REVIEW : Neptunia x SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars (PC)
Today, the phrase “fanservice” is frequently used because the practice of cramming video games, films, anime, and anything else with references to other items or media that specifically pleasure fans has spread like wildfire. Its origins, however, may be traced back to the Rising Sun, and a larger connotation that also incorporated sexuality and the aim to please users in another way. This explains the prosperous forms of the protagonists of series like Senran Kagura and Hyperdimension Neptunia, which a hardcore have also carved out in our country: the first thanks to a couple of very well packaged action games for Nintendo 3DS, the second thanks to some JRPG, particularly successful parodic.
Putting busty ninjas and personified consoles together in one action game may seem silly, but Tamsoft and Compile Heart tried nevertheless, and this Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars review will explain why.
If we hadn’t gone too far in the first direction, the concept of winking at the fandom with a hybrid title that was partly visual novel and partly action could have made sense. We have nothing against visual novels, and there is no requirement that these heroines work around the clock, but half an hour of talking before actually starting to play is not exactly sustainable.
The plot was predictable: aside from this unusual franchise reunion, there’s a shuriken-shaped island called Gamninjustri (sic!) The Steeme Legion has besieged them, and the two factions they guard are at war. On the one hand, there are the four heroines of the Neptunia series, and on the other, the most famous kunoichi of the Senran Kagura series: in the face of the threat, they must fight together.
Remember that Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars is a spin-off, and you don’t need to be familiar with the original franchises to enjoy the tale. The characters are all represented as if they were an alternate reality in which they play different roles while maintaining the same personalities, and we can already see several inconsistencies that suggest superficial processing: Neptune, Vert, Blanc, and Noire have been completely redesigned for the occasion, whereas Asuka, Homura, Yumi, and Miyabi are nearly identical to their classic counterparts.
It is the entire game that is skewed in favour of Neptunia, to the point that we understand that if Senran Kagura’s kunoichi had been replaced with four completely new characters, nothing would have altered for the narrative or gameplay.
It’s a shame, probably because the Senran Kagura creators have practically abandoned the series due to increasingly strict regulation. Finally, Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars lacks even an iota of the gentle sexiness that made Senran Kagura fans laugh so hard, and is built solely on the wordy conversations that thankfully shred more than a few laughs, following Tamsoft’s fortunate route of parody with the Neptunia series. Given that the game is finished in less than ten hours and that the majority of the time is spent reading this waifu’s delusions, let’s say that the narrative is arguably the most successful, which is an issue when it comes to action. game.
The combat system was the least convincing to us, especially when we consider one of the series that inspired the game’s name. The issue is that once you get over a large amount of conversation – you could just as easily skip it, but what’s the point? and set foot on the battlefield, one notices the lack of gameplay in comparison to Senran Kagura, which was played almost ten years ago on Nintendo 3DS. By hitting a button, the player can build a team of two heroes and swap them on the fly, even in the middle of a combination. The front keys are related to normal attacks, jump, guard, and shuriken, while the dorsal and D-pad combinations let you evade and consume healing items.
The first letdown is that the combat system is fairly simple and does not provide the same freedom and spectacularity as the classic Senran Kagura, who was not yet Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, but they had their dignity. However, the articulated combos are absent, and the characters are all a little alike, as well as being few: only eight, from the Tamsoft crossover series, plus a pair made for the occasion.
However, no one sticks out in any way, which isn’t necessary because the foes aren’t aggressive: at the basic difficulty level, Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars may be played alone and the challenge is kept to a minimum. even in the later missions, The landscapes are made up of passageways mixed with wide expanses where hordes of opponents or giant bosses enter, telegraphing their attacks with the amount of time it takes to avoid them.
Whether you play through the main campaign or go back to levels to accomplish side missions, the action is exceedingly monotonous and repetitive. A succession of supplementary functions further articulates the battle system, with discordant effects. The learned Ninja Arts are equipped four at a time and are recalled by pressing a button: at that moment, the action slows down only enough to select the Art to use and to break the rhythm of the combat, which was not particularly engaging in and of itself.
Then there’s the Fuurinkazan Drive, which boosts our heroine’s performance while she’s on duty, and the Shinobi Extreme, a magnificent super move that operates as a smart bomb and annihilates all foes within its range. Unfortunately, none of these elements is sufficient to salvage the fighting system from its dullness.
Where is the fanservice?
The contradiction is that Senran Kagura was also played for fanservice and amusing fights in which the female heroes progressively lost their garments, yet there is none here. Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars is an overly chaste game in which it is unclear what type of target you are going for.
Even the mini-games and light RPG elements – specifically, the assignment of Spirit Gems that improve combat performance – improve this aspect of the experience, but it should be noted that if we limit the field to a less savvy audience looking for a simple and colourful pastime, the Tamsoft title is not entirely to be dismissed. The control system is intuitive and responds effectively to inputs, in part because we haven’t encountered any notable slowdowns or uncertainties: on the technological front, a decent job has been done.
