Senran Kagura Burst

Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows
Original Japanese cover art
Developer(s)	Tamsoft
Publisher(s)	Marvelous Entertainment
Series	Senran Kagura
Platform(s)	Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	JP: September 22, 2011
Genre(s)	Action, side-scrolling

Senran Kagura Burst
European cover art
Developer(s)	Tamsoft
Publisher(s)	JP: Marvelous AQL NA: XSEED Games PAL: Marvelous AQL Europe
Series	Senran Kagura
Platform(s)	Nintendo 3DS
Release date(s)	JP: August 30, 2012 NA: November 14, 2013 PAL: February 28, 2014
Genre(s)	Action, side-scrolling

Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows (閃乱カグラ -少女達の真影-, Senran Kagura: Shōjo-tachi no Shinei) is a side scrolling game and the first game in the Senran Kagura series that was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on September 22, 2011. It was one of the titles credited with improving the financial prospects of Marvelous Entertainment.^[1]

The sequel, Senran Kagura Burst: Guren no Shoujotachi (閃乱カグラ Burst -紅蓮の少女達-), was released in Japan for Nintendo 3DS on August 30, 2012, and was later released digitally on the Nintendo eShop on January 10, 2013.^[2] The game was released as a digital release in North America, with the name Senran Kagura Burst, on November 14, 2013 and was released physically and digitally in Europe on February 28, 2014, with an eShop-only release in Australia the same day.^[3][4][5] The sequel is essentially a remake/rerelease of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, as it included all the content in the original title.

Gameplay

The beat-'em-up sections of the game feature side scrolling action gameplay. Here, Yagyū faces off against a group of enemy lesser shinobi.

Both Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows and Senran Kagura Burst are side scrolling "beat-'em-up" action games for the 3DS.^[6] The player assumes control of one of five different female ninja characters. The more the game characters are damaged by enemies, the more their clothes are torn off. The information for each character's back story, major plot points, and general information on the universe of Senran Kagura is displayed in what is called the "novel", and is structured similarly to a visual novel. The novel is introduced at major plot points in the game story.

The main gameplay consists of battling through the world of the story. As the game progresses, the player's character levels up and gains new moves and abilities, and in-game content such as art work, achievements, music, costumes (of which there are 180),^[7] and new characters are unlocked. The game is split into 5 chapters, with each chapter containing a number of main missions as well as optional missions. Once a story mission is complete, the mission can be played again with any of the unlocked characters. At the end of a mission the player is graded according to the player character's health, attack, and speed in completing the mission.

The sequel has two different routes to play through, instead of the one of the original.

Plot

Kept secret from the rest of the world, high school girls are secretly trained in the art of ninjitsu. Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows revolves around the trainee shinobi of Hanzō Academy; Asuka, Ikaruga, Katsuragi, Yagyuu and Hibari, as they complete missions and battle against rival ninjas. Crimson Girls on the other hand follows the students of the dark academy, Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy; Homura, Yomi, Hikage, Mirai and Haruka.

The sequel, Senran Kagura Burst, included an additional story, Guren no Shōjo-tachi (紅蓮の少女達), in the original game.^[8]

Development

Producer Kenichiro Takaki's original inspiration for Senran Kagura was from a desire to create something that was very easy to understand but also very deep and detailed for those who appreciate beautiful female characters.^[9] He had the idea for the game in April 2010 when he decided to develop a game for the then newly announced Nintendo 3DS. When thinking about what type of game to make for a 3D handheld, he decided that one of the things people most wanted to see in 3D were breasts.^[10] He began making Senran Kagura's design document, and created a budget, characters, a plot and decided upon gameplay elements, after which he met with character designer Nan Yaegashi and scenario writer Yukinori Kitajima. The games feature character designs by Nan Yaegashi and scenario work from Yukinori Kitajima.

On April 1, 2012, Marvelous Entertainment announced a sequel to the first game, that would replace the female ninjas with male ninjas, titled Kagura: Aoaki no Shonentachi. According to the official blog, planning for the game had started before the first Senran Kagura and was rejected because the producers thought it needed breasts to sell, but the staff had continued to make the game in secret. The blog claimed the game was in development for an undisclosed platform for release in 201X. It was revealed later that the game was an April Fools' Day joke.^[11]

Ken Berry of North American publisher Marvelous USA stated in early May 2013 that they had considered releasing Senran Kagura Burst digitally outside Japan, but that it was a "scary proposition due to the subject matter and difference in attitudes between Japanese culture and the more conservative culture ... in the U.S."^[12][13] On August 6, 2013, XSEED officially announced it would release the game digitally via the Nintendo eShop in Fall 2013.^[14] Zen United published the game in Europe as both a physical and digital release on February 28, 2014.^[15]

Reception

Multiplayer.it appreciated the story and combat, as well as the many quests and secrets that were available to unlock, but took issue with the variable framerate and the repetitive gameplay.^[16] Metro criticised the game as sexist, but admitted the characters were a "likeable bunch". It also described the gameplay as "unbearably bad", but did appreciate the variety that the different player characters provided.^[8] GameZone's Mike Splechta gave the game a 7.5/10, stating that if one liked "[their] anime chicks badass with a healthy dose of jiggle physics, Senran Kagura Burst satisfies on those levels" but warned that there were "painful framerate dips".^[17] Gamestyle characterised both the visuals and dialogue as "creepy", but stated that the game was a "solid, if basic, side scrolling beat em up".^[18] Pocket Gamer described the game as "an unabashed, tongue-in-cheek romp that will have you smiling and button-mashing from start to finish".^[19] Hardcore Gamer appreciated the game's combat, customization options, and "wealth of unlockables and content", but warned those who would not appreciate the sexualisation of the game characters to stay away.^[20]

References

External links

• Official website