Senran Kagura (Burst) localization

[Gintoki]

I know I imported Senran Kagura months before I got my Jp 3DS, lol.

[Augen]

Two things I'd like to point out here. The main one is the concept behind "system sellers". You don't buy a console to have a console, usually. You buy it because it has a game or games you want to play. In this case it's SKB, or a few other titles not announced for localization into the west. If those games do come out, they will buy the console to play them. I know personally I've even bought games months before the consoles just because I wanted to make sure I'd not miss out and support the game even if I couldn't afford both at once. It should be noted that the interest of these games that sell a system to someone are a cut above the rest, they were the reason the console got sold. It's not just an empty promise but a two fold promise in these cases.

That said, point number two would be: Not everyone wants to buy a Japanese 3DS. Region locking aside, many games are less enjoyable when you can't understand them. This is the reason I'm personally backing this and any other localizations I find interest in. Japanese isn't easy to learn and the localization scene is really lackluster. It seems win-win when these titles get localized and go on to make some money. We stop feeling some hopelessness about the industry and get a game we can play in our native language.

I'd also like to personally thank you for the information about the games you've been posting lately, they've sparked a greater interest knowing some of the finer details behind the games and gameplay. It's been a great help overall.

Yeah, I never buy systems at launch, I need some weight to show that games will be coming out that I want on it. I came so close to getting a Saturn and Dreamcast, but support dried up and those consoles died. Right now I have concerns over the Vita and certainly holding off for a year or so before evaluating it again (you'll notice I am not campaigning for any Vita titles for that very reason, best of luck to those that are). The 3DS did struggle out of the gate, now Nintendo has supported and and 3rd parties are coming into the fold with significant contributions.

I respect people who deal with the two system and importing issue from dedication perspective, but some major hurdles. First as you said is language, if its not in English or German I'm not going to be able to understand what is going on. Also, expenses are tight and shelling out another 200+ dollars for a second system and 60+ for games with the shipping and all, I simply cannot afford it. Then if the game did get localized have to spend the money again or shot my cause in the foot by buying the JP version and not the NA one.

Agreed, Kekkan has been a brilliant addition and glad to have his contributions as part of the thread.

[Kekkan]

Two things I'd like to point out here. The main one is the concept behind "system sellers". You don't buy a console to have a console, usually. You buy it because it has a game or games you want to play. In this case it's SKB, or a few other titles not announced for localization into the west. If those games do come out, they will buy the console to play them. I know personally I've even bought games months before the consoles just because I wanted to make sure I'd not miss out and support the game even if I couldn't afford both at once. It should be noted that the interest of these games that sell a system to someone are a cut above the rest, they were the reason the console got sold. It's not just an empty promise but a two fold promise in these cases.

That said, point number two would be: Not everyone wants to buy a Japanese 3DS. Region locking aside, many games are less enjoyable when you can't understand them. This is the reason I'm personally backing this and any other localizations I find interest in. Japanese isn't easy to learn and the localization scene is really lackluster. It seems win-win when these titles get localized and go on to make some money. We stop feeling some hopelessness about the industry and get a game we can play in our native language.


I'd also like to personally thank you for the information about the games you've been posting lately, they've sparked a greater interest knowing some of the finer details behind the games and gameplay. It's been a great help overall.

Thanks I had to edit my post alot because there was alot of stuff I almost forgot about the game.

Ya I know that and thats why i said what I did how do we know SKB is his system seller the game can come out and he can still may not pick up the system because there not many games he like on the system and depending on how things are going he may not pick up the XL. I my self said I was going to get the XL to replace my system then just before it came out I changed my mind and will just get a new 3DS when my old one fully breaks.


Thats why I said there are alot of factors invoved with this when I was speaking to someone earlier. it would help if someone would flat out explain to people the factors but too many people don't want to do this and then thats where confusion sets in with fans and publishers.

Just a few major factors to throw out that I don't think people looking at bringing it over don't want too say.

1 western 3DS not as popular are DS (think mostly public awarness)
2 SK would be a M rated game ( how many anime style M rated games was released in the west for the DS?)
3 Marketing of SK how would this be done and where. (How much trade off do you make in terms of marketing Vs the localizing process? translating, VA etc)


These are just a few.

[Kekkan]

I know I imported Senran Kagura months before I got my Jp 3DS, lol.

You are lucky just think of the weight that has been lifted in thinking about are you going to get game A from Z you see at TGS this year.

[Gintoki]

Nah. Cause of how expensive importing is I still have to be pretty picky with what I choose.

[Azure-Edge]

Well everyone, it's now officially August. We're just under 2150 posts!!! I'd say we're doing good!

[BaconMage]

Thats why I said there are alot of factors invoved with this when I was speaking to someone earlier. it would help if someone would flat out explain to people the factors but too many people don't want to do this and then thats where confusion sets in with fans and publishers.

Just a few major factors to throw out that I don't think people looking at bringing it over don't want too say.

1 western 3DS not as popular are DS (think mostly public awarness)
2 SK would be a M rated game ( how many anime style M rated games was released in the west for the DS?)
3 Marketing of SK how would this be done and where. (How much trade off do you make in terms of marketing Vs the localizing process? translating, VA etc)


These are just a few.

I won't deny there are a lot of factors going on behind the scenes here. One of the major ones being your number two point here. The higher ratings for games can scare people off considering Nintendo's image here, and considering the content it probably would get slapped with an M in North America. Although I don't think this would deter sales for the majority of people interested already, if not generate some extra interest due to some weird taboo mentality. It kind of depends mostly on marketing the games. That's where I see the other big problem. If done right the game would do modestly, if not greatly well over here. If done wrong it could just end up slammed by the prudes out for their next witch hunt. Although that in itself could be great press if spun right.

It really does come down to how many up front are willing to buy the game though, it could spread like wild fire without an advertising budget needed, or flop because the audience didn't know or just wasn't there. That's why I see this thread and other campaigns for the game massively important to the cause. It shows there's an audience and is doing well to sell the game well before it even makes it over. Which hopefully it does.

And to touch on your first point, while the 3DS is no where near as popular as the DS was, it's a bit early at this point to judge on that. While some people are confused about the 3DS being a new system, or wondering which iteration to buy, there is also the major issue that many DS fans are waiting for their favourite franchises to be brought over to the new system before they buy it. Games like Etrian Odyssey, Rune Factory, and obviously Pokemon. Although new franchises like Kid Icarus (kind of new anyway) are helping sell systems and Senran Kagura could help sell good will about localizations at the same time. Especially the more niche and long shot games, which a lot of people have been missing out on for years.

That got a bit long winded. Although I think it's a bit of a given considering the hopefulness I still have. Can't think too much about negatives and have to find those silver linings while dealing with the hard issues at hand.

[Azure-Edge]

I won't deny there are a lot of factors going on behind the scenes here. One of the major ones being your number two point here. The higher ratings for games can scare people off considering Nintendo's image here, and considering the content it probably would get slapped with an M in North America. Although I don't think this would deter sales for the majority of people interested already, if not generate some extra interest due to some weird taboo mentality. It kind of depends mostly on marketing the games. That's where I see the other big problem. If done right the game would do modestly, if not greatly well over here. If done wrong it could just end up slammed by the prudes out for their next witch hunt. Although that in itself could be great press if spun right.

It really does come down to how many up front are willing to buy the game though, it could spread like wild fire without an advertising budget needed, or flop because the audience didn't know or just wasn't there. That's why I see this thread and other campaigns for the game massively important to the cause. It shows there's an audience and is doing well to sell the game well before it even makes it over. Which hopefully it does.

And to touch on your first point, while the 3DS is no where near as popular as the DS was, it's a bit early at this point to judge on that. While some people are confused about the 3DS being a new system, or wondering which iteration to buy, there is also the major issue that many DS fans are waiting for their favourite franchises to be brought over to the new system before they buy it. Games like Etrian Odyssey, Rune Factory, and obviously Pokemon. Although new franchises like Kid Icarus (kind of new anyway) are helping sell systems and Senran Kagura could help sell good will about localizations at the same time. Especially the more niche and long shot games, which a lot of people have been missing out on for years.

That got a bit long winded. Although I think it's a bit of a given considering the hopefulness I still have. Can't think too much about negatives and have to find those silver linings while dealing with the hard issues at hand.

And that is why you're the Bacon Mage!

[Kekkan]

Well here it is my often put off review of Senran Kagura. Do these Busty girls Bust loose with some great gamplay or is the game just like them just Bust.

Overview
Senran kagura a game about girls that go too school takes exams and train, But hold on whats this I hear the school they go to is secretly a ninja school where the girls train to become a ninja. Well you may say thats nothing new but hold on did I tell you the girls are on the busty side. I know what your thinking un original. But what if you told you there is another school with rival girls just like them and all this going on with strong lesbian over tones. Surly that should be enough. NO!. Then what if I told you eyepatch, loli, winged, umbrella gun, cannon dress, cat girl. Its Senran Kagura baby.


Story/characters
Ninja girls that train in secrect saving the world from evil Ninja's The overall story for Senran kagura while not that intresting on its own does come with a bunch of characters that really shine with there diffrent personalitys. The stroies of these characters and there interaction is far more enjoyable then the plot itself. Even after the game you will come out maybe liking a few of the characters and wanting to know more about them but care little for the main plot and its various plot holes. Overall great character stuff but predictable and forgetable plot.

Gameplay
Game play for this game is old school side scrolling and when I said old school I mean really old like Final fight old not even Turtle's era stuff. Stages are pretty straight foward and while there is some changes thown in to shake stuff up its still keep on a very basic but fun level. The surprising highlight of the game is its combat system. The game throws 5 playable characters at you with 4 diffrent fighting styles for each character and each style changes the way you look at the battle either from a combo prespective or just plain old survival.


The fighting is similar so something you would see in an anime fighting game or Marvel vs capcom 3 infinites and resets included. The leveling system in the game is the type that keeps rewarding you with new moves and new combos all along the way until you reach max level where the limits of your character are pretty much gone and you can move and do almost any thing with some of the characters and the since you so much is very rewarding there is just one problem. The biggest problem of the fighting system is that it is of no use really. Its like having 100 moves but all you need is 3 to make it through the game. The enemies pose on threat outside of the bosses and only time you will ever been in danger is when using one of more weaker high risk high reward forms. With no online leader boards or no high score tracker its very hard to push yourself to learn how to do a 3000 hit combo.

Graphics

The producer for the game said he had to cut the 3D in alot of places because of the gameplay and after playing the game I can see why.The game uses very clean designs and some great lighting in spots. There are just alot of little details that go on in the backround that when you notice you think thats kinda cool. Even though the game is for the most part fast there are times where the frame rate takes a hit and while not bad to most people when you have a 2999 combo and suddenly you drop it because of the frame rate then you will feel it. So even with out the 3D the game still has issues but they are minor compared if 3D was on with all the action on screen.

Music
Funny story when I heard Yomi's them I thought of battle arena Toshiden the PS1 fighting game so I looked up who made this game and what did you know the same people that made Battle arena Toshiden lol. I knew there music and there sound its that classic Ninja rock or japanese style music or sounds with rock rifs. For the most part its all good and most of the stuff sounds very 90s so you get that classic feel.

Sound
Another highlight of the game is its voice actors. Im usaly not a fan of japanese voice acting for girls because most tend to go overboards or just sound out of place but here it seems mostly all the girls brought there A game with Katsuragi stealing the show with such a great performance and dedication to some of the crazy stuff she has to say throught out the game and the drama CD.


Fanservice
For Fans that skipped most of my review to get to this section welcome and take a seat. The Fanservice for Senran Kagura is really hard to rate. I feel the producer wants to do more in game but is limited by the tech maybe. The Fanservice for SK as a whole not just the games are pretty much right on the edge but the Fanservice in the game is somewhat tame, again because of limitations Im guessing. But just because its limited does not mean there is non at all and this game gives you what it has. One of the main area's for Fan service is the dressing room area where you get too dress up the girls in many diffrent costumes and view them from any angle no pressure there is no time limit lol. the girls get up to 12 diffrent base costumes like school gym or bikini. With 5 girls that comes to 60 and this is not including the diffrent color types or all new pattern types and destrucable costumes under the normal costume. if you add that all up you will have way over 100 costumes and not just colors.

But wait how can I forget the Boobs they are the star of most of the show. Those that played DOAX series should be happy to hear that the Boobs do no have a mind of there own and act as they should. The one surprising thing about not just the boobs but all girls in general have a diffrent body type everything from slinder Ikaruga, Fit Katsuragi, perky Asuka, baby fat Yagyuu, jiggle booty Hibari and full figured Haruka seems most types are covered.

Overall
Overall I feel this is a really fun game and a great first entry considering the budget. The game and the series are about the characters and the games does a great job of doing this. The 3D for the game is really great in some spots like the beach stages but is rarely used in the game. The game hardly supports any 3DS features and the absents of a 2 player mode and high score attack is like a death wish for any side scroller. In the end the characters and the care givin to just about every part of this game stands out. does that mean you should run out and get this for those reason Probably not but for those that like side scrollers and for those that the things in fighting games like combos and tech but don't like fighting real people and losing this is really the game you been waiting for. Casual fighting at its best.

Score

Story 5
Gamplay 8
Graphics 8
Music 7
Control 7

Overall 7.5

[Arrei]

So the plot is just passable, but the characters themselves are good fun? I wonder if the plot holes are what they meant by the sequel addressing some of the mysteries of the first game.




Oh, by the way, as for the 3DS versus the DS, you guys are actually selling it short. The 3DS has sold more units in NA in the time since launch than the DS sold in the same timeframe since its own launch. 5.9 million after a year and a half for the DS, 6.4 million after a year and three months for the 3DS. And that's with two holiday seasons under the DS' belt compared to the 3DS' one.