Senran Kagura: Estival Versus - Review

 

I recently finished playing Tamsoft's ( published by Marvelous Entertainment) Senran Kagura Bon Appetit on the PS Vita which I found to be a lot of silly fun and parts even reminded me a bit of some side quests in the Yakuza series. Naturally, I was curious about the rest of the series and have been on a PS Vita kick so decided to try Senran Kagura: Estival Versus.

I like KitKats, they are simple and satisfying. They always remind me of being sick when I was young, seemed to have them along with some Lucozade. Over course my grandmother likes to remind me that when I was still in a pram I used to ask for 'Pussy Chocolate' (yeah, I know). The other day I tried a new type of KitKat, salted caramel with popcorn. KitKat good, salted caramel alright, popcorn why not. I thought I would like it, I wanted to like it, but I just could not get into it, maybe there were too many flavors, perhaps I don't have a refined enough palette. All I know is that I was not pushed on it and wished I had got a regular KitKat. Playing Senran Kagura: Estival Versus I found my asking was this as tasty as a regular KitKat or had I accidentally ate a salted caramel one with popcorn?

Story

For an anime and video games series which is relatively speaking light hearted the story in Estival Versus is quite dark. Shinobi girls of Hebijo Clandestine Girls Academy are mourning a loss of an older sister.  This is tough enough but then a portal opens that transport them along with there allies and enemies to a an after life of sorts that allows them to see the dead as they remember them. The story is filled with a lot of emotion, drama and coming to terms with loss. 

There is of course the naughty humor that is to be expected from the Senran Kagura series but as whole there is very much a downbeat feeling. Overall the story is deep and though out but for me lacked the lightheartedness of Bon Appetit.

 

Visuals

The PS Vita version of the game visually speaking is not a million miles away from the PlayStation 4. The beach levels are bright and vibrant and feel good, some of my favorite missions were set in the winter resort areas, it felt like Christmas and there were snowman littered around the level. The characters look pretty solid and the only time things go a little sideways is when the characters are moving a lot as they can look a little low quality.

Overall the visuals are pretty good for a PS Vita game, the anime sequences look great as do the visual novel segments. The only draw back visually speaking are the some of the fighting sequences.

Music

The soundtrack is pretty upbeat feature guitars riffs-a-plenty fused together with oriental instruments. Some of the music brought to mind music from Metal Slug and many anime series. The three Japanese composers responsible for the soundtrack have work on a number of video game and anime series. The composers are; Tatsushi Hayashi (Queen's Blade, Stein's Gate, Revival Prophecy), Akihi Motoyama (Oneechanbara, Hyperdimenion Neptunia U, Gun Gun Pixies), and Mutsumi Ishimura (Quora Q-3,  Hyperdimenion Neptunia U, Gun Gun Pixies).

The soundtrack provides around an hour of music, the stand out tracks for me were; 'It's Summer!', 'Great To See You Here!', 'Get Heated Up!', 'Come On', 'Chatting With The Usual Friends', 'Peacefulness Right By Your Side' and 'Shopping Spree'. Overall that soundtrack isn't bad but did not get me that excited. 

Gameplay

The game is a brawler, lots of enemies and a few bosses is the set up for most missions. The fighting is fairly in depth, having a lot moves to learn and unlock. The initial levels you will get away with just bashing buttons but as you progress this tactic will fail. Each character has a Shinobi transformation which shows the character naked (apart from one or two sensitive spots) and a ninja scroll will appear from between their breast, butt or, well, another place. These transformation are quite powerful and let you carry out special moves which in some cases can half a bosses health. 

Each character has their own look and style along with their own weapon. All character can be upgraded simply by playing with them. The game is clearly designed to be played multiple times as I finished each character at around levels fifteen to twenty. The more you level up a character the better they get. 

Out outside of the main story mode there are also side missions for each of the characters. These can be unlocked by moving through the main story along with destroying shrines.

Shopping! There is a lot to buy and unlock in the shop, from outfits and accessories, to music and gallery art. There is also a shrine you can exchange tokens to unlock more items.

Overall the gameplay is pretty solid with no real complaints, it features RPG style elements pushing to level up, earn more rewards and try to unlock everything.

Final Thoughts

So, after nearly thirty hours of playing how did I feel? Undecided. The story itself has a lot to it but was almost too serious in some ways and in some ways wish they had focused more on the comedy. The visuals are pretty solid and only really fail when it comes to fast moving combat. The music is okay but is nothing stand out. The gameplay is pretty solid and has a lot of depth to it. I think when it comes down to it the game just didn't do it for me personally but as a whole is hard to criticize, this one gets a 3 out of 5

Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit Full Course - Review

 

As of late I just can't get enough of my PS vita, this mostly due to there not being a lot of new release titles that have piqued my interest on PlayStation 4, and XBOX One (apart from Resident Evil The Village and the new Nier game). The Senran Kagura ecchi video game series is one that has peaked my interest a few times. Outside of it's obvious draw it is also boosts great video game mechanics and was curious to see if that was true.

I have just finished consuming a Rib Burger from our local Mace. They are pretty tasty, a large percentage of the rib patties are made of actual meat, the sauce they use is sweet and tasty and the buns are pretty good too. While they are not the best burgers in the world they are pretty good and are great for a snack. Playing Senran Kagura Bon Appetit Full Course I found myself asking were the ingredients good enough to conjure a tasty snack or would I left with regret and an empty stomach?

Story 

The game was developed by Meterorise and published by Marvelous Entertainment. The story is about Hanzo, a food obsessed man who has set up a competition so contestants will create a Super Dish he can try. Sadly, this does not really encourage anyone to enter, so time to up the ante. What better way to do that than by giving a special prize in the form of a Secret Ninja Art Scroll that can grant any wish?

Enter twenty-two shinobi girls, all wanting to try their skills out to try and win the ultimate prize. My favorite characters are; Yomi, who has love affair with beansprouts, Asuka, who needs big, thick sushi rolls, Haruka, whose wish is to have a harem of busty women, and Mirari, who desperately wants to be taken seriously and not seen as a child. 

Overall the story is fun, silly and never takes itself seriously, and sexual innuendo a plenty.

Visuals

The anime visuals and are amazing, colorful, fun and very naughty. The in games visuals vary, the kitchens you are in look great, piles of tasty looking ingredients behind the contestants. The characters themselves are lower in quality but not exactly the end of the world. Some outfits look a little better rendered than others, that being said you always know what you are looking at.

Overall the visuals are pretty quality especially when you take into account that it is on a hand held console.

Music 

The soundtrack has that fun up beat anime sounds which is so infectious it is hard not to sing and dance along with the songs. The music is created by Japanese composers; Akihi Motoyama and Mutsumi Ishimura who have worked on the Senran Series along with Hyperdimension Neptunia U.

There are over thirty tracks compacted into almost ninety minutes, my favorite tracks are; 'Secret Ninja Art Of Love', 'Special Gift For A Special Lesson', 'It's Your Big Sis, Yagu!',  'I Devote Myself To Beansprouts',  'I'll Sucker Down My Octopus Balls Right Here' and '3 Minutes Of Hustle And Bustle Cooking'. Overall the soundtrack (like the rest of the game) is a lot of fun and provides some great listening.

Gameplay

Senran Kagura is a rhythm game, five rounds for each character you choose and three courses in each. There are two bars - one that measures quality and the other than impacts how big each dish will turn out. Each round you win removes a little more clothing from your opponent until they are naked (with cream or white light covering the naughty bits).

There are three difficulty modes; Easy, Normal and Hard and trust me when I say there is a marked increase in difficulty between them.

There are three game modes; Story, Arcade and Freemode. Outside of this there is library where you can unlock content as you progress through the game, and the Dressing Room where you can try on all the new outfits unlocked (there are lots).

Overall it is hard to criticize the gameplay, the mechanics are solid and fun, and there is lots of replay value.

Final Thoughts

So, after twelve hours how did I feel? Really happy! The stories were fun and silly, the visuals were looked really good, the music so was so catchy and fun, and the gameplay was really good. Overall this one gets a 4 out of 5