Senran Kagura: Estival Versus Reviews
Look. My guess is that if you already like this series, you know why you are here. But if you aren't you are in for a very shallow, fan servicey, Dynasty Warriors clone.
Issues with keyboard controls aside, it's a sexy and smooth hybrid of slashing and dashing, and it's best enjoyed when you cast aside any preconceptions about what the ecchi exterior might mean for the meat of the game. Yes, it's incredibly provocative. Yes, it's incredibly satisfying. Yes, it's titillating, but in no way does it sacrifice the importance of mechanical mastery for shock value. Takaki has created a beast that caters to some pretty specific tastes, and the unapologetic delivery of the franchise's latest offering should be admired regardless of whether or not your idea of a good time involves busty Japanese girls.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus is a tricky game to judge. While the Musou gameplay is fun and there's plenty of reason to return and play through with other characters, it gets repetitive. There's no real narrative to help carry the game either, since the story is simply terrible. The signature style and lewdness of the series is tricky, too, as it guarantees sales to its target audience but is likely going to alienate a few potential players. The bottom line is that it's a decent enough Musou title, filled with jiggly, half-naked Japanese schoolgirls tearing each others' clothes off. It's a game for those who live by the ancient Japanese philosophy of "tits are life, ass is hometown."
While Senran Kagura: Estival Versus has some content that will be repellent towards many potential consumers, the game is so honest about it that it would be unfair to hold it against them. Yes, this is a title that focuses mainly on Yuri fanservice, but it does it in a sometimes elegant and really nuanced way, offering some really solid gameplay and entertaining enough characters to keep the game entertaining, instead of just offering pure naughtiness.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus is a game about boobs, there's a fairly competent fighting mechanic alongside this, but titillation always remains at the forefront. Fans of the series will be happy with the content on offer, but casual players will likely find the sexual themes a little bit too intense.
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is extremely cheesy and loads of fun. Beneath the layers of fan service is a solid take on the Dynasty Warriors gameplay formula, with some parts being streamlined and others explored further to add some depth. It has some good modes, all of which have loads of content to rifle through. With a solid presentation in tow, this is a great game for fans and newcomers who aren't squeamish about over-the-top fan service.
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is great fun, combining the rawest of Japanese-style raunch humour with a tight and mechanically sound combat system. Frankly, I don't think there's much else the developer could have done to nail the brief on what this game set out to achieve, and the PlayStation 4 has a new king of exploitation entertainment on it.
Over the top humour and busty hijinks are in abundance in, Senran Kagura Estival Versus. Creative Finishers and bombshells add something new to the gameplay, but it all still feels very basic with it becoming increasingly repetitive given enough time. Yet it still makes for good, mindless, button mashing fun. Long term fans are sure to get something out of this fun new addition to the fan service heavy franchise.
Certainly the most fun Senran Kagura game available in English but there are too many other games that do not come with Estival Versus' negatives to warrant recommending it, unless you really want the video game equivalent of watching a raunchy anime while it is still censored for TV.
Senran Kagura: Estival Versus is definitely an improvement from the last entry, in terms of streamlining the way you play as characters and visually. It looks absolutely gorgeous at the highest settings and running at a locked 60 frames per second. The story doesn’t take itself too seriously for the most part, but they aren’t afraid to tackle some darker tones like death and coping with it.
Don't let the copious amounts of fanservice dissuade you from picking up Estival Versus, the gameplay is solid, the soundtrack is absolutely beautiful, and there is actually a surprisingly engaging storyline. If you're a fan of 3D brawlers and anime style graphics, you'll definitely enjoy Estival Versus. Just make sure you know where you're playing, cuz the fanservice might be difficult to explain.
If you’re a fan of the series, or have ever had a passing interest, Estival Versus is definitely a title to check out. If you’re not, the game still provides enough mindless beat-em-up fun that makes it worth a second glance. If you’re averse to blatant fanservice, though, you may want to stay far away.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus ist ein wirklich gutes Action Game, sofern man mit dem sehr freizügigen Anime Design etwas anfangen kann. Es bietet viele Features und hat überraschend tiefe Gameplay Mechaniken und vieles zum Freischalten.
Review in German | Read full review
Overall, the game is enjoyable and decent as a beat'em up game. However some players may be turned off by how shamelessly it panders to the girl's assets. This is still a decent enough game to play for beat'em up fans however.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus truly surprised me, it offers an enjoyable story,a really good action based combat, which sadly gets too repetitive in my eyes, and a lot of Boobs and fan-service, which comes in the ultimate package with the PC-version! If you´re a Senran Kagura fan you probably already picked it up but if you want to try it out like me I would really like recommend it, due to it´s fun gameplay but since it provides so few background information and requires you to play the predecessor or dive into the wiki I don´t know if I blindly can. It´s definitely more than boobs but has many problems, especially story-wise, leading to a fun but way not perfect game.