Review: Senran Kagura Estival Versus

Ah… Hm.

Well, let’s start the review.

With the newest title in the series, Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash, coming out this month in North America, I decided to stop procrastinating and upload my review on Estival Versus.

*As a side note, this game is what made me turn off the “recent activities” feature on my PS4.

Developed by Tamsoft, Senran Kagura series began in 2011 as a side-scrolling action game for Nintendo 3DS. Since then, the series has evolved and branched out to other genres including 3D action, rhythm game, and even 3^rd person shooter with the release of newest title, Peach Beach Splash.

The story focuses on the lives of young female ninjas, and the series is most famous for its unabashed, in-the-face fan service. But that is not to say that the sex appeal is the only redeeming (?) quality the series possesses. The developers have put in a lot of effort in creating an attractive world rich with extensive character backgrounds and humor unique to Senran Kagura franchise. Kenichiro Takaki, the producer of Senran Kagura, stated in his E3 2015 interview he wanted to surprise the players who originally came in for a simple sexualized action game with stories that players can be invested in emotionally. Now, what started as a small project targeting a niche audience in Japanese game industry has grown popular enough to boast a devout, worldwide fan base.

Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is the seventh title in the Senran Kagura series and is a direct sequel to Senran Kagura: Shinobi Versus. The game was released in Japan on March 26, 2015 and North American on March 15, 2016. Game is a 3D action brawler, and the game’s main story is divided into multiple missions. Each mission is generally composed of the following: 1) advance the main story in a visual novel style, 2) combat, 3) advance the main story again.

Including DLC characters, Estival Versus provides 35 playable characters (all females). Each character has her own unique move sets and backstories. Visually, every character is meticulously designed and pleasing to look at.

The combat is fun and extremely well designed. The controls are simple and intuitive, and it is incredibly satisfying to wipe out waves after waves of enemies with 1000+ hit combos. Each girl has a “Ninja Art Gauge” on the bottom left of the screen, and using the gauge allows the girls to perform “Shinobi Transformation.” Once transformed into shinobi form, girls can perform powerful special attacks called “Secret Ninja Arts.” Each girl possesses three unique “Secret Ninja Arts,” and these special attacks are not only powerful, but visually stunning.

Yes, that's realistic. 

When the girls take damage, not only is the health reduced, but the durability of the costumes they are wearing is reduced as well. The costumes can be destroyed bit by bit until the girls are left only with their undergarments in the end. This “clothing destruction” could be considered as the hallmark of Senran Kagura series and is often the source of controversy whenever the topic of censorship in video games pops up. Personally, I think this is a wonderful feature that should be incorporated into all combat ga… I mean… it is an interesting feature.

To sidetrack for a moment, this reminds me quite a bit of the game called Fighting Vipers; it was a fighting game developed by Sega AM2 in 1995 and featured character armors that can be broken off by opponents. I have a fond (?) memory of focusing more on breaking off the armors of female characters than trying to win the game. *Cough* Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that Kenichiro received some inspiration from Fighting Vipers series when he came up with the costume durability concept.

I have been speaking highly of Estival Versus so far, but there are negatives as well. For one, there is a very low replay value. Once you have experienced the entire main story of the game, there is not much left to do. While the narrative aspect of the game is certainly not bad (there were some parts that even tugged on my manly heartstrings), it falls short when compared to other role-playing games such as Final Fantasy or Persona series. In the end, while you may pick up the game and play specific missions again for fun, you will not find yourself wishing to go through the entire main story again.

Separate from the main story, Estival Versus also has side stories tailored to each character. The side stories detract from the emotional topics of main story and focus more on comedy. When I first saw this, I was quite excited, but unfortunately, the narrative components of these side stories ended up being very minimal and I was left disappointed. Completing side stories felt like going through a series of pointless fights only to hear couple amusing dialogues and unlock some gallery pictures. It feels like a missed opportunity where unseen side of each character not available in the main story could have been presented.

Estival Versus provides multiplayer features, but to be honest, I had more fun with single player missions than online brawl against human players. The fights in multiplayer end up feeling drawn out as human players dodge or break away from combos easily and tend to run away when their health runs low.

Game has its share of faults, but I can definitely say that Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is fun to play. By the way, Yozakura is my new waifu.

Yozakura best gal.

Score: 7/10 (Good)

Playtime: 20 to 30 hours

Rating: M for partial nudity, sexual themes, strong language, violence

Pros: 

Character design

Combat (Secret Ninja Arts are flashy and fun)

Cons: 

Low replay value

Side stories could have been more substantial

Top 10: Most Annoying Enemies in Video Games

Over time, video games have showcased many different types of enemies.  Some of them have had a lot of thought put into their design. They provide a fun challenge, and you feel satisfied after defeating them.  These are not those enemies.

**Examples for #01 contain spoilers for Star Ocean 2, Hexyz Force, and Skies of Arcadia.


10. Treasure Toters
It may seem weird to complain about an enemy that drops rare items.  Unfortunately, these guys tend to be small, quick, and infuriatingly difficult to catch.  You'll wonder if it's worth the trouble and stress as you desperately run around trying to smack one of these guys in vain.

Gnome (Golden Axe Series)
Look at that smug expression.. makes you wish you could chuck that axe straight into his miniature back.
Other Examples: Treasure Hand (Persona Series), Treasure Goblin (Diablo III)

09. Enemies with Only One Weak Spot
I see where they were going with this one.  They wanted to make an enemy that actually requires a little strategy and patience to defeat.  The only problem is that once you learn how to kill an enemy with only one weak spot, killing them again and again throughout the game just becomes a tedious chore.

Skulltula (Legend of Zelda Series)
Just turn around so I can stab your soft underbelly!!
Other Examples: Met (Megaman Series), Sand Golem (Final Fantasy IX)

08. Poisonous Enemies
You are trudging through a dark dungeon.  After several hours of exploring, you run into a (insert annoying poisonous enemy here).  It poisons you.  You don't have any antidotes left?  Abort mission.  Your entire expedition is ruined.  You're just slowly going to die before you even see the boss.  No wonder that item shop in town is still in business even though you're literally the only guy that ever buys anything.  All that antidote money.

Tarantula (Final Fantasy I)
That poison was SO strong that the dude's name changed to Poison.
Other Examples: Too common to list.

07. Archers
ARCHERS.  Do I even need to explain?  These despicable enemies will shoot you from far, far away as you try to hack through the onslaught of melee enemies that charge at you.  Some of them go as far as to barrage you from guard towers and other annoyingly hard to reach places.  It's like they are looking down at you and laughing as each of their arrows pierces through your character.

Archers (Dynasty Warriors Series)
Stop it.  STOP.  STOP SHOOTING ME!  I can kill 50 men with one swing of this spear!!
Other Examples: This one is too common, so i won't bother.

  
06. Enemies that Summon More Enemies
There are few things worse than random encounters with enemies that you don't want to deal with.  It adds insult to injury when those annoying enemies summon even more enemies.  The vicious cycle will never end until you slay the root of the evil.  You know an enemy is annoying when it immediately becomes your number one priority to remove it from existence.

Positive King (Persona 4 / P4 Golden)
Yes, Teddy.  We WERE nearly done.
Other Examples: Necromancer (Dust: An Elysian Tail), Tomb Guardian (Diablo III)

05. Explosive Enemies 
Enemies that explode upon death are like people who flip the table right before losing a board game.  Much like the corner of a table, explosions generally deal massive amounts of damage all at once.  If you do survive the initial damage, they also tend to blast you backwards into the nearest bottomless pit or bed of spikes.  If you're really lucky, the developers will make the experience even more realistic by making you catch on fire too.

Explosive Zombie (Dust: An Elysian Tail)
One of these zombies is not like the others...
Other Examples: Bomb (Final Fantasy Series), Electrode (Pokémon Series).

04. Mimics
Imagine I invited you to dinner at my place.  You can smell the aroma of your favorite food wafting out from the kitchen. I approach the table with an elegant silver platter.  I place it in front of you and lift the cover to reveal a delicious plate of nothing.  And then I slap you.  That's how a mimic makes you feel.  At least the treasure toters actually give you stuff.  Mimics just eat you.  They also tend to be extremely powerful for some reason.

Trick (The 7th Saga)
That moment when you desperately search through your entire inventory to see if you can somehow survive.
Other Examples: Mimic (Final Fantasy Series), Mimic (Dragon Quest Series), Mimic (Breath of Fire Series).  You get the point.

03. Small Flying Enemies
You've visualized it in your mind several times now.  You know what you have to do to make it to the next platform.  You inch over to the edge.  You prepare yourself.  You jump.  That's when you see it from the corner of your eye. KAKAW!! KAKAW!!  It swoops in without warning and smacks you into the abyss.  Small flying enemies...  not only are they impossible to hit as they swoop, weave, and bob through the air, but they also only strike when you are most vulnerable.  How despicable.

Eagle (Ninja Gaiden Series)
Every time a ninja jumps, an eagle is born out of thin air.
Other Examples: Medusa Heads (Castlevania Series),

02. Enemies that Take You Back
When is the last time you reached the boss of a dungeon and decided to reset the game because you just had so much fun getting there?  If the answer is never, you probably hate enemies that make you backtrack to the beginning of a stage just as much as I do.  Right when you think you've reached the end, these enemies transport you back to whence you came.  I don't know about you, but I don't have time for any of those shenanigans.  Get these enemies out of my games!

Black Wyrm (Riviera: The Promised Land)
I wanted bosses that would blow me away, but not like this.
Other Examples: Wallmaster (The Legend of Zelda Series),  Bird (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein)

01. Unbeatable Enemies
Why do they even exist?  If you never intended to let me beat the guy, why not just show me getting my butt kicked in a cut scene?  Did you have to make me waste my time trying to win an impossible fight?  Now that I know I shouldn't have used up all of my items, I'm going to have to reset the game and do it all over again.  What a pain.  What an annoying enemy!

Dias Flac (Star Ocean Second Evolution)
I wanted to win so badly... I got destroyed by my rival in front of the girl I like.
Other Examples: Bahn (Hexyz Force), Ramirez (Skies of Arcadia)

Review: Astebreed (PC)

For our next game review, we present Astebreed, for giant robots and loli AI equals justice. Astebreed is a bullet hell shoot ‘em up (SHMUP) from Japanese indie developer Edelweiss. PC (steam) version was released in May 30, 2014.

First note to cover: this game looks absolutely stunning. As a proper SHMUP, Astebreed does not fail in delivering intense, non-stop combat, and players will stop blinking and breathing as the screen fills with beautifully rendered bullets, missiles, lasers and explosions. All the eye candy the game provides certainly helps in giving itself a high replay value.

Beautiful, flaming explosions....in a vacuum of space.

Astebreed’s combat mechanism is very intelligent and complex. Players have three types of basic attacks at their disposal: spread shot (ranged), focus shot (ranged), and sword (melee). Two aforementioned ranged attacks also have an additional homing mode (activated by holding the attack button for some time and releasing) that locks onto enemy units and increases the damage dealt. When the gold meter under the player’s mech is filled, additional attack option called EX attack becomes available that can dish out huge damage to enemy units. Like the ranged attacks, EX attack can also lock onto enemy units, dealing more focused, devastating blows.

While blindly mashing attack buttons may work, using the right attack at the right moments will allow you to take out the enemies quickly and keep your health bar up higher. Mastering the large arsenal game provides is challenging at first, but you will be feeling like a true badass when you are clearing the screen from hordes of enemies in a blink of an eye with cleverly picked and placed attacks.

Two mechs fighting makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

For a SHMUP, Astebreed is pretty lenient on the players, providing frequent checkpoints and unlimited continues. This saves some tears of blood and frustration dance whenever your mech succumbs to the non-stop rain of enemy bullets. Game has three difficulty modes (easy, normal, hard) and I found these modes to be accurately assessed (I have played SHMUPs where playing in easy mode made me drop the controller and sit in the corner of my room for hours).

The game does have a storyline. Humanity is at a losing war against the technologically advanced alien race known as Filune. Players take on the role of Roy Beckett, a young pilot who operates a mech called XBreed equipped ex-human AI named Fio. The story develops in a predictable, anime cliché way (which is not necessarily bad), and in the end, Roy Beckett saves the humanity from Filune while scoring some loli AI love.

CUTENESS = JUSTICE

If there is one small complaint that I could raise, it’s that much of the story driving dialogues happen in midst of intense battles. While voice acting in the game is excellent, it’s in Japanese and I certainly don’t have time to look at the bottom corner of my screen to read the English subtitle when enemies are constantly trying to feed my face with countless number of death beams. I ended up missing most of the plot during my first playthrough and was only able to piece the story together during my second playthrough.

Overall, Astebreed is one of the best SHMUP I’ve come across. The game is visually pleasing, intense, and adequately challenging. Add this game on your list of “must play.”

Cool mechs don't look at explosions.

Overview:

Score: 9 out of 10 – Very Good

PC Steam release 05/30/2014

Game length: Short (1~2 hours), with high replay value
ESRB Rating: N/A

Pros:

+Stunning visuals

+Voice acting

+Complex and rewarding combat

+Adequately challenging

Cons:

-Hard to keep up with the plot during intense gameplay

How much I would be willing to pay for this game: $10 ~ $15

Review: Mimana Iyar Chronicles (PSP)

Mimana Iyar Chronicles is a JRPG for the Playstation Portable that was developed by Kogado Studio and Premium agency. The North American version was released by Aksys Games on March 30, 2010.

The story of Mimana Iyar Chronicles is a generic one. The main character, Crais Sewell, is hired by a girl named Sophie Rothorn to help collect seven magical gems. These gems are necessary to gain entrance to the Temple of Water where great power resides. The two of them are soon joined by a very curious sorceress, a glaive toting warrior, and a talented magic shop owner. Of course, there is also the evil wizard and his emotionless homunculus that intermittently pops up to ruin your day.

The battle system in Mimana Iyar Chronicles is very similar to the one used by the Tales of series. You control the main character and hack and slash your enemies while casting the occasional heal spell. The three other party members that join you in battle are controlled by AI. You can manage their actions by setting how often they should attack, use offensive magic, or use healing spells. Overall, the battle system works, but ends up being very bland and repetitive. None of the spells are very exciting, and the main character only gets about 2 skills you actually want to use (neither of which are fun or cool to look at).

Unlike recent Tales of titles, the game employs random encounters with no monsters shown on the map. The encounter rate is quite reasonable, but you end up fighting a countless number of enemies anyway. This is because every single dungeon that you go to is like a maze. There are multiple paths and dead ends in each dungeon, and you often find yourself getting lost if you just run around and explore. By the time you get to the end of a dungeon, you'll have fought the same boring enemies a million times. This makes it very likely for you to be over-leveled when you fight the boss. The bosses tend to be plain and unimaginative to begin with and being overpowered doesn't make the battle any more exciting.

I told you the enemies are boring...

Yes, this game recolors monster sprites and isn't afraid to admit it.

The battle system, bosses, and dungeons leave much to be desired, but Mimana Iyar Chronicles does have some redeeming qualities. The voice acting for every character is quite well done and even minor characters are voiced during important story sequences. For some of the most important scenes, the game will show an animated cutscene. These scenes add to the overall gaming experience and allow the player to see the anime-version of each of the main characters. On that note, it is a bit strange that the characters in the anime scenes do not look exactly like their in-game character portraits.

Please, dark knight! Make this game more interesting.

These two are the same guy?

So, the voice acting is quite good and the anime scenes make the game more interesting. Unfortunately, the dialogue itself is quite boring.  Like with many other JRPGs, you'll find yourself skipping through most of the dialogue. Luckily, pressing "square" at any point in the game will bring up a small dialogue between the characters that reminds you what you're doing and where you should be going next.

Even the writers admit it. They're lazy.

Mimana Iyar Chronicles does have one more redeeming quality that I should mention - sidequests. Now, if sidequests are a redeeming quality, you know the game isn't too good. Regardless, the sidequests in Mimana Iyar do add depth to the game because they help determine which ending you get. The game's ending will slightly change depending on which girl's sidequests you fully complete and who you decide to visit during your nights at the inn (no, nothing interesting happens). The dating simulation element of Mimana Iyar Chronicle is quite underwhelming. Once in a while, the game prompts you to choose who you want to talk to or hang out with. A lot of times, these encounters with your female companions end with you hurting their feelings because Crais is a jerk. Oh, did I not mention that Crais is a total jerk? He is. Throughout the entire game. No, it doesn't really get better towards the end.

Anything good that Mimana Iyar Chronicles has to offer has to do with its visual appeal and character voices. The cover of the game promises a JRPG with cute anime chicks. It does not promise a good story, fun gameplay, or interesting dialogue. Mimana Iyar don't tell no lies.

Overview:

Score: 4 out of 10 - Bad

Console: PSP  Released: 03/30/2010

Game Length: Less than 20 Hours.

Rating: T for alcohol references, language, mild blood, mild fantasy violence, and sexual themes.

Pros:

+Pretty character design.

+Good voice acting.

+Multiple possible endings.

Cons:

-Very generic story.

-Monotonous battles with boring enemies.

-Plain dungeons that are hard to navigate.

-Bland dialogue throughout.

-Main character is a jerk.

How much I would be willing to pay for this game: $10