Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Things remain very much the same from the first game, as the good and evil Shinobi cross swords once again over a story backed by themes of camaraderie, courage, perseverance, tolerance... and, naturally, of girls liking to touch or be touched by each other's breasts for some reason, a theme the Japanese seem to enjoy quite a bit, if the frequency at which it pops up in manga and anime is anything to go by. Ten playable characters from two rival Shinobi schools brawl against one another, with some more becoming available as the game progresses, while in the background some villain is trying to use both schools' students for his own devices of resurrecting a great evil by using those warriors' blood. The story is interesting enough, for a beat 'em up, anyway, to get things going and keep the player involved and interested in what's going on. This, combined with the very much obvious busts of the ladies involved, will be more than enough motivation to get most pressing through and learning the basics, which while not complicated to get into, requires going through a time of adaptation if new to the series. The prologue chapter of the story does introduce some basic elements of gameplay through on-screen hints, however, the more involving and complex parts thereof will require a compulsory stop by the training field, something the game doesn't recommend enough, but this mode does a really good job of explaining everything that needs to be understood so to be eased into the way things work.

The combo system has seen an overhaul compared to the first release. At its core, much is still the same, as the Y button chains light attacks, while the X button chains heavy ones. Different chains are possible depending on what character is used, and new, more complex chains of inputs, air- or ground-based, unlock as the character gains levels through experience collected by defeating lots of enemies. All possible combos are permanently displayed on the bottom screen, which is highly convenient as the story will constantly switch playable characters between chapters. Therefore, a quick look at the touch screen offers a useful reminder. Other elements are still in place, like the Shinobi Transformation, requiring one ninja scroll and changing the outfit of the character into another of the player's choosing while allowing the use of Secret Ninja Arts, which also use ninja-scrolls collected either as pick-up items on the field, or from chaining combos on enemies. The Yin Yang gauges are now gone, favouring a simple single Ninja Art gauge. When completely filled, with ninja scrolls maxed out, it still allows the use of Frantic mode, in which the character strips to minimal clothing and goes all out, trading defence and seeing her health continuously decreasing - although it recharges somewhat as enemies are defeated - in exchange for massive damage, extra speed, infinite Secret Ninja Arts and no staggering from enemy attacks. The latter mode ends when the current group of enemy is completely defeated.

What is new to this episode, however, is the pair battles. Indeed, two characters get to brawl at the same time and chain combos together, introducing more new mechanics, such as switching between one and the other, dodging enemy attacks in the process, or combined Secret Ninja Arts that unleash the most devastating attacks. Those require both characters to have at least three ninja scrolls but the resulting damage is well worth the sacrifice if possible, not to mention a close-up in stereoscopic 3D of not one, but TWO big pairs of gyrating jubblies! If used while Frantic is active, both characters will come out of that mode, since, otherwise, being able to use infinite Secret Ninja Arts would make things ridiculously easy. If one or both characters are defeated, as in their health bar is emptied, running up to them and pressing A revives them, but every time this is done in one given battle, the energy they regain from it is lesser. If the active character gets down to zero though, it's Game Over, so switching between characters, à la Marvel vs. Capcom, when one gets too low might prove necessary, especially in the later stages or on the higher difficulty settings. This adds more depth to the gameplay than in the first episode. Story missions will usually force gamers to either use two or only one character, depending on the scenario, as they are played for the first time but once they are completed, it's possible to replay them in either way.

Naturally, allowing two characters on the field of battle at the same time, it could be wondered whether it's possible for a second player to control that character. The answer is simply, "Yes!" Local, and even online, co-operative multiplayer are included this time around. It's possible to play in co-op through the story, as well as a new mode, called Yôma's Nest, with someone else either via local communication or over the Internet. Local requires both players to own a copy of the game, though, as download play is not an available option. Playing over the Internet is a very classical affair. Creating an open room and waiting for others to join, setting the desired level of the opponent, and choosing the mission in the process, or simply join someone who created one of their own. It does not appear to be possible to limit the rooms displayed to friends only, however, whoever creates a room can lock it with a password, allowing friends to still find each other and play together without strangers lurking.

Limited communication through pre-set sentences while in the lobby is possible, but no voice chat or quick phrases are available in the thick of battle, sadly, making working together and chaining things a bit harder than might otherwise be imagined. The online mode, although seemingly accessible before launch, appeared completely void of any other combatants, so it was not possible to try it out in time for this review, sadly. Therefore, it's impossible at time of writing to say how laggy the online might be or even how the game will react to two human players fighting waves of enemies at the same time, as far as the frame-rate goes. However, it shouldn't perform much worse than when the CPU controls the second character.

Speaking of frame-rate, a clear area of concern with the first game, it is quite fluid and stable in 2D mode, and mostly fine during battle when 3D is activated, although some minor dips are noticeable when things get too crowded or hectic, but nothing game breaking. A big effort clearly went into ironing this out after the debacle over the performance of the first title. The frame-rate really does take a noticeable hit in 3D mode while in the ninja room, basically an immersive take on a game's main menu, as well as when admiring the character models in the dress room, which lets the player choose poses and expressions and make one or two girls pose for pictures over still backgrounds, saving them to the SD card. This was probably a trade-off hard to avoid on the ageing hardware of the original 3DS as the game tries its best to produce deliciously detailed character models (the main draw lest anyone forget), as well as the much hyped "improved breast physics."

It is also worth noting that this one plays somewhere more in the middle between the original and Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus on PlayStation Vita as the areas in which fights take place are more open and less restricted to a side-scrolling plane. It looks indeed less like a 2.5D side-scrolling beat 'em up this time and more like a fully 3D one. However, the view is still sort of locked in position for lack of a second joystick on the stock 3DS but the whole thing looks more dynamic than in Senran Kagura: Burst. Some boss areas can be quite large and detailed compared to its predecessor, making for a nice improvement.

The Circle Pad Pro and, by extension, the C-Stick of the New 3DS, are supported but their use is restricted to slightly zooming in on the action during battles and moving the character model around in the dressing room - nothing too sorely missed for owners of the original 3DS or XL models, not to mention that the added bulk does make mashing the face buttons during battles quite uncomfortable for those with small hands.

Already, additions over the first game seem aplenty but things do not stop there. The aforementioned Yôma's Nest mode pits people - in solo, pair, or via online or local co-op - in a dungeon with 14 floors, each higher difficulty, with an increasing amount of possible rooms on each floor. Certain rooms, if cleared, reward with unlockable weapons that can be equipped on the characters but only bring cosmetic changes and deal no extra damage. It's possible to pick up from right after any cleared rooms if the player dies. This mode allows for levelling up, yet the experience obtained can only be retained if retiring before the end or beating one of the many rooms on the 14th floor. Indeed, dying reduces the obtained experience to only a small fraction of what it would otherwise be. Lastly, another mode called "Special Mission" allows the tackling of missions with very specific conditions, such as "only ground-based attacks deal damage," which reward with Shinobi stones that can be equipped in addition to weapons. These grant ability or stat bonuses to the girls who equip them and three of those can be equipped at the same time and combined for the best effect depending on the strategy used, adding even more depth to the gameplay.

Last, but certainly not least, heaps of optional elements come to nail things down even further, such as a complete bestiary, StreetPass integration, game stats, audio, picture, and video galleries unlocking as the game goes on, as well as lots of alternative outfits and accessories to customise the young misses, and even augmented reality integration using the 3DS AR card to make the pretties pop-up on top of anyone's desk in any suggestive position desired. Then there is the promise of DLC on the horizon, following the Japanese release of the title. Already, those with save data from Senran Kagura Burst are promised an unlockable extra character in Murasame, who will otherwise be paid DLC later on for others, so all future fans will no doubt be graced with more playable characters and missions. All of this amounts to a well polished package that outshines its predecessor - an already fine game in its own right - in almost every way. The heaps of content, game modes and options, great visuals, and audio, all help make this product one that definitely plays in a higher league than Senran Kagura Burst.