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:
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:
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