Senran Kagura Burst (Nintendo 3DS) Review

It's a pretty decent beat 'em up, too. Granted, it lacks much depth, however, the core mechanics of the game - moving and fighting - are solid, easy to control, responsive, and fun.

Senran Kagura Burst looks quite good, as well. Character models are large and detailed, with quality texturing and not too bad animations. Particle effects are abound in combat and for special attacks. All in all, it's something of a looker of a 3DS game, at least as far as characters are concerned. Backgrounds - the scant number that exist - suffer in comparison, being spartan and boring; not to mention recycled many, many times each.

However, hand-in-hand with nice character models is quality artwork throughout the rest of the game, from the UI to anime-style cut-scenes.

Even the story is of some commendable quality… at least as far as one can commend a game that features gigantic breasts exploding from schoolgirls' uniforms, a character that "sexually harasses" her classmates for fun, and furry fanservice - which is to say it's a fair step up from most video game stories. Notably, characters are introduced in good order; their subplots interweave into a larger plot, and that plot is complicated then resolved with an acceptable cathartic climax, with a minimum of philosophical drivel (though the musing over whether evil is really evil may be the height of puerility) and decent amounts of titillation (teehee).

Yet, for all it does right, SKB disappointingly fails to capitalize on its strengths: its strong artwork, competent writing and solid core gameplay. It does so via major deficiencies in its level design and gameplay.

Of all the elements in SKB, level design is easily the most egregious sin. Rarely does the game feature anything other than extremely tight corridors with very little room to maneuver up or down, strictly forcing the player to the right. Once in a great while, the game sends the player back from where they came, or asks them to press the A button to advance to the next area.

This would almost be all right, given that the core combat mechanics are solid. However, the lack of intelligent enemy placement utterly destroys any chance SKB has of being considered a high quality beat 'em up. Instead, the enemy encounters feel like the game designer grabbed a handful of junk from a box and flung it into a level. There will literally be an overwhelming number of mindless random enemies with no thematic tie to the story in every room, bumbling about waiting to be destroyed.

Of course, that destruction is assured, given how easy the game is. Weak attacks into a popup, or weak then strong attacks into a popup, finished off with a meter-dependent finisher, is how battles pan out. Do it again and again (and again) for 15-20 hours and most of what Senran Kagura Burst has to offer has been seen. It's almost a shame to actually see a large, unique boss fight given how repetitive the rest of the game is, because it gives a glimpse of what Senran Kagura Burst could be, given more attention to its gameplay.