At first glance, the announcement of a new Naruto game for the Wii doesn't come as much of a shock. The Clash of Ninja games released last year were two of the GameCube's biggest hits, so making the move to Wii is a natural fit. What is news worthy, however, is the fact that the tentatively titled Clash of Ninja MVZ is slated to include "original, exclusive content" for North America. Whether that means a handful of new features to one of the existing Naruto games in Japan (there up to 17 or something over there) or a totally new game crafted for the Americas isn't clear. Either way, expect to flip 'n' twist that Wii Remote around like an, uh, nunchuk, as MVZ will include crazy motion controls.

The press release claims you'll be inputting "ninja-like movements" and Wii-enhanced minigames. Oh, look at that, didn't even make it to the end of a Wii story without bringing up minigames. So close, so close.

Naruto: Clash of Ninja MVZ launches this fall with 14 playable characters, some of which have yet to be seen in the Clash series.

March 13, 2007