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Senran Kagura Shinobi Versus [PSV]

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    Senran Kagura Shinobi Versus [PSV]

    Time for some more busty shinobi action, this time on Sony's latest handheld. From the 3DS to the Vita, Senran Kagura gained full 3D movement and rather than a scrolling beat'em'up, Shinovi Versus is more like Dinasty Warriors, though the number of enemies on screen never quite reaches those numbers, and, in fact, I think there are less enemies present at any given time than on the 3DS.

    The first Senran Kagura and its sequel, Guren no Shoujotachi, were essentially 2D in their nature, with only an handful of stages showing a chance to move in depth to a certain degree; in these stages it was pretty clear that all moves already had a well defined tridimensional area of effect, so moving to a full 3D environment should have been easy...if the camera and the environments were properly arranged, that is.
    Shinovi Versus is one more game that falls in the the 3D camera trap: it's normally positioned behind the character, but it's possible to move it with the right stick, adding a new layer of control that wasn't fully thought out. With enemies and bosses coming from any angle, it's difficult to keep track on who is where, especially when the combo system in Senran Kagura is based on aerial throws and homing follow-ups that drive enemies constantly forward: it wasn't a problem on the 3DS as there were just two barriers at the beginning/end of a section, here movement is free on two axis and homing follow-ups are garaunteed to follow the wrong target and move your character away from the action, potentially leaving her open to other attacks.
    As enemies are driven to walls during combos, it's common that the camera will get struck in some unwanted places, giving a poor survey of the battlefield and forcing to doublejump and dash away before resuming any kind of offensive action. Unfortunately some stages are set in closed environments, like classrooms, where this problems is amplified.
    In a fast-paced game as Senran Kagura, adding camera controls is counter-productive, though enemy attacks only take away incredibly small amounts of health; the game gets frustrating when your character is struck between mobs and bosses, giving little chance to regroup, if not by spamming jump and dash.
    During one on one fights, these problems are almost cancelled, though the third-person point of view makes difficult to understand the reach of your and your enemy's attack, forcing to spam attack buttons and slowly advancing.

    As might have understood, first impressions are not that good, but the core of the game is mostly unvaried. I enjoyed both Senran Kagura games on the 3DS, and Shinovi Versus is once again mindless button-mashing fun to get 300+ hit combos against rather stupid enemies. Shinovi Versus doesn't do much to the game system and tries to adapt it to this new style: normal attacks affect a large area in front of the character, though the homing attack does not really work if aiming for that target, as previously written. The special techniques still work on a single line or area as in the 3DS games, though single line attacks are kinda hard to aim. Again, Marvelous went for a full 3D environment while keeping the movement system relatively untouched, and the two don't really go perfectly together.
    Despite that, the game is not unplayable. After understanding how to deal with bosses, the game becomes pretty fun, though building up endless combos is harder due to the lack of vision of your sorroundings.

    Once again characters have levels, and levels are used to unlock longer, more varied combos. Despite the cast being doubled in size, I'd say that evryone keeps a finite identity in attacks and play style, which was one of the biggest things in both 3DS games: in fact, it's very possible that this aspect has been enhanced by moving to a 3D environment.
    Shinovi Versus also introduces status effects like poison, dizziness or paralysis, which do not add much to the game itself.

    The story is divided in chapters, each composed by various missions, and there are three schools available; Homura's squad (Guren no Shoujotachi) seems to be locked away for now. All characters have a set of five personal missions, but those aren't any different from standard story missions.
    Extra items are unlocked by completing missions and must be then purchased with in-game currency at the in-game shop, which also acts as a gateway for DLCs and PSN Store stuff. There are a lot of extra outfits and gadgets, even more than in Guren no Shoujotachi, and some of them can also be customized in size and where they go (should I put this leather chiker around the neck or around the thigh?).

    The last thing I've noticed is that Marvelous added a fourth layer of clothes destruction: finish a boss with a special move when she's already at the third stage (swimsuit) and you'll get an other animation with masking magical beams of light. While on the subject, the juggle knob was further tweaked from Guren no Shoujotachi, in a bad way...probably it's DoA level, or even worse. While playing on the 3DS, I skipped clothes animations altogether because they interfered too much with the game, and Shinovi Versus is even worse.

    Anyway, if Etrian Odyssey will let me go, I'll play some more.

    And...special edition contents:

    #2
    I'm enjoying it in a "I have no idea what's going on but the combat is fun and the boobies jiggle" kind of way.

    I agree 100% about the camera; even a lock on button would have helped things.

    It looks nice though, very bright & colourful.

    I beat the whole first chapter of the left side school on the selection screen last night.

    Will play some more on the 'plane home in about 2 hours.

    Comment


      #3
      I'm forcing myself away from EOIV and play Shinovi Versus a bit more, but this game is not really "clicking" with me.
      I have already written about the camera, and after some more time with the game, I'm pretty certain it's the source of almost every problem I have with this game. Just like the previous 3DS games, Shinovi Versus is a mindless, fast-paced, button mashing, combo heavy, beat'em'up, but giving the player the ability to control the camera was a wrong choice.

      First, the third person perspective makes difficult to evaluate distance with an enemy, characters without far-reaching weapons are at a disadvantage when facing someone who has one, placing the player on the receiving end of a combo.
      Second, effects of combos: combos are normally started on the ground, and continued airborne by pressing the homing button, then completed with a "smash" attack to places the controlled character back on ground. Normally a combo like this is able to kill a normal enemy, so when complete, the first thing to do is to swing the camera around to find where enemies are...or get attacked from behind. If the camera is positioned between the character and a wall (or any unbreakable object), the resulting point of view is a complete mess, and when smashed to a wall by a boss, any kind of situation awareness is lost, making escapes very difficult.
      Third, the camera does not have constraints or a quick reset button. Anything but the standard behind-the-back point of view is useless, because everything is so darn close that's impossible to see incoming threats. When the camera moves vertically because the right analog stick has been nudged wrong, precious seconds are lost to reposition the camera in a good position, seconds that must be spent running away or getting attacked.

      It would hurt less if time and combo lenght weren't the driving factor behind stage evaluation, that in turn awards coins to buy stuff. I would also say experience points, but more on this later.

      Fourth, the camera doesn't point a character during airborne follow-ups. You would expect the homing dash to aim for the strongest enemy or at least go for whatever in front of the character, but it seems that it goes for the first enemy struck, which can be almost anywhere in a roughly 45 degrees arc in front of the character. This is particularly bad when facing bosses, as it exposes the player to their attacks...that aren't that powerful, but are annoying and bring up even more camera woes.

      If the action was confined to simple scrolling, like in the 3DS games, Shinovi Versus would have been more enjoyable, because the system is the same and stringing up 500+ hits combos is fun, even against mindless enemies. The 3DS games might not have been the hardest game available (in fact, they can be breezed through), but they were fun and the constant unlocking of new combos favoured trying out new things: you know, not out of necessity, but for fun.
      Shinovi Versus still features these things but are kinda lost in all this camera madness.

      I've mentioned experience points: once again new combos and special techniques are unlocked by levelling, and this seems a bit off, probably because there are more things to tackle. In both 3DS games there was the main story only, with madatory and optional chapters to complete. In Shinovi Versus there's the main story, personal character stories and a third option I haven't tried yet ( :P ). The personal stories (five stages) are enough to propel a character above level 20, enough to unlock all available combos and (I think) special techniques, leaving nothing for story mode. The feeling of progression felt in the first two Senran Kagura (very satisfying, I must admit), is one again lost, also because the new girls don't seem to have as many options as the old cast; I still have to play with the girls from the previous games, but it seems that the largest cast (effectively doubled from Guren no Shoujotachi) meant less attention to the single character, as many new characters feel too similar between each other and existing girls.

      One other aspect I can't really seem to like is the over-sexualisation of the already over-sexualised visual aspect of the game. In Shinei no Shoujotachi (first game), destroying clothes was kinda hard and jiggling was under control. Guren no Shoujotachi (second game) destroying clothes was easier and sometimes got in the way of the game, jiggling got a bit out of control. But I liked the character design, it was over the top but not in outer space, it was the story of ninja girls and some had at least ninja weapons. In Shinovi Versus there is a western-like gunslinger (with an hatchet on the stock of her rifle), a dancing angel with double twin guns, a scythe-wielding witch (w, not b), a Bakemonogatari reject and the female version of Rolento.
      Ugh...I can't really get accostumed to most of the new characters. Jiggling is completely out of control and destroying clothes is downright annoying, pausing the action way too often, and when are triggered during spoken lines, such lines are reset every time.

      Outfit and accessories unlocking has been moved from in-game objectives to plain buying in the local shop (of course, managed by an excessively busty lady), but probably this is a good choice as I can't seem to get good scores for whatever reasons.
      I don't know how many outfits or accessories are available, but their number seems even greater than the two 3DS games put together, and it's also possible to chose position and scaling for some of them (though I still need to understand the appeal of having glasses attached to the shoulders).

      And why a cartridge based game has such long loading times?
      It's not a completely bad game, but it feels like a step back from the first game more than anything else.

      Comment


        #4
        Boobies on video.

        Comment


          #5
          Does anyone know if the US physical copy works with UK DLC?

          Comment


            #6
            It shouldn't, DLC is normally region locked. You can download DLCs via the Japanese PSN store and play the Japanese game with Japanese DLCs on a US or EU account, though.

            Comment


              #7
              That's annoying. Cheers!

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