Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 4 - Japanese Import - 1 VS 1 Free Battles CPU VS CPU (NGC/Dolphin)
4The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series for the Nintendo GameCube only ever got two releases in the USA, I'm not sure about Europe to be honest - so the first game released in 2002, the second game in 2003 and then there were two additional games released in 2004 and in 2005 - unfortunately the translation of the first two games happened as late as the year 2006 in the States and as such the change from Naruto to "Naruto Shippuuden" (in which the characters are older) had already happened in Japan.
Instead of making an American release of the third and 4th game in the series they instead opted to make a new series called Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution - so the first game in this series were pretty much the 3rd game but with less characters and gameplay enhancements. The second game in this series were an alternate 4th game with fewer characters but more enhanced gameplay. So the Ninja Revolution games were released for Nintendo Wii - a console which arrived in 2006, which can also explain why the two final games in the "Clash of Ninja"-series never got an American port for the GameCube.
So the game itself is a fighting game which utilizes the 4 controllers of the GameCube and later the Wii. It's possible to play 1 VS 1 fights, 3 VS 3 Tag Team Fights in which you select three characters for both sides and then fight 1 vs 1 but in which the other characters can jump in and out of the battle. The game included a 4 Player VS-mode as well in which you can play Free For All, 2 VS 2, 3 VS 1 and 2 VS 1 VS 1 - and this mode is where the game truly shines.
It's possible to unlock a CPU VS CPU-mode but this mode only included 1 VS 1 and 3 VS 3 tag-team - for some reason the 4 Player Mode wasn't included in the CPU VS CPU-mode.
Alright, so in the video I'm watching the AI fight itself in the 1 VS 1 ordinary battle mode. Unfortunately due to the Japanese language I did manage to enable the maximum number of fights per round so it became a bit long.
I'm using the Dolphin Emulator for the GameCube and the Wii which is why the game is in so high quality graphically.
I did import this title back in 2008-2009 from Japan. I haven't played it on the computer ever before. So this is my first time having the CPU VS CPU-mode unlocked and playing using an Emulator with enhanced graphics.
I do think the 4 Player Mode is very fun with others. Compared to the PS2 titles I think this one is more of a traditional fighter in its other modes. The PS2 titles are very unique in how they play. This title feels more like a traditional fighter if playing 1 VS 1. In 4 Player mode it reminds me of Bleach Blade Battlers for the pS2 which is another great such game.
The game was released on November 17th 2005 in Japan, so it's set before Shippuuden.