Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson Review (3DS)
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson wastes no time on delivering on that which it promises – you get jiggling boobies and the promise of action in the opening seconds!
The Senran Kagura series has been running strong and, for better or worse, may be best known for its breasts like Dead or Alive is. And just like Dead or Alive, Senran Kagura has much more than meets the eye in this addicting hack and slash series. Like the girls’ bras, Senran Kagura 2 is packed with content and although I had my reservations at first and I’m still unsure exactly where it fits in the timeline (I think after Burst and before Shinovi Versus, although it could also be a different timeline completely), I ended up enjoying myself a lot and finding myself returning for more.
The story takes place immediately after Burst and revolves around Hanzo Academy’s and the Hebijo Clandestine Girls’ Academy’s rivalry, although they’ve become friends now. New villain Dogen is trying to kill them so that he can use their blood to resurrect demon Orochi, and so of course both schools are out to prevent this from happening. With plenty of cutscenes and dialogue to wade through as you play and although some of these feel a little too long, they do a good job of shaping the plot and characters and, well, the other plot as many conversations revolve around breasts. The story doesn’t really push the series forward much like Shinovi Versus did and feels very similar to Burst, but if you’re a fan of the series then you’ll likely enjoy what’s present, especially the new characters.
Being a hack and slash, there’ll be plenty of Y and X mashing in your future! It’s simple and not quite as fleshed out as some other notable hack and slash titles but it’s easily accessible and a joy to play with it looking fantastic in motion. Instead of being on a full 2.5D plane like Burst, Deep Crimson makes use of 3D and 2.5D and it works really well, although the lock-on camera seems to suffer from this and is iffy and can feel rather pointless at times even in one-on-one battles but the follow button, which allows you to fly towards your target, is more than useful and allows you to string together combos and inflict more damage. You have up to three special skills per character too which can be accessed via Shinobi Transformation, a form which changes your outfit and makes you stronger in several ways – plus it comes with a nice cutscene.
New to Senran Kagura 2 is the tag team mode allowing you to take two people on a mission. You can mix and match and each pairing has a unique special attack which they can perform together and you can change who you control on the fly, again making it easier to string combos. As you can tell, it’s a fairly easy game with the only trouble being numbers and that you’re much more easily fazed than any enemy shinobi is which can feel unfair at times but overall, you’ll likely storm through Senran Kagura 2 with little difficulty. I really like the tag team mode inclusion and hope it appears in later games, and I like how it was implemented into the story as a way to become stronger and this clearly reflects in-game.
You can’t talk about Senran Kagura without talking about its visuals. Yes, it’s jiggly and it’s impossible to miss the boobs especially as they fly about in cutscenes as if they’re trying to break free of the little restraints they must have – I found it to be pretty hilarious! I personally don’t mind the fanservice and the game proves itself to be much more than that, but most people will either be repulsed or excited by the visuals and they’ll easily be a major point in whether or not you give the series a go. The visuals look very nice on 3DS and are a huge step up on Burst and I adore the shadowing – it looks amazing and might visually be one of the most gorgeous games I’ve played on 3DS, and the updated 2D portraits are appreciated too. Special attacks are much more explosive and colourful too and it seems that developer Tamsoft are really finding their stride with the series despite it being across several consoles.
Again, there’s no English Dub – even with the anime being dubbed – but it doesn’t take anything away from the game, although it would be appreciated as there’s a surprising amount of text in the game and I know that many would prefer to audibly understand what’s being said. The Japanese voices fit perfectly and and the OST is, once again, fantastic with a variety of sounds which provide rocking and upbeat battle themes, relaxing and emotional piano-lead tracks and some goofier tracks for the inevitably goofy moments – you’ve guessed it, usually revolving around breasts!
Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson is a game that gets better as it goes along as it essentially feels like Burst at first story-wise but I found myself falling in love with it all over again. The visuals are outstanding and the gameplay is addicting and the customisation is robust, allowing me to make full use of the visuals by dressing each character up as I want in a variety of outfits. There’s plenty to do and plenty to see and whilst I wouldn’t recommend this as a starting point to the series, I can easily recommend it to those who’ve enjoyed other entries. It’s Senran Kagura alright, boobs and all.
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