I've been staring at this computer for several minutes trying to articulate how I feel about Senran Kagura Burst. I downloaded it as soon it was up on the 3DS E-Shop last Thursday, but didn't play it much until after I finished Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies. I know it's bound to raise some eyebrows because of the huge amounts of fan service, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying something like, say, Dead or Alive 5. However, where Dead or Alive 5 is fluid and fun to play, I'm finding Senran Kagura's combat to be just....okay. What hurts it the most is the frame rate, which is a bit uneven, especially when multiple enemies are on screen in longer environments. It plays a bit like a Final Fight, although there's a larger emphasis on air combos. The girls I've used have been pretty similar, and the main differences seem to be in their over-the-top attacks and animations via their shinobi forms. I'm only about five hours in, and while I know I can unlock couple more special attacks per girl, I'm not sure if there's much more to the combat.

That being said, I was surprised by how much effort was put into this game's narrative. The story (at least, at this point) revolves around five main girls from the Hanzou school, and five from the ruthless Hebijo school fighting over a ninja scroll. In certain missions, you are presented a first-person narration of different characters, outlining their motivations, backgrounds, or relationships with other characters, not unlike what you'd see in a visual novel. These segments do give more context to the universe, and are actually one of the more interesting parts of the game. I know it sounds like I'm telling someone that I'm reading Playboy for the articles or going to Hooters for the food, but I want to know where it goes from here.

Oh, I might as well point out that there's 'dress room' where you can put on different clothes, bikinis, and accessories on each of the girls. Like Dead or Alive, you unlock more of these as you make progress, and...yes...if you shake the 3DS or move the camera around you'll see breast physics.

It's currently available on the E-Shop for $29.99, and while I don't know how long the game is, I haven't seen the Hebijo's perspective, or used any of those characters.

lol, boobs!

Sounds like its one of the breast games available on 3DS!

The Dress up part is what would get me hooked. As much as people roll their eyes when I say this the dressing up part is what I enjoyed the most in Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. Putting together cute outfits and then taking pictures. At least for a fanservicy fighting game the actual game play part sounds better than Girl Fight.

@apathylad

Someone had to do it ;-)

But in all seriousness, interesting post. This is not the type of game that would get any coverage so its cool to see some one in the community tackle it! I enjoyed reading it.

I'm glad people are willing to give this game the... *ahem* hard coverage it so desperately deserves.

Also tits. So many tits.

That is the dumbest box art.

'There's no ifs ands or butts about it, Your enjoyment is sure to go tits up.'

Breast physics? On my 3DS?

*ahem*

I've heard a bit about this game in the past, but nothing about it makes me wanna play it. I can enjoy a good beat em up every once in a while, but if they're sacrificing gameplay for mammaries, they're not doing me any favors.

P.S. It's totally okay to visit Hooters for the food. The burgers and fries are pretty good.

Nice write-up. I so can't wait to get my hands on this game. Been a faithful follower since I first heard about it. I know it's a silly game but I can't stop from being charmed.

I've heard a surprising amount of people say they like it better than Code of Princess which is sad considering its legacy but hey, I imported Shinovi Versus and it was alright. And more risqué.

Europe's getting a physical release which I'm happy about but it's by the infamous Persona 4 Arena delay crew.

@bonbolapti: This is exactly twice as dumb.

I know what you mean. The best part of Xtreme 2 was dressing them up, choosing outfit, accesories, nail polish and such. That would sound completely gay if I also didn't like the part where you get to stare at boobs haha

I just bought the game because they had 50% off on the 2DS this weekend at a store in Sweden and I need some game to play. I was going to get the Senran Kagura games on Vita but since I now got a 2DS I bought Burst since it is already out.