Wow, November has been a very short month. I can't say I've been particularly productive this month, but it seems like I'm getting a bit better about exercising again. Now I just need to fix my sleep schedule (again...).
Anyways, I've been playing Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus the past month as I suspected I would. I finished the game in its entirety (with the exception of one last alternate final battle) earlier this week and really thought through on how I felt about the game compared to Burst, of which I had just finished earlier this year. It's only been a little over a year since Senran Kagura Burst first reached North America (launched Nov. 14th) and I already feel like I've been a fan for the longest time. In the span of three years (within Japan), Senran Kagura has already exploded into popularity with 5 games (with one more coming out next year), several manga adaptations, and an animé (albeit, it was dumb). I enjoyed SK Burst immensely; however, I was sorely disappointed with the animé adaptation. So when I got SK Shinovi Versus, I was concerned about the quality of the game and was thinking maybe the first game was a fluke. Thankfully, SKSV is a great continuation of the series despite some weaker points.
Story
I was very worried about the story when I found out that 10 new characters were added with the addition of two new groups being added to the fray. When you put too many characters into a story, it's difficult to give them all a chance to shine and connect with the player. It also makes for some really messy story telling when trying to get all the characters to interact with each other. I had a lot of problems with the stories and character interactions, but it seemed to have panned out pretty well overall when you look at the end result. I also like all the comedic side-stories they had for each character. There will be a lot of complaining from me, but know that I still liked the story overall.
[Hanzō Academy]
The overall campaign for Hanzo Academy was a bit weak this time around and didn't have as big of a impact as Skirting Shadows (Hanzō side of Burst) did. The characters individual stories all expand off of the ones told in Burst and gives the player a better understanding of the characters. Their campaign compliments the stories of the other 3 groups rather than being an important one individually.
[Gessen Girls' Academy]
This campaign was probably my favorite out of the four as it had the best story to tell. All the characters in this group lost their parents against the Evil Shinobi and were all adopted, raised and trained by a renegade Good Shinobi named Kurokage. Kurokage also lost his parents to Evil Shinobi when he was younger and believed that the world wouldn't find peace or happiness as long as "evil" existed. He was good friends with Hanzō (Asuka's Grandfather) during his days as a Good Shinobi, but he had conflicting beliefs on what their job as Good Shinobi should be. Hanzō believed that "evil" is found in all humans and that there must be balance between good and evil for there to be harmony in the world. Kurokage believed that ALL evil must be vanquished, and thus he became a renegade to kill as many Evil Shinobi as possible while being hunted down by Good Shinobi and Evil Shinobi alike. This ideology was passed down to the five Gessen Girls and devoted themselves to that belief that only good should exist and evil should not. Hanzō provokes the Gessen Girls to fight against the girls from Hanzō Academy and later fights Homura and her crew only to find doubt in their beliefs that all evil should be eliminated. It's the same struggle both groups faced in Burst when they were challenged with the question of "what is a good shinobi and what is a evil shinobi?" Kurokage himself is found in such conflict with his own belief and slowly reveals his acceptance in his mistake and hoped that his beloved girls would find their way without facing the same mistake that he did and influenced upon them throughout the campaign. You could say it's a copy concept of the original story, but I really liked the delivery and found it both touching and memorable.
[Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy]
This was a weird campaign. It felt kind of rushed with no real substance, yet it still achieved what it sought out to do in the end. The story starts out at the end of Burst when both Asuka's group and Homura's Group was fighting Orochi. Miyabi, the leader of this group, is in a coma like state after a mission against a Yōma went awry and was forced to use drastic measures to stop it. She awakens from that state when she bear witnesses the destruction of her school and vows to restore it to its former glory. This leads her to finding members to add to the Elite team which ends up being the weirdest group of characters in the game. Besides Miyabi, there is her best friend Imu, who is strict, passionate and loyal; Imu's sister Murasaki, who is often quiet and secluded but becomes loud and crazy when in combat; Ryōbi the foul-mouthed sadist and her twin sister Ryōna the perverted masochist. In order to raise back the reputation of the schools' name once more, the group goes around and dunks on the other three groups. Their interactions with the other characters don't seem nearly as important as the ones they have with each other. The main conflict is between the members within the group and it finally exposes itself at the end before several deadly confrontations brought them together to a mutual understanding of each other. I want to say it was a decent story, but it felt kind of dumb at the same time. The story is mainly the very beginning and very end of the campaign, everything else was kind of a filler. This group has an interesting group of characters, but their potential is unfortunately wasted (which I'll get into detail later under "characters").
[Homura Crimson Squad]
This was the story I was most interested in, which I'm sure most would agree after the ending of SK Burst. Homura fled as a renegade ninja after she killed one of Hebijo's biggest investor, and her four friends followed her. Fleeing as renegades, the group can no longer be shinobi and take on jobs; however, Homura mentions that the lowest of the low can accept assassination missions from shady dealings for money but also points out that it would hurt her pride. They can no longer live peacefully either as renegades are hunted down and eliminated since they've learned the secrets of their school. As they are no longer shinobi, they are always on the run and seem to have lost their purpose in life. "What's the point in living if the day to day life is running and scraping for food?" It's no wonder this story was a locked and hidden campaign until you finished the other three. I really liked it and it reveals a bigger picture on the whole plot for the series. It leads to a new found purpose for the girls and foreshadows an even bigger adventure for all the characters in the future.
[Overall]
I think the overall story in Burst was better than Shinovi Versus, but I still really enjoyed it and am craving more. I can't wait for Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson and Senran Kagura: Estival Versus to release next year.
Gameplay/Combat
I have to admit that Shinovi Versus is much better in terms of gameplay compared to Burst.
Pros:
+ From 2D Side-view to 3D Behind-the-Character, the new orientation gives more room to fight in
+ The three stances: Yin, Yang, and Flash, are all integrated in combat
+ Different techniques for different situations add variety to utilize in combat
+ Smarter AI for boss fights, they're a lot more challenging
+ A Hard difficulty can be chosen after the first playthrough
+ The environment feels more dynamic and diverse
+ Changes in attacks and the addition of elements further distinguishes the characters' playstyle
+ They tried to shorten the story-telling parts without cutting too thin on it
+ Character side-stories is a nice diversion that further develops the relationship between characters
Cons:
- Loading takes so long! Sometimes, they're longer than the actual fight!
- Camera can go haywire and get stuck in a wall or start spinning around
- I don't really like the button mashing sequences
- I'm scared to try PvP, the characters are totally not balanced for it
- Combo chains aren't as long as the ones in Burst, though they feel more well-rounded
So even though the story might not be as good as Burst's, I think the gameplay is a huge improvement. I thought Burst was either way too easy or way too hard. SK Shinovi Versus feels very balanced all the way through as long as you don't do the side-stories first.
Music
The quality of the music is higher than Burst, but I feel like the compositions are weaker. There are a few tracks that really stand out, and I suppose Burst was much the same way. But overall, I think character themes were more distinguished composition-wise in Burst. In terms of the opening theme (video up top), I really like the opening riff and guitar solo. But the rest of the song is only okay compared to the likes of the first two opening themes for Burst (Skirting Shadows and Crimson Shadows), both of which I really liked. The opening to Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson is also amazing and I can't wait for it to reach here in North America.
Characters/Character Themes
Hanzō Academy
[Asuka]
Asuka doesn't get much character development this time around as she continues to find her way along the path of the shinobi. She acts as a sort of trigger to help the girls of the other groups find their way in their lives. I'm not really feeling it for her theme song. I don't really like the intro compared the themes she had in Burst, but the main parts are alright.
[Ikaruga]
Ikaruga struggles with preparing for the final exam and then it dawns on me: "are the girls going to be split apart after they graduate?" It'll be interesting to see new characters and see the remaining ones change, but it'd also be a bit sad to see the group split apart. They do mention that they might not get to see each other as much as soon as they graduate and start taking on missions as a full fledged shinobi. It's also not surprising to see that her brother shows up again; however, it was surprising to see him try to change and find it in his heart to accept Ikaruga. I also really liked her interaction with Murakumo from Gessen Academy and their involvement with Yomi. Ikaruga remains my favorite character as her fast dashes, long reach, and crowd control fit my playstyle. She really respectful, fair and just, and always speaks formally. Her theme in the past was kind of weird the first time I heard it, but I really grew to like it. So I wasn't sure if I was going to like the new one. I do like it. It still has that flavor and a melody that you can follow. I just really like her character.
[Katsuragi]
I've come to really like Katsuragi more and more as a character. In terms of combat, I thought she was kind of hard to use in Burst and she's even harder to use in Shinovi Versus. She's slower with short range, but is strong. I thought they presented her even better in Shinovi Versus as they show many different sides of her. She's usually loud, confident, perverted, and seems to fool around a lot. In Burst, she reveals the truth about her past in how her parents disappeared and how she finds them. The player is then shown a much more serious and determined side of her. Her parents are renegades on the run. And in SK Shinovi Versus, it explains why. Her parents were assigned to assassinate Kurokage. But after seeing how he was just a frail old man taking care of 5 orphans, they decided to live as renegades seeing as they can't bring themselves to kill him and failure meant death. The game also shows a hypocritical and sensitive side of Katsuragi as she reveals that she doesn't like to be sexually harassed despite doing it ALL THE TIME! Despite all the love of fighting she has, she is also shown to have a strong will when she refuses to kill Yozakura. She was a great character in Shinovi Versus. Her theme song is alright. I never really noticed it before, but her theme songs all sound kind of like they're from a Chinese Kung-Fu film. But I think that's what they were going for.
[Yagyū]
I listen through all of her themes from Burst, to Shinovi Versus, to Deep Crimson and I realize they're all really good! Each and every one of them has this beginning riff that makes it sound really cool. It evokes the feeling of "it's time to kick butt!" I don't really quite remember the melody like I do in Burst, but it's something I'd be willing to listen to. It's hard to say how I feel about Yagyū's character. Her back story is sad, but it's not very strong. She loses her younger sister in a car accident and it forever changed her. In Shinovi Versus, it finally explains why she wears an eye patch. She is told that time can heal the pain as memories fade. She starts to forget some things about her sister and that frightened her. So she wears a coin and ribbon over her eye so that she always has one eye on the memories of her sister because she never wants to forget her. So when she first meets Hibari, she is reminded of her younger sister. This is Yagyū's character: the big and overprotective sister. Her character revolves entirely around Hibari to the point where she's even mean to her own friends in the group. She's a pretty cool character, but there just isn't much to her other than she wants to protect the one she loves most who happens to be Hibari. And maybe she wants to protect her friends too, but she has threatened to behead Katsuragi if she feeds Hibari's mind with indecent thoughts.
[Hibari]
Hibari is a dumb character. Why am I talking about her anyways? Okay, I'll admit that I like her a bit more after she reveals that she has a special power that lets her control people. It's the reason why her eyes are different with little flowers in it. She explains why she doesn't like her powers since she feels all the help and friends she has is due to her eye and that she's been living a lie. Haruka is the one who points out to her that people want to help her and she has friends because of her "charm" and personality and not because of her powers because that power only lasts temporarily. But now it explains why she always seem so down when not being able to pull her own weight and help the others. She supposed to be such a cute character with a cheerful personality, but a lot of the times she's depressing, air-headed, and dumb. One of her moves causes her to face plant the floor! Her normal air attack is awesome, though. She a bunny bouncing up and down into the ground killing everything around! Her song is as dumb and silly as her other themes. Yes, I like her a little more, but she's still a dumb character.
Gessen Girls' Academy
[Yumi]
She's quite the lady. Her ninja outfit is a kimono, she's prim, proper, and full of grace. She was also haughty and rather conceited for most of the game. Brought up with the belief that all evil should be vanquished, she finds it deplorable that Asuka and her friends had any involvement with Evil Shinobi. Her ice element is pretty strong as it encases opponents and allows her to continue wailing on them. Yumi is supposed to be an Ice-princess of sort: cold, resolute, with deadly conviction. This is to counter Asuka's personality who is energetic, passionate, with a hot determination. Yumi's theme is an arrangement of Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor/Dies Irae and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 (Sonata Pathétique). I don't know if I like her or not. I guess I feel rather neutral about her character. I really liked her character progression throughout the Gessen campaign, though.
[Murakumo]
She is absolutely adorable! She's a very interesting character in terms of personality. When she has her mask on, she's strong and rather scary as she comes on very strong and aggressive. But the second she loses her mask, she's this incredibly timid and cute girl who just breaks down and can't even talk correctly. The voice actor did an incredible job capture the essence of who this character is supposed to be. For wielding a large cleaver and spear, she's incredibly fast. Her story is that she was an orphan living in the slums where she meets Yomi. She was adopted by Kurokage to be raised and trained alongside the other 4 Gessen girls. She was then adopted to rival Ikaruga's adoptive father's company. She resents Ikaruga's existence as this caused her to be pulled away from Kurokage. Unfortunately, she has the least appealing character theme song. It's supposedly based off of Sergei Prokofiev's Scythian Suite Op. 20, and it's a rather creative arrangement. But it only seems to really emphasize the scary part of her. Still, I think she might be my favorite among the Gessen Girls.
[Yozakura]
There's a lot of mention of being a "big-sister" in the series, but she's the real big sister with 12 younger siblings. She was pretty much the mother figure in the house who cooked and cleaned as their parents were both Good Shinobi and always out in the field for a mission. After losing both parents due to Shinobi battles out in the field, relatives and distant relatives split all the children apart to raise them. Yozakura wanted to take care of all them on her own, but she was only 9 at the time. After being adopted by Kurokage, she sought forth to improve herself until she was strong and responsible enough to bring all her siblings back together again. Not a very realistic dream as all the kids will have grown up and be living their own lives, but a dream nonetheless. She fights with large gauntlets of which I knew immediately she was going to fight Katsuragi (Fists vs. Feet). I like her theme the most out of the Gessen girls and I think it's one of the ones that stand out most in the game. It's an arrangement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata). Yozakura is a very serious character. I feel kind of neutral about this character as well.
[Shiki]
Shiki is a rich and modern girl who's always talking on the phone, using modern slang, and talking about fashion. She knows she grew up rich and spoiled, but she kind of changed after losing both her parents. Kurokage teaches her the sutras of Buddhism to calm her mind when she's not feeling right. So she's often very outgoing with a happy-go-lucky personality, but she also has a calm and zen side of her when she's more serious. In combat, she uses a Scythe with stupid range which is why I don't play PvP because I'd have to struggle through fights with her among others. Her theme is an arrangement of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, particularly Winter. She's a fun character with a bubbly personality.
[Minori]
HER! This right here, this is the character Hibari should have been! When I first started up the game and saw Minori as she opened up her mouth to talk, I groaned and complained "not another Hibari..." But holy smacks, I fell in love with this character so quickly. She's not the air-head that Hibari is. Rather, Minori is the epitome of a child-like personality who acts and thinks like a child. She doesn't have much of a back story other than losing her parents due to Shinobi related business like the other Gessen Girls. What made me really like her was who she was. She's as innocent as a child could be in her response of why she wants to play. When she lost her parents, she says there was no one to play with until Kurokage adopted her. Then Kurokage was bedridden with illness. And then she said that one line along the lines of "If everyone just played, we wouldn't have to fight and then my parents wouldn't have to die". That just tore me up. I loved that response. Whenever she had to fight someone, it was never "fighting." She just wants to find friends to play with and she'll say it's "playing shinobi" if it's a fight people are looking for. She's such an adorable character. Her character is a bit difficult to play, though. With short-to-medium range attacks with medium speed, she doesn't have much coverage. Her specials also come out a bit slow and don't have as much coverage as other characters. She fights with a frying pan and bucket full of candy. Her theme is an arrangement of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, of which I've gotten really sick of hearing since it's a theme often heard during Christmas every year in a lot of cartoons. It kind of bugs me that she has such a large chest for being so child-like. I'm sure it pains Mirai most of all.
Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy
[Miyabi]
I feel like the majority of this group's characters have great potential for character and story development, but they all fell short of greatness. Miyabi is an extremely intimidating character with a dominating attitude. She had the most graphic back story in the game. Often left alone at home with her parents out on a mission, Miyabi and her best friend Imu would play while they wait for their parents to come home. One day, she and Imu decide to go to the place their parents forbade them to go to because it sounded dangerous and they wanted to see what it felt like to be real shinobi instead of pretend play. While they ended up playing there, a black, ravenous monster came out and lunged towards Miyabi. Miyabi's mother, who was looking for her and Imu, saw the monster and ran forward to protect Miyabi. The monster devours Miyabi's mother's head in one bite as her lifeless body falls just near Miyabi as it splatters in blood. Miyabi's father kills the monster and explains to Miyabi what the Yōma are and their role as Evil Ninja is to eradicate the monsters. So Miyabi's drive in life is to become strong enough to fight the Yōma. She doesn't have any strong relationship to ANY of the characters other than Imu, and I think that's wasted potential. I don't really remember much about her play style other than that half wing she uses was really strong. The intro to her theme doesn't really match her character. I was thinking it'd be more darker and heavier. The middle portion of the song is alright. I think Miyabi was wasted potential as a character, but I can hope that she gets more character development in future installments.
[Murasaki]
I want to love this character SO MUCH, but she is also wasted potential. Murasaki is the younger sister of Imu and possess a strange ability that causes her to be inhumanly strong. Often times, she's extremely reclusive and wants to be in her own dark room. She's a "hikikomori" or a "shut-in" and doesn't like coming out. During practice battle when they were younger, Murasaki unleashed her special powers but blacks out when she does so she doesn't know what happens. She was upset that she hurt her sister and didn't want to fight again. She talks very softly and slowly, which often annoys me when she talks in the game, but then explodes and screeches and yells when fighting. I wish they had rode off of this little gimmick of her personality and went with it. Make her one crazy !@# $#!@% when she's fighting or transformed. It would match her theme a LOT better. By the way, her theme song is THE BEST song in the game. I really wish it was Imu's theme because it matches the speed that Imu has and her passionate loyalty to Miyabi. I really want to see this character snap and just go insane with this theme going. I love this song so much. She fights with large shurikens and yells as her special while unleashing her secret ability.
[Imu]
She shares her backstory with Miyabi and Murasaki. Imu feels guilty about the death of Miyabi's mother as it was her idea to go to the forbidden area. Imu is jealous of Murasaki for having the special ability when she did not (but then she finds out she does at the end of the campaign). There isn't much to her character. She's very angry looking, stern, but very girly and vulnerable around Miyabi who she clearly is deeply in love with. I like her interactions with Miyabi and Murasaki, but there isn't enough of it in this game. She's an extremely fast fighter who uses a staff with an electricity element. If I ever PvP, I'd use her because her regular combos would stun enemies pretty easily. Her theme is so normal. It doesn't feel or sound very special.
[Ryōbi]
The Sadist of the twins. She starts off being foul mouthed, but she kind of trails off and doesn't have that personality as much near the end. She doesn't have as much long-ranged attack as I thought she would considering she uses a rifle. Ryōbi and Ryōna lost their older sister and believes Miyabi to be her killer. They plan to ruse as a member until they find the right time to take their revenge. They later find out that a yōma had killed their sister and not Miyabi. Her theme is pretty heavy and grungy. I kinda like it. There isn't much to this character. She didn't play her Sadist part enough.
[Ryōna]
The Masochist of the twins. She does show a much softer and understanding personality when she's not annoyingly masochistic compared to her twin who is often aggressive and demanding. She uses dual pistols with the handles connected which totals to four pistols. She moves like an ice skater and a lot of gun-slinging moves as her fighting style. She such a weird character. I've seen the "masochist" type characters in animé and games before, but she goes far and beyond that. Her walking animation is this weird skipping, her voice is whiny, and she just wants to be beaten. I found her very annoying at first, but she ended up being the one with the most personality of the group. Her theme sounds a bit similar to her sister up until when the melody starts. I like her theme more. I like her character more, too.
Homura Crimson Squad
[Homura]
I liked the story of this group back in Burst, so I was looking forward to this one too. And it was pretty good. Homura has crazy range and coverage with a move that gives her invincibility. I love her theme song this time around as I felt the previous two themes she had started with a good intro but it never built up to anything. Her theme song in this one had a great intro like she's getting pumped up, and then the melody starts and goes somewhere with it. Homura is pretty solid this time around.
[Yomi]
Yomi took a 180 degree turn in personality in this one, it's strange yet wonderful at the same time. She's super warm and friendly in Shinovi Versus. She moves and attacks slower in this one, but she has super armor and a stronger attack this time around. Her theme is very her; you know it's her theme, but it's just not as catchy as her other two themes. She cooks for her friends everyday and still talks a lot about beansprouts.
[Hikage]
Hikage also changed a bit. She was confused and didn't think too much about herself or others because she didn't understand emotions. In Shinovi Versus, she's actively learning more about herself and others while grasping the idea of different emotions. She's super fast and also has a special that makes her temporarily invincible. She also can apply poison damage. Her theme is alright. I liked her older themes more. But the intro is really good.
[Mirai]
Mirai's character is expanded even more as she has found confidence as a shinobi but not quite as a person yet. She shows interest in writing novels and Otaku culture with a series called "Super Sengoku Wars". Her interactions with the other characters are really good. They changed her combat system drastically. She is almost entirely ranged with a lot of different bullet moves. She's also the only character to back dash as her normal dash to put space between her and her opponent. Her theme is very forgettable compared to her other two themes in Burst, which were my favorites.
[Haruka]
Haruka's theme has always been one of the most distinguishable ones. Her theme is pretty good in this one too. I never really liked playing her, and she's even harder in this one with short dashes, short reach, and slow attacks. She has a lot of good interactions with other characters, especially with Ryōna.
[Suzune/Rin]
I wanted to point out that she finally goes back to Hanzō. I really liked that scene.
Okay, I think I've written enough. I really liked Shinovi Versus. I really like Senran Kagura even more now. I'm probably going to even get that music rhythm game. I can't wait for Senran Kagura 2 and Estival Versus.
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