Senran Kagura: Shoujotachi no Shinei (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

Marvelous Entertainment is set to ‘please’ us sweaty, hairy-palmed male gamers with some bouncing breast action on the Nintendo 3DS system. Called Senran Kagura: Shoujotachi no Shinei in Japanese, the new title is a side-scrolling action affair where players take control of buxom beauties who just so happen to also be a deadly ninjas whose clothes tear away when hit. Character designs come courtesy of Nan Yaegashi (Mai Hime, Da Copa II), whilst the scenario is being worked on by Yukinori Kitajima of 428 (Wii) and Okamiden (DS) fame. Senran Kagura’s planning aspect is being led by Kenichiro Takaki, who is renowned for work on the raunchy Ikki Tousen Xross Impact, as well as Sakura Note and Valhall Knights 2.

The breakdown of character information comes in the form of brief details of how the girls are all in High School, and their breast size. The translated summary is as follows:

Asuka (voiced by Hitomi Harada): Bust size 90cm. This second year student has a black ponytail and wears knee high socks. She is low on her ninja skills at present.

Ikaruga (voiced by Asami Imai): Bust size 93cm. She apparently looks like Phantasy Star Potable Online 2 Infinity's Nagisa character. A third year student, Ikaruga is head of the class. While normally nice, when she gets mad there's no stopping her.

Katsuragi (voiced by Yuu Kobayashi): Bust size 95cm. This third year student likes to sexually harass cute girls. She has long blonde hair and wears her shirt with all her front buttons down. She also apparently wears something called a "no bra necktie." [ answers on a postcard...! ]

Munenori (voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi): Bust size 85cm. Munenori wears her hair in pigtails and has an eye patch. Although a first year student, she has excellent skills.

Hibari (voiced by Yuka Iguchi): Bust size 80cm. This first year student works hard but causes a lot of problems.

The High School they attend is a government-funded one by the name of Hanzo Academy, where good ninjas are trained up to defeat the onslaught of dark ninjas that have been hired by corrupt businesses and politicians, with the story of this 'Flying Out Enormous Breat Drama Hyper Battle' (seriously!) game actually following the treacherous journey of the students. Clearly the 3D element of the Nintendo 3DS comes into play very often to stimulate players, especially for cinematic segues that illustrate some of the girls’ best assets, and there is even the ability to customise the young ladies with different types of accessories and clothing.

Details from the game's official blog, called The I Love Breasts Nyu Nyu Blog, have so far revealed that Takaki-san's first 3DS project started back in April 2010 and definitely had to be about breasts because, to put it simply, that is the main thing people want to see in 3D (in his opinion, not mine, of course…dot dot dot…*awkward silence*). His game is not purely about female bodily parts, though, with simple and enjoyable action being the order of the day, and some systems being put in place that people have, supposedly, not seen before. The side-scrolling action element includes the use of dashing, double-jumping, aerial combination moves and plenty of slash away at enemies in what sounds akin to the battle aspect of the Tales of RPG series, but has been described by Japanese publications as actually being what is deemed a ‘2D Belt Scroll Action’ style, similar to the old school Final Fight and Double Dragon games.

As is important in most games of this ilk, there are plenty of enemies that play a large part in the action, with there being five main antagonists to face off against throughout, such as Yomi, who attends an opposing school to the main characters’, along with Hikage, a third year student who is voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi, plus Homura (voiced by Eri Kitamura) and Mirai (Saori Gato on vocals). Each of the main characters will have their own personal feud with one of the evil ninja girls, but so far details on the specifics of their rivalries have not been outlined. With the game due for release in Autumn time, no doubt more information will pour forth between now and then. However, for the moment this is looking like a very intriguing 3DS project, and not merely an excuse to get some more bouncing boobs in 3D onto the market!