Valkyrie Drive -Bhikkhuni- the new Action Brawler from the creators of Senran Kagru: Bon Appetite. A game purely dedicated to the glorification of how awesome Anime Combat isβ¦β¦.. and boobs. If youβre looking in to this game than look no further than any of the trailers, to be completely honest theyβre all spot on at what this game has in store. If youβre still not sure let me explain the story. A group of teenage girls has been infected with two types of virus that turn their bodies in to weapons of mass destruction. The only cure? Make these teenage girls fight each other on an artificial Island.
So, boobs. I never thought it would be deemed possible to create a game solely built around female assets but, here we are I guess. I mean, boobs are great and I love boobs just as much as the next guy, but if it makes me weird to find it off putting to play a game where teenage girls run around half naked beating other girls until their clothes tear off, then I guess Iβm weird.
An excerpt from one of the opening scenes, clears throat:
“My sisters boobs are a big deal”
Β “What are you saying!”
“Oh my, they’re even bigger than mine”
Some top quality dialogue right there. I understand weβre looking at an attempt at comedy here and for what itβs worth the majority of the gameβs campaign had me in stitches. But after a time things just kept getting weirder and more perverse.
The naming process for many of the in game systems are what really drive itβs borderline Hentai themed mentality home however, the Rack Rank for example is the name used for character experience levels. Cute right? Or how about the NPCβs that fondle your boobs to check if youβre powerful enough to proceed to another area? Itβs all a bit weird. But thatβs what the developer was going for so, job done I guess.
Trying to pick out the positives for Valkyrie Drive was a difficult task when youβre met with a bombardment of inappropriate jokes about barely legal women and more lace underwear than an Ann Summers catalogue. But nonetheless, there are some to be found here. Particularly in the gameβs combat mechanics. Iβve played a lot of Hack n Slash games in my day but this one provides some of the most unique combat sequences Iβve experienced. The combos are performed in a similar manner to most other Hack n Slash games with alternating combos between light and heavy attacks, the camera perspective and little quirks are what sell it to me though.
Valkyrie Drive is played from a very close up camera Third Person view that is locked in place, very similar to something like Dragon Nest. This allows for complete control over your chosen characters with directional combat, as well as quick button timings in the middle of jumps and combos to perform different actions. Each felt satisfying to pull off and was usually met with a myriad of colourful particle effects that left me proud of my havoc wreaked.
Graphically thereβs not much to talk about, itβs an anime style game so everything is cartoonlike,Β full of saturation and slightly cel-shaded. Overall it manages to capture the tone itβs trying to achieve but the environments and landscapes suffer from the same issue that many Asian developers have seemed to struggle with for years, Iβm talking of course about the completely flat ground textures with next to no foliage. Iβm looking at you Dynasty Warriors. Itβs an issue I canβt seem to wrap my head around, Eastern studios are renowned for extremely tight and unique game mechanics but just canβt seem to keep up with the West in terms of visual fidelity. Itβs not a title that Iβd generally look at for itβs graphical representation, but itβs still an issue regardless.
The titles audio is another aspect in which it does a well enough job but doesnβt particular jump out of the screen at me. The sound when attacks connect arenβt bad, just generic. Itβs the kind of sound you get in most Hack n Slash games, a sound that reminds me of ripping paper or someone being through through a tradition Japanese sliding door. It lacks bass and the power I look for when smashing enemies in to pieces with two gigantic flaming fists. Itβs score is also generic Anime/Asian Arcade, nothing to write home about and what you could expect if you watched or played anything with young half naked Asian chicks, somewhere half between porn music and Sonic the Hedgehog.
There is a progression system but itβs quite simple in itβs delivery, it mostly boils down to the xp you gain from the missions that are applied to your chosen heroes that come in pairs and outfits you can equip.
Overall itβs a game that aims itself for a particular audience and while Iβm part of the hack n slash part of that audience, Iβve grown up from the days in which my teenage self would adore this game. I canβt get onboard with the abundance of sex jokes and barely legal advances upon the in game characters or even the strip teases mid fight. The characters sound like theyβre about to climax throughout the entire game and none of them even sound like theyβre enjoying it either. I understand thatβs just the kind of game it is and itβs not like Iβm asking for an engaging story narrative or interesting characters, I just didnβt enjoy this titles iterations. For reference my favourite hack n slash game is Bayonetta, which is filled with sex and silliness. Even though Valkyrie Drive boasts great combat mechanics and unique ways of dealing with movement, it doesnβt save it from me from my initial feelings of shame while playing.
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