64
Palms and Rotation varieties. Characters have also been given specialized team
attacks for when two like pairings are made. While any two characters can tag
team an opponent, having certain matches will result in more specific attacks.
If Neji and Hinata are on a team together, they'll perform a unique move because
of the Hyuga legacy they share, while Naruto and his master Jiraiya will have
their own unique bond attack as well.
TOMY is very much aware, however, that some diehard fans might not take to some
elements of the game, such as the inclusion of Kagura, Bando, Towa, and Komachi
(they have never been in the manga or anime, so they're considered non-canon by
many fans). The owners of the Naruto franchise, however, personally helped
oversee their very creations, so in fact they are technically canon. The TOMY
team also made sure to stick to the fictional appropriateness of the franchise
when it came to the new latent ninja powers. The team made sure that all the
moves are true to the characters and their abilities – as depicted in the manga
and anime – so there is no improper leveraging or set advantages.
It won't be long now, as you'll be able to get your hands on NARUTO Shippuden:
Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 when it releases November 17th. So get reading the
manga, watching the anime, and start figuring out what character you're going to
master in order to stick it to the masses. Do you have what it takes to be the
champion?
Link:
http://www.tomy-usa.com/products.php?c=17&p=99&bb=all
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