Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Review (PS4)
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is the series’ first game on PS4 and, though it may be hard to believe, it ramps the fan-service up even further.
I like my Senran Kagura games. The stories are better than you’d initially think, the characters are likeable and the action, although it can become repetitive as the games are quite lengthy, is fun and exciting. I’m not shy of fan-service although there’s a time and a place, but Senran Kagura has always made that time and place to be a constant – maybe it’s a form of OCD where boobs have to be focused on every 30 seconds. It might sound like I’m complaining but I’m not – this is just what Senran Kagura is. Estival Versus will please fans, and I had a lot of fun with it, but some issues were raised where I’d never had them on previous games.
The girls, 20 in total from four different schools, are all teleported to a resort island to take part in a festival where the deceased are briefly brought back and can communicate and interact with their loved ones before they’re able to peacefully continue on to the afterlife. Much of the plot revolves around making peace and finding answers, whilst the other bulk of the plot revolves around the promise of winning a competitive part of the festival and opening the path to becoming a Kagura – a powerful shinobi who’s able to go toe to toe with the fearsome Yoma. Whereas Shinovi Versus focused on each school separately to deliver unique branches which all came together, Estival Versus’ chapters feel like one mission being replayed several times with different schools, meaning even by day 2 (out of 8) I was feeling the repetition quicker than I had in any other Senran Kagura title.
It feels that with the series’ jump to PS4, developer Tamsoft focused less on the story and more on the fan-service which some might enjoy but considering how much fan-service was already included, it’s a shame it feels like other aspects has less effort put into them. It might sound unbelievable, but I don’t play Senran Kagura for the fan-service – it’s there, but it doesn’t act as much of a selling point for me. Gameplay-wise it’s more or less the same as Shinovi Versus with some slight additions and changes, but otherwise you’ll still find yourself using the face buttons to pull off combos and shinobi special attacks if you transform into your shinobi form. You can guard and parry, use bombs with various effects and pull off special aerial attacks with your partner so there are some new elements to mix things up, but it’s still very firmly a Senran Kagura game. Or, well, it would be but I’ve been lead to believe that these girls are incredibly strong but here you’re instead subjected to seeing one girl from one school managing to beat up the entire team from another several times – it’s an awful way to progress the story as none of the girls possess the power to defeat an entire team of girls with skills similar to their own.
Customising your character, one of my favourite things to do in the previous games, has become a complete chore here with so many characters and only being able to slowly change outfits on five girls at a time, then having to change over each character individually to customise someone else. It’s dull and has taken out the fun in changing the outfits, accessories and lingerie to the point that I started to ignore it. Estival Versus does a lot right, but in terms of gameplay I’m disappointed that it’s become more tedious than ever. Battles are fun, but story mode and customisation have taken to increasingly long load times that make you question whether it’s worth it.
Estival Versus is visually the best looking game in the series with dynamic models being used in conversations, better animated cutscenes in both 2D and 3D and, of course, better transformation scenes. One negative is how Estival Versus re-uses some stages from Shinovi Versus but otherwise I like the summer festival theme it has going on. Those looking for more fan-service will be pleased as there’s a bigger emphasis on including easily evident nipple outlines, jiggling and a lot more breast close-ups. This didn’t do much for me as I felt it came at the expense of other things, but if you’re drawn to the series for it’s busty shinobi then Estival Versus is already your favourite Senran Kagura game.
I’m used to there being a lack of English voice-over by this point, although it would still be appreciated due to the amount of text in Estival Versus. Regardless, I don’t see this as an issue as the Japanese voice-acting is fantastic and the OST strongly stands beside it. Senran Kagura has always been solid on the audio front and Estival Versus is no different – if you’re looking for some jammin’ tunes and cheerful, energetic voice-acting than you’ll find that here.
Whilst I spent most of my time on the PS4 version of Estival Versus, I also got my hands on the Vita version. If you’ve played Shinovi Versus then you not what to expect. The experience is similar to the PS4 version so I recommend going for whichever version you fancy although the PS4 version looks and feels like a smoother experience overall. There is cross-save if you decide to buy both, but I don’t feel as if there’s enough content or variety in content to warrant two purchases.
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is a mixed bag because I’ve always claimed that the series is much more than fan-service, but this installment makes that argument a lot harder to hold up. The fan-service is in abundance but the story is a chore with a lack of mission variety and plenty of ‘been there, done that’ content, and the story that is worth experiencing feels pushed to the side. Estival Versus is Senran Kagura looking at its best but repetition, a cumbersome customisation system and an excess of fan-service than had me rolling my eyes makes this one of the weaker installments in the series that feels less of a sequel and more like a spin-off. A series I’ve respected for being what it wants to be feels tarnished with Estival Versus, a mostly shallow game that strips Senran Kagura of what makes it more than just fan-service. As I fan I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s because I’m a fan of the series that it’s lead to me being disappointed.
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