Senran Kagura Estival Versus is the first time that the series has bounced onto a home console, and in many ways, it's dressed itself up for the big occasion. Estival Versus exudes a level of polish – particularly in terms of presentation – that previous PlayStation title Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus simply didn't possess. Sure, much of it looks the same, and the art direction is identical, but there's a neat and tidy quality to this latest entry that makes the game a colourful and flamboyant visual feast – even when you're sitting on the main menu.
Of course, you may not agree if you're not a fan of the franchise's incredibly liberal use of the female form. Those who enjoy the property will know exactly what they're in for; this is a title that makes Dead or Alive 5's jiggling obsessions seem tame by comparison, and it goes without saying that the sexualised content that's on display here is going make some people uncomfortable. We're going to assume that you know what's in store when it comes to this particular property, and if not, all that you need to do is glaze over some screenshots or watch one of the game's many trailers – you'll soon see exactly what we mean.
With that inevitable blabbing out of the way, let's get down to business. Estival Versus is a solid action title with an abundance of content – but the series still hasn't quite reached its potential as a hack and slash joyride. Much like the aforementioned Shinovi Versus, the release is accessible and sports some entertaining gameplay, but mechanically, it lacks a certain rush that's present elsewhere in the genre.
And that's mostly down to the core combat. Alternating between boss fights against other characters and Warriors-style brawls with numerous generic opponents, battles are at the centre of the experience. There's some light exploration here and there, but it generally boils down to running through corridors to get to more open areas where combat ensues. As hinted, taking on your aggressors is enjoyable for the most part – combos are flashy and there are some great looking special moves – but there's a slight slowness to proceedings that stops things from ever really taking off.
You'll unleash a torrent of attacks, chase your foes into the air, and then pummel them some more before smashing them back down to Earth. It's fun the first few times, but these basic aerial combos make up most of the action, and by the time that you've unleashed the same flurry for the 50th time, it just gets a bit stale. It also doesn't help that many moves just don't carry much weight; it may sound like a joke, but a lot of the action feels a bit too soft at times.
Fortunately, combat does get better as you level up your favourite characters and their movesets are expanded. While the game never offers up the sort of depth that hardcore action fans will demand, there's still a slight learning curve here that rewards you with some crazy looking combos once you've got the hang of it.
Again, though, it's just a shame that the action doesn't unfold at a faster pace. Even the standard evasive dash doesn't feel, well, very evasive, and general movement can often seem rather janky and stiff. Sadly, the camera only amplifies this issue, as it has a bad habit of swinging away from you character's back when you're knee-deep in enemies.
With a fighting system that's fun at times and disappointingly flat at others, you'd think that Estival Versus has botched its chance at earning a recommendation as an action game – but that's not strictly the case. While combat does have its problems, it's in no way bad enough to detract from what the release gets right elsewhere. This is particularly true of the playable character roster, which provides plenty of crazy personalties and fun fighting styles to choose from – just doting over your favourite shinobi, levelling them up, and learning their combos can be an entertaining way to spend time with the release.
What's more, the title's got a solid structure to it, as you whack your way through the story mode and unlock side stories and bonus missions as you progress. Whether you're following the plot or replaying stages to get a better ranking, missions generally only take around ten minutes to complete, so there's a nice pick-up-and-play mentality at work here, and obviously, the accessible gameplay only adds to this. Speaking of the story, it'll take you a good ten or so hours to see it through in its entirety, and that's without delving into the optional character-specific tales. In short, there's a generous amount of content to explore – especially if you're out to see every secret and unlock every custcene, music track, and additional costume.
The narrative itself unsurprisingly isn't anything special, however. It's a classic case of all of the property's characters being tossed into an unfamiliar world, and their only means of escape is through battering one another. Simple stuff, but fans will no doubt enjoy seeing the interactions between Asuka and the gang – of which there are many. Almost every shinobi gets time in the spotlight here, and there are some genuinely well written comedic moments scattered about, believe it or not.
Even though Estival Versus' single player offering can keep you twiddling your analogue stick for quite some time, perhaps the game's biggest surprise is its suite of online multiplayer modes. This competitive component is shockingly robust, featuring various takes on multiplayer staples such as Capture the Flag – in this case Capture the Bra – and Team Deathmatches.
Clearly, a lot of effort has gone into pushing Senran Kagura as a multiplayer platform, but we did have trouble finding suitable opponents; some modes support up to ten different players, and we often struggled to find full rooms. And then, even when we did, it's no surprise that matches just devolved into total chaos, particularly when generic computer controlled enemies are also thrown into the mix. Still, if you're up for a bit of online mischief, you could do a lot worse; Estival Versus certainly isn't the most balanced or refined competitive experience, but like the rest of the game, there's fun to be had if you're in the mood for it.
Conclusion
Senran Kagura Estival Versus doesn't stand out as an action game, but there's more than enough enjoyable content here to keep fans happy. An imaginative character roster and expansive storylines ensure you get enough, er, boing for your buck, and the title's presentation is top notch. As always, if you can look past the game's controversial exterior, you'll find the beating heart of a reasonably solid hack and slasher.
Comments 25
This is the only thing that would sell me on VR.
@sub12 What about Dead or Alive Xtreme 3?
@ShogunRok
Sounds better than that Atari 2600 game, Battlezone.
I am racing through Shinovi atm, trying to finish it before this arrives, and I underestimated how long it is! I'm at 30 odd hours and I've only just started the last "school" storyline. Really impressed though, I wanted to check it out with all the controversy etc and I'm totally addicted to the gameplay loop.
"...expansive storylines ensure you get enough, er, boing for your buck"
Haha, nicely put.
Presentation-wise looks kinda bare to me.
That framerate is milky smooth. I think my fiance would love this
@ShogunRok Great review. Have you tried the Vita version?
@belmont I haven't sadly. I did enjoy Shinovi Versus on Vita, though, and assuming this one doesn't have any performance issues, I imagine it'll be a decent fit with the short mission times and general replayability that comes with levelling up your characters and stuff.
@Comrade44 They do, but most of the time, you'll have to tear their clothes off in battle. Sounds weird but that's how it works!
I enjoyed the orginal 3DS game but I think I'm sticking to Dead or Alive for my digital booby bouncing needs
I'm getting it. Don't judge me...
@ShogunRok Thanks. They are both uploaded on EU. 45 euros for PS4, 35 for Vita. Thinking of grabbing the Vita version, the launch price is somewhat reasonable. There are some cross-buy free dlc also.
@ShogunRok How does Estival compared to Shinovi? other than visual upgrade, any improvement on combat and mechanics? or that part is roughly identical?
I have no problem with the sexuality, but why does a PS4 game look like Hyrule Warriors Legends on the 3DS? This would look bad even by Vita tandards, but at least it would be smaller.
I only made it through the tutorial/intro stuff last night before falling asleep, but I really liked how it was all starting up and I really like the graphical upgrade for this one along with the silky smooth frame rate. I'm really looking forward to getting into this one over the next few weeks.
P.S. The Enless Summer Edition is really nice and I was really happy with all the goodies it came with.
@sub12 you should educate yourself on battlezone and the innovations it brought to arcade gaming. Calling it a 2600 game is not funny even if you are being facetious.
Got the vita and the PS4 version, wish I could get the rest of the card sets without having to buy 5 copies of the game...
Very fair review. The character movement is indeed a bit stiff, unfortunately, which wasn't really an issue in Shinovi Versus, but the game looks great and runs very well on PS4. Also love the enormous character roster.
@hi_drnick
I'm making fun of the PSVR take on it, you know, the next Super Mario 64 according to a couple of folks.
@rjejr Blame the crappy screenshots - the game looks pretty great in reality. Sadly, we couldn't use many others because we'd probably get in trouble. No, seriously.
@whywai88 Not a massive difference in gameplay, really, except like the review says, it does feel like your movement is more limited. As a result, you're more reliant on stuff like aerial raves and jumping attacks rather than mashing everything to dust. I assume some of these changes were made to make it more suitable for online play.
Overall, though, I think this is a better game than Shinovi Versus, if only because I quite like the story mode and how it's presented.
@ShogunRok "No, seriously."
Yeah, and we wouldn't want Sammy's organic cannon creaming all over his computer. I don't know what's wrong w/ that boy sometimes. smh
Hmm, I played the 1st game on 3DS. Not a bad game, i could get into this maybe there's a demo? I'll take a look.
"boing for your buck"
I just felt the urge to repeat that
Played about an hour or so. This game is utterly mind-numbing. Loving the lobotomy so it was money well spent.
This looks like crap.
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