The Verdict
The second Senran Kagura is certainly a lot better than its 3DS predecessor, but it still unfortunately retains some of the issues that plagued the first, namely the framerate if you're playing in 3D.
However, the big deciding factor will come down to your personal taste of in-your-face sexualization of anime girls. If you're the type who enjoys fan service being served to you on a silver platter, then chances are this game is already in your 3DS. But those opposed will hate pretty much everything about the game.
Despite the game's flashy combat and spectacular team finishing moves, if you're lucky to own both handhelds, I'd wait for the upcoming Senran Kagura Estival Versus. If you played and enjoyed the first, then this sequel will certainly keep you entertained.
The Positives
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The game certainly looks great, especially for a 3DS title. While I still prefer the Vita game over both 3DS games when it comes to visuals, it's certainly no slouch, and keeps a steady and smooth framerate, as long as you keep the 3D effect off.
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The combat is flashy, and certainly fun to watch. While not overly deep, which unfortunately makes it into the negative section, it's very much a spectacle.
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All girls feel different from one another, thanks to their unique attacks and movesets. Asuka for example wields two swords with quick combos, Haruka wields a floating puppet behind her, Katsuragi uses her deadly legs as weapons, and the clumsy and cute Hibari stumbles around as she flails her arms around. They each have their strenghts and weaknessess, and finding your favorite will take some time.
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You can now take up to two girls on a mission, and switch between them on-the-fly. When not in control, the other girl simply fights on her own.
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The specials and team attacks are absolutely insane. When your three-part gauge gets full along with your AI partners, you can unleash a devastating attack which automatically targets your two opponents. The latter part is nice since other special attacks need to be manually targetted, sometimes resulting in misses.
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Magical girls transformations never get old. Seriously.
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Variety of modes outside of the single player campaign. One of the modes will have you progressing through a pyramid of levels with increasingly harder enemies, but winning will allow you to unlock some sweet new weapons.
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Tons of costumes and outfits to customize all the girls with. Each girl's outfit can also be given to another to wear, as well as the hairstyle. Pretty cool!
The Negatives
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Even though the combat is flashy as hell, there isn't a whole lot of coherence to it. For example, I'll be wailing on an enemy, and for no reason she'll somehow break that combo and send me flying, with no indication of how she did that, and also no way for me to respond and block that. It is very much the definition of a button masher.
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After playing Shinovi Versus on the Vita, I really miss the ability to control the camera.
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Even though the game advertises being able to see the Senran Kagura beauties in 3D, I highly recommend you keep the 3D slider all the way down. Just like the first 3DS game, the framerate takes a heavy hit, to the point that the game almost feels very unplayable.
The Neutral
- For those that appreciate over-the-top fanservice, this game has it in troves. Outfits that barely contain any of the girls' assets are pretty much guaranteed (We're looking at you Katsuragi), upskirt shots, clothing loss, skimpy underwear and suggestive costumes are all here. But I understand a lot of you resent this sort of thing in video games, in which case I can certainly guarantee that Senran Kagura is not at all for you. It's a game that fetishizes large breasts and unnatural jiggle physics, so if you're squeamish about that sort of thing, look away immediately.
It looks as though the busty anime ninja girls have made somewhat of a splash here in the US, considering it is now the fourth Senran Kagura game we're getting. The first 3DS game, Senran Kagura: Burst, was decent, but suffered from repetitive levels and some really bad frame rate. The Vita fighter, Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus, was certainly better in all regards, with a full 3D camera, and some way more intense battles. Then we got the cooking/rhythm game, Bon Appetit!, which was fun and quirky, and now we've come full circle with Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson on the 3DS.
Senran Kagura focuses on rival martial arts schools, which are all composed of very attractive, and extremely busty (with a few exceptions) warriors. The stories tend to focus on the schools rivalries, and usually present themselves in a sort of visual novel format.
But trust me when I say you're not here for the story, you're here for the over-the-top combat and in-your-face fan service.
The sequel to the 3DS game actually fixes a whole lot of issues, though it still retains a few. It's no longer simply a side scroller, with levels varying from a free roam, to ones with a fixed camera, but retaining the freedom of 360 degree character movement.
Let's take a deeper look at Deep Crimson, see what works, what doesn't and if you should buy into this jiggly sequel.
