Senran Kagura: Bon Appétit! is the latest rhythm game to come out from Meteroise which seems to be the second major release by the company. Following in the steps of the Manga, anime and games, Senran Kagura follows a selection of Busty High-Schoolgirls turned Ninja on a tale of epic battles and rapid loss of clothing. Marketing to such a niche audience, Senran Kagura is really taking a risk with every release they have but it hasn’t stopped them in their tracks since 2011.
Story
Senran Kagura is a story of several High school girls who are Ninja’s or have become Ninja and details their day to day lives as they go about school life and fend off against the horrors of enemy Ninja attacks and the disrobing that comes thereafter. Bon Appétit takes a spin on that basis by adding in a cooking challenge to those Female Ninjas to use their skills to make the best dishes they can to please the Old Man Hanzo.
Depending on the heroine you choose in the character Select Screen you will cook in varying styles, have differing taunts and personality as well as different opponents to face. Whoever you pick you will have the same end goal, win the cooking tournament and receive the Ninja Scroll that will grant any wish, those the reasoning behind getting the scroll varies between the girls.
The game holds 10 playable characters, with a total of 22 with DLC purchases and each of them containing their own backstories, ambitions and stories to playthrough and discover. Every character has around 5 rounds in their story, with 3 or so discussions with characters between the matches.
Gameplay
Bon Appétit is a rhythm game through and through, with similar controls to the Guitar Hero series, you have to press buttons when they appear on the screen along the two lines at the bottom ,with 2 simultaneous button inputs being the most you will have to deal with. Both Arrow Buttons and Face Buttons are used for the game, with single press, hold and mash inputs being utilised along with the beat of the music being played.
Like any other rhythm game, Bon Appétit’s gameplay can drastically change with the song selection, from chill out tunes that are easy to do all the way up to DragonForce like intensity. Besides the songs you also have the choice between Easy, Normal and Hard difficulty settings that increase the amount of inputs needed, their variations and if the Up and Triangle buttons are used in the setup or not.
During the cooking you will have to play out an entire song, split into 3 parts for the 3 dishes you will prepare, with more accuracy awarding you more points and eventually winning you the match. Gaining high enough points will affect the opponent as well in the form of them getting attacked with strange energy from Hanzo which makes the losing girl lose some their clothing, down to their bare underwear and if 100% is kept throughout they will become completely naked, with comedic censor bars of course.
Whilst playing you will gain levels on the bottom left which determine how many points you get for hitting a button at the right time, combined with how accurate you are from Bad scores to perfect. After a certain amount of right presses you can press one of the trigger buttons an activate a sort of Ninja mode that will allow you to gain levels are you progress, but once you do this you will lose all your levels and chain if you miss a note.
The game has Story, Arcade, Free modes as well as a dressing Room to change the look of characters for all modes. Story follows a 5 match setup with the different girls, Arcade is a set of 8 matches with pre-determined enemies and free mode allows you to set both your character and the opponent for just 1 match.
Overall Thoughts and Feelings
Senran Kagura: Bon Appétit! Is a game full of boobs and curves, displayed in suggestive poses and angles, some even have cherries have top. When you complete a match with 100% you are treated to a soft serve where the characters are displayed on a dish of desert, mostly whipped cream, sauce and strawberries to cover the most controversial parts. A lot of these show the girls in sexual positions with opened legs, on all fours or full on humping a giant Banana. Take from that what you will, it isn’t an integral part of the game, but it is there.
The music in this game is superb, with actin packed tracks for those final matches, slow music for the build-ups and some straight J-Pop themes to get you pumped during the cook off. Just as expected from a music Rhythm game the music is on par with many other entries in the genre with a Japanese twist to them.
The characters themselves are what you would come to expect from an Anime styled game, busty girls with looks that don’t match their age of under 18. Though even through the cultural divide, some of the character designs are actually pretty unique and interesting, besides the stereotypical little girl and Tsunderes.
Overall I give Senran Kagura: Bon Appétit! A 4/5, the gameplay mechanics are solid and the game in itself is pretty fun, especially for fans of Rhythm games. The clichés and stereotypical feel of the game really drag it down however as there isn’t much left for immersion or connection to the unrealistically fantastical characters. The roster is also pretty small in comparison to what is offered in the DLC slots in the game. Fans of the series and gamers looking for something new will enjoy this game, but haters of Japanese games and Anime girls should steer away from this one.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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