Well I guess that explains it. Didn't Uppers originally release around the same period as Shinovi Versus? Maybe the current team could do a sequel for it that irons out its flaws.
Either way, not sure if I'm going to get it just yet. I'll probably wait to get it on sale if it's not cheap enough on release.
In other news, Reflexions has finally appeared in Nintendo's eshop in the Coming Soon section. It's available for pre-purchase at $9.99, which would mean that it's just Asuka in the game for now. It'll be playable on the 9th of September.
...Also it takes up 7 gigs, wtf... Wasn't expecting it to be more than a few...
The blurb for it reads like it's an eroge, which I guess you could say it is, but based on what I saw from people translating the JP version, it's meant to be more... wholesome?... than what the gameplay would have you believe. The storyline is weird even by SK standards, but it's got an odd sort of charm to it. Or maybe that's just Asuka's charm.
Main thing I'm concerned about is how much the DLC will cost. Chances are all the girls will bump the total price up to a full priced title.
I only care about Daidouji. I'm only interested in playing as Daidouji, if Uppers expects me to play as other characters at any point then the game's going to be sorely disappointed.
Hell's Fierce Red Executioner
Well... I've got some news for you.
You lie in a world before silence, where there’s no meaning to harm you...
Do I have to grind for fifty hours as some ugly shmuck before I can play as Daidouji? Because that's a dealbreaker right there.
I mean, according to Tzitzimine's page topper here, Daidouji was a reward for beating the game's survival mode, where she was the final boss, but in the upcoming rerelease, she's supposed to be available at the start.
Hell's Fierce Red Executioner
From what I remember, in order to play a level as any character you want, you have to go through that level's story mission (which has required characters).
Also, the game has a two-character tag system, so you'd never play as just Daidouji anyways.
Edited by WanderingAsura on Aug 23rd 2018 at 1:44:13 PM
You lie in a world before silence, where there’s no meaning to harm you...
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
So that ain't speculation? CURSE MY READING COMPREHENSION.
If that's confirmed I'll probably have to get it. No game's ever let me kick ass as a Butch Lesbian like that before.
... Although now I'm wondering if the game really acknowledges that much.
Wait nevermind we're back to dealbreaker territory.
Edited by ShirowShirow on Aug 23rd 2018 at 2:44:55 PM
On the Steam page
it just says you can play as her, but nothing about if she's there at the start or not.
And yeah, it's a tag-team game of sorts, so you'll need to play one of the main guys anyway.
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
I see. Thanks for the clarification.
Edited by Customer on Aug 23rd 2018 at 2:55:02 PM
Daidouji wasn't a reward in Uppers, you bought her and then she was available for playing any cleared mission. Just like it works on every other Takaki game.
Also, while the game requires you to pick two characters at all times, there's nothing stopping you from just using one the entire time.
Edited by Tzitzimine on Aug 23rd 2018 at 1:51:14 PM
Bah, I want the storyline to acknowledge that they're getting the crap beaten out of them by a buff lesbian sukeban and then have Daidouji rub their faces in it with her usual smug boasting. Although I doubt she'd be as OP in that game as she is in her home series, playing Estival Versus with her is basically cheating.
The moveset for all the characters is functionally identical, just changing the animations, Daidouji borrows animations from the other characters, the interactions with the girls are also identical among all the characters. Daidouji only interaction with the Uppers cast is two small cutscenes before facing her in Survival mode. Also, these interactions lack voice acting so I believe all the voice clips are lifted straight from EV.
That said, it seems it is canon since her bio in Uppers mentions the events from EV and Uppers might be referenced in PBS during the Rin and Dai Paradise Episode.
Shocking Gun!
-The storyline of "Senran Kagura Shinovi Master -Tokyo Yoma Arc-" is a new, original story, which takes inspiration from all of the games.
-Takaki himself comes up with the original ideas for the story, and Kitajima-san writes the screenplay from those ideas. Thus, the writing for the anime is being done by the exact same people who thought of the stories in the games.
-Unlike the first TV series, character's breasts will finally have full exposure! (Thus, naturally, most Japanese TV broadcasts will feature a particular dazzling light.)
-Takaki wants as many of the characters to appear as possible, since he knows there are fans of every character.
-During Shinobi Transformations, the girls will become totally naked during process of the transformations.
-During recording, Hitomi Harada and Yumi Hara both sit side-by-side toward the center. As both Asuka and Yumi are the protagonists of this story.
-Yumi Hara has dreamed of Yumi getting to appear in a TV anime ever since Shinovi Versus (which came out while the 2013 series was in the middle of airing). So it's a dream that's finally come true, and she hopes that everyone will enjoy seeing Yumi in the new anime, where she'll be bursting with just as much charm as the games.
-Hitomi Harada has been voicing Asuka for such a long time, through so many different iterations from all the various games and even the 2013 anime. She takes something from every experience voicing Asuka and does her best to bring that out in her performance of the character. She's very excited to be playing Asuka in an anime again, and hopes everyone will enjoy seeing her again, and all the new developments surrounding her character in this story
From here
https://akiba-souken.com/article/35775/
Edited by Tzitzimine on Aug 30th 2018 at 12:54:52 PM
Probably the part I'm most excited about (well, that and Yumi/other characters getting anime appearances, as well as Takaki's acknowledgement of almost every character having her own fans... And I'm low-key hoping this means more Daidouji x Rin), especially since the last few games have been spin-offs (or is PBS) and more or less focused on fanservice shenanigans (at a bit of a detriment to the other things I like about this series). I wonder if it'll be considered canon (and whether or not the next big game will follow it), as well as when it'll take place in the series' timeline in that case.
Hearing that Asuka and Yumi will be sharing the protagonist role for this is good news I think, as long as they don't have Yumi overshadow Asuka too much in execution. Also, I never knew the VA for Yumi was also named Yumi (I don't follow Japanese seiyuus). That's kind of a cute coincidence.
The fact that the characters will be actually exposed this time... is not something I'm particularly happy about, but not surprised by. The only memorabilia I collect aside from the games are the artbooks, and going by them and the art for New Wave especially, the series has been steadily getting more and more risque/full-on ecchi as time goes on (to the point where it's probably more accurate to refer to the girls as anime gravure idols who happen to be Magical Girl-esque shinobi rather than shinobi who are treated like gravure idols in bonus materials). With the Hotter and Sexier Valkyrie Drive sister series seemingly over and done with, and the Estival Versus OVA (which I've never seen) already going that far, it was only a matter of time.
As for not being that happy about it, I just preferred the teasing, as ridiculous as that can get most of the time. However, I don't feel betrayed by it like a couple of other people I know (part of the reason I didn't watch the OVA was because of them), so the decision is not something I'll be terribly bothered by (it took more than them shoving boobs in my face to get me into the series after all). I'm just hoping the anime turns out to be good, if not decent, because I found the original anime rather boring.
Edited by Customer on Aug 31st 2018 at 11:04:01 AM
Ranks of the girls from the EV Bible
>Kagura - Kagura, Jasmine
>Saijonin - Rin
>Tokujonin - Daidoji, Yumi
>Jonin - Ikaruga, Imu, Katsuragi, Hikage, Homura, Miyabi, Murakumo, Murasaki, Ryoki, Ryona, Ryobi
>Chuunin - Asuka, Shiki, Haruka, Minori, Yagyuu, Yozakura, Yomi
>Genin - Hibari, Mirai
>Unknown - 3 Mikagura sisters
Shocking Gun!
New trailer for season 2.
Seems like an adaptation of Shinobi Master New Link, which is fine by me. The team uniforms from that game appeal to me more than the standard school uniforms. Almost kind of forgot that the twins were supposed to be antagonists of some sort, but i can't read most of the dialogue in New Link to know anything about it, so I don't even know if that game's plot is meant to go anywhere.
Sounds like they're aiming for a more serious story here, akin to the 3DS titles. And Fubuki is looking more and more like an "Anti/Evil-Yumi", as it were. Or at least someone meant to be her rival. They share some design characteristics, have similar weapons, and I'm pretty sure Fubuki's name is snow-related as well.
In any case, kind of looking forward to it, since it looks like it'll have a bit more substance than the previous anime adaptation. Still not a huge fan of how the anime versions of the characters look, but I guess it's hard to translate Nan's artsyle into animation.
EDIT: Here's the image I saw
◊ that made me connect the similarities between Yumi and Fubuki. Also found a link to the voice cast. Seems like literally everyone who has been in the games is going to be voiced in the anime too. The only missing ones seem to be the New Wave girls who managed to get into the games: Yuyaki, Leo, Souji, and Basho.
Edited by Customer on Oct 1st 2018 at 3:45:48 PM
>- there are plans to launch Traditional Chinese versions of Peach Ball: Senran Kagura and Senran Kagura Reflexions physically
>- these will be available in Taiwan in Spring 2019
>- they will release via a bundle including all DLC for both games
>- they are planning the physical release because Taiwan does not have a dedicated eShop
>- there are no plans to add any post-launch characters into Peach Ball: Senran Kagura.
>- a sequel could be possible if Peach Ball ‘gets good reviews’
>- no difficulty settings in Peach Ball: Senran Kagura
>- every pinball table has different counter-tops
>- each counter-top features different graphics, and also different gameplay
>- Nintendo provided a lot of support and help during development
WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TAKAKI?
Probably need some context for that reaction there, unless it's more "they're focusing too much on the fanservice/waifu angle to the detriment of balancing that with a decent/good plot thread" gripes. Which is understandable, though I've since come to terms with then series direction by now.
...Er, speaking of plot, I saw something on Reddit saying that Takaki has said that Seven will conclude the "Yoma Arc" and that he plans to focus on spin-offs after that. Is this true?
Peach Ball follows the same model as Reflexions, minuscule cast, no real variation on the gameplay but unlike Reflexion that was just $10, Peach is being sold as a full priced release at $50. And there's no DLC to boot, making the whole thing feel like a scam.
And yeah, he confirmed it on an interview he did to promote the Burst remake like a year ago.
Edited by Tzitzimine on Oct 6th 2018 at 12:18:25 PM
Hm, I probably forgot then. I'm just hoping whatever he comes out with later still includes games with good combat and decent story-telling like the 3DS and Versus titles, and he doesn't just double down on simpler games like PBS or the two Switch titles.
I still want to see a successor to Valkyrie Drive's gameplay, dammit...
And technically, Reflexions is also around $50 if you just get every character and nothing else. But yeah, unless there's some serious meat to Peach Ball's gameplay (or it's just that fun), $50 for PB alone feels a bit too much for a pinball game.
Edited by Customer on Oct 7th 2018 at 10:43:26 AM
Seems Burst Re's PS 4 release will remove the "Intimacy Mode" feature from the Dressing Room, as per Sony's request. The Steam release will be untouched. I found the original article here, and a followup with X Seed's response to it here, where they basically said they had to drop the mode or cancel the PS 4 release.
Intimacy Mode has been a mainstay in every game I think. Even New Link has it. It's the "mini-game" that involves using the creepy grabby hands to, basically, mess with the girls. It's one of the more contentious/polarizing features of the series as far as the Western fan base is concerned (as far as I can tell at least; last time I seriously looked into the fandom was back when it was newer/smaller), almost entirely due to the fact that in every game except Reflexions (barring specific scenarios, and even then...), almost all the girls will yell at you for interacting with them that way, with some having particularly bad reactions (Murasaki, apparently terrified, will literally scream at you to stop and Murakumo will sometimes start sobbing if she doesn't have her mask on). The girls who enjoy/encourage Intimacy can be counted on one hand, but even a couple of them will complain about crossing the line at times.
Despite that though, there's no actual punishment involved for players that indulge themselves; the worst that happens is you get kicked out of the room, but you can go right back in and nothing changes since Relationship Values don't exist and neither does the player (in most cases). It honestly makes for a rather uncomfortable experience to everyone who isn't into what basically amounts to humiliation fetishes, and, to me at least, it reinforces the implication that otaku/Japanese gamers prefer cute waifus who cry foul to those who are much more bold/open about it. It's the main reason I personally despise the mode outside of Reflexions, which is more about bonding than outright molestation, though that game still lets you grope them inappropriately (which nets the most negative reaction from them in almost all cases, but that reaction is much less severe than in the main games for plot reasons) and doesn't outright punish you for doing so (and you have to do it at least once per girl in order to get their real ending).
All that said, I know people like the mode, and I ain't going to knock them for it, nor am I going to be annoyed at the ones who are reasonably upset at the news raising their complaints about the mode's removal. It also strikes me as a little odd to come down on it now, but given how the past couple of years have been, I'm not the least bit surprised. At least the game isn't totally canned, and the Steam version will be uncensored.
Mostly, this makes me wonder how Takaki will take this. As well as whether or not it'll affect Peach Ball's localization at all.
Edited by Customer on Oct 13th 2018 at 11:16:42 AM
What gets me is people jumping to the conclusion that Xseed's trying to censor the game. Anyone who knows about their history knows Xseed's one of the last companies that'll ever censor any sexual or violent content in a game if they can help it.
If people whining about perceived censorship in gaming surprises you, you have not been paying attention.
Edited by PhysicalStamina on Oct 13th 2018 at 3:07:13 PM
Uppers is a painfully mediocre brawler that suffers from the obnoxious support mechanics that are its main selling point. All the interactions are reduced to four canned animations that can't be skipped, the bonuses are entirely RNG, the game is incredibly repetitive and the art direction, forgettable.
Daidouji was a DLC character that was still part of the main game as the final boss in the game's survival mode, the Steam page for Uppers reveals she will be part of the game from the get-go.