Senran Kagura

People don't have the highest opinions on Xseed and feel like they are being neglectful to the series even if it is their Cash-Cow Franchise they still have.

Which makes no sense considering how every single game is being brought over now.

Difference is that Sony is taking out the intimacy mode, while the steam release will remain intact.

Thats what people are angry over, in that Sony is the only one doing this, and Steam isn't, which makes Sony look like an overprotective helicopter parent by comparison (Hence why Omega Labyrinth z's localization being canceled doesn't help matters, either).

Well, according to this article, seems there really are more fans blaming X Seed more than Sony, causing them to make another response on the matter. The short version is that cancelling the PS 4 game would be a financial disaster for X Seed and Honey Parade, as well as implying that doing so over a single optional mode (that's in nearly every game, presented in almost the exact same way) is a poor decision. Supposedly the amount of people just having a bitch fit about the situation just got to be too much.

Like I said before, I get the more reasonable complainers who get what's going on but hate the decision anyway, but I've watched enough videos about censorship in games to know that there a lot of vocal folks who can't stand censorship on principle and make several angry comments and declarations about it. Add that to the increase of gamers launching into rage and hate-filled rants at almost any perceived slight against devs, crews, producers, VAs, and any other "target", and I can get why another statement had to be made...

Such is the nature of the beast.

I knew this would happen. That's what I was mentioning earlier, Xseed's the one that'll get the hate, the way articles tend to word the situation, the Steam port and Sony taking out the mode are mentioned almost as an afterthought compared to Xseed's involvement.

Let it be said Xseed publishes games with quite a bit of dark, sexual, or violent content, the Corpse Party games, Akiba's Trip, and some particular scenes in Trails in the Sky The 3rd, as just a few examples.

I agree that X seed shouldn't take the hit because Sony is being weird.

Welp, Hatsuu and Tom have left Xseed. This probably doesn't bode that well.

From what I gathered from those tweets (I know nothing about X Seed or its personnel), one was a very awesome editor and another was pretty much the only guy within the company who railed against censorship. I'm guessing these two may be the reason we were still getting SK games after rumors about the company no longer wanting to localize the series were circling around. If so, then, on top of Sony's recent trend of cracking down on sexual content in all PlayStation games, not just ones slated for international releases, this indeed does not bode well, for Senran Kagura as well as multiple other franchises and games.

...I guess all we can do is wait and see what happens. I have a few problems with SK, but I still enjoy it enough that I'll miss it if it stops being localized.

Edited by Customer on Oct 30th 2018 at 12:58:39 PM

Xseed has always been a big supporter of SK, it's their big money maker really. The company as a whole have been big on anti-censorship policies. The Sony thing was just Sony being Sony, the Steam release is fine. With this and Cold Steel 3 fears it's getting tiring from all the doom and gloom.

Yeah, good points. Like I said, I don't really follow X Seed so I wasn't sure what to think, and was mostly just reading some of the comments in those tweets. It still surprises me to hear that SK is their big seller though

Sony's behavior is... different, but not entirely new for them, yes. It just feels like they've been doubling down on the questionable decisions after the whole crossplay fiasco happened.

...Ah well. This isn't the Sony thread anyway.

Got something from my feed: Sony's new regulations will mean SK 7 will probably be delayed as Takaki tries to figure out how to compromise on how the game depicts its usual brand of fanservice. This article also links to Kotaku's original one.

Also, a reminder that the regulations seem to be implemented globally, so developers will have to follow them regardless of whether or not the games leave Japan at all.

After this, I imagine Takaki will either fully retool the franchise's fanservice elements or he'll just move to the Switch and PC.

Edited by Customer on Dec 6th 2018 at 2:31:24 PM

Isn't the latest game on Switch anyway?

It'll be ironic if Takaki moves to the console from the "family-friendly" company just to avoid ditching the fanservice.

No that's another spin-off that's in the Switch, while the remake of the first game is on PS 4/PC. 7Even is supposed to be the next main action game, but as far as I can tell, it was only slated for PS 4.

Also, Nintendo gave devs the go ahead to create "mature" titles for the Switch early on the system's life, most likely in an attempt to stave off the "family friendly" stereotype Nintendo has had since forever. That's why titles like Senran Kagura and Gal Gun have been popping alongside games like Doom and Wolfenstien.

I think Takaki moved to focus on the Play Station because of how popular the Versus series (and Valkyrie Drive) was on the Vita and PS 4, seemingly abandoning Nintendo on the action title front, leaving the Switch with titles that play up the fanservice and offer little else (though admittedly, Reflexions does offer some character insight to the girls who showed up there, if you're like me and care about that sort of trivia). Going back to the company that the series started with seems more ironic to me.

Edited by Customer on Dec 6th 2018 at 5:25:04 AM

Oh man, I forgot about Gal Gun.

Well, according to this article, he's looking to retool. That's... surprising.

He basically says that he'll stop randomly putting in the more gratuitous fanservice elements, like upskirt shots and groping, going forward. He wants to properly show the characters' growth as the series moves on, and will continue to balance the serious narrative with his usual humor. He admits that most of the fanservice that occurs doesn't have a real narrative reason to happen. He adds that the series will still have fanservice though, as he repeats his statements that there are fans of the games he makes and creators like him that love making them.

He also mentions something about "increased scrutiny", thanks to Tokyo hosting the Olympics in 2020. Not quite sure what he means here... I'm guessing he wants the series to gain more publicity and knows it'll be harder to do that if he keeps things the way they are.

On one hand, to me, this sounds like a step in the right direction and is kind of something I wanted to see Takaki consider but never thought he'd go for. I do have some issues with how this series handles its fanservice, despite knowing that it's an ecchi and I shouldn't be as bothered by it as I am since I know what I'm getting into. One of the things I hope that comes out of this is that heavy humiliation aspect of the fanservice gets toned down (by this I mean that the girls are given more agency in regards to , and that their reactions are consistent with their personalities).

On the other hand, the series is what it is (and I still enjoy it regardless; plus, to me, most of the real gratuitous fanservice in the series happens in side games like New Wave and New Link, where the girls clothes explode off of them for almost no reason), and I'm less of a fan of Sony seemingly being the main reason Takaki is considering changing up the formula in the first place. Though based on his interviews, it sounds like he's been considering doing something like this even before Sony's regulations forced his hand (makes me wonder if there were reactions to the anime also made him rethink how the series currently is).

...To be honest, I have mixed feelings. Guess we'll see what happens.

How loudly is the fanbase complaining?

I mean. I'm okay with the series being less about underage girls getting molested. I'm all for horny as hell games being as perverted as they want to be but there are lines that SK has definitely crossed that I'm uncomfortable with.

Giving context to the fanservice seems like a lost cause though. SK is "Lots of boobs and also a decent story on the margins" to me and while keeping them separated might feel awkward I don't think going too far to justify things won't be any less so.

Edited by ShirowShirow on Dec 9th 2018 at 11:48:08 AM

Here's the thing.

Takaki's comments were taken out of context by most media outlets that reported the news. The interview was first and foremost focused on the anime. His comments about fanservice for fanservice's wasn't about future installments but for the franchise as whole. Although given the way the series has developed as late, I wouldn't take Takaki's words at face value. His comments about the Olympics and him looking for means to keep producing stuff, wasn't about games as that article implied, but rather, about fanservice anime and how is harder to push the envelope these days.

As for Seven, he didn't confirmed he was removing elements from it, he said he forced to think in a way to present certain elements in a way isn't comes off like something different to his actual goal.

Makes sense. That last article I linked made me wonder if that was the case.

Takaki leaves Marvelous, is still the producer for SK (for now)

From what I've gathered:

• He left Marvelous due to the restrictions on sexual content, er, causing him to "snap" in a way? Not in a violent or aggressive manner, but more like he didn't like how "easily" it was to decide to cut/restrict sexual content, something that he feels gives the industry some needed variation. Despite this feeling, he said that he supports the regulations that are ultimately meant to support various "scopes and genres".

• SK 7 is still in development but the article says that Takaki will only be around to change the things that needed to be changed, while the rest of his staff and Marvelous finishes up everything else. There's no word in the article on what's going to happen with the franchise after this though. I imagine Marvelous may want to keep it going somehow.

• Takaki's current goal is to create a new fantasy game based on the things he liked when he was younger. He's now working at/with Cygames to produce those. I'm guessing something akin to Dragon's Crown?

• He's also working on a new multimedia project that'll consist of an anime and a game. While he says it will still have beautiful girls, it won't have them losing their clothes, and is otherwise unreleated to SK. His goal is to seemingly produce a more "orthodox" game that will hopefully get him a reaction similar to how some people express surprise that a company like Team Ninja can produce a game that isn't fanservice focused.

• At the end he gives his usual "I am who I am" thing that I've seen in other articles about how he's been affected by the censorship, which I guess is meant to assuage his fans who like his type of fanservice/humor and gameplay philosophies. I just hope that whatever new content he produces gets people to realize that there's more his games than just boobs and sexy antics. Like, there's a reason his games stuck around outside of Japan...

Edited by Customer on Mar 27th 2019 at 11:58:56 AM

Teaser for Takaki's next project

I knew Sony's new draconian censorship stance would end up screwing Senran Kagura. Why did Marvelous even insist on Sony again? Especially when Nintendo welcomed SK with open arms.

(Please don't force me into another disclaimer where I have to remember people that I have limits on where the Fanservice can go.)

Edited by ZeroDozer on Mar 27th 2019 at 8:29:28 AM

Peach Ball, the pinball game, will release in the west this summer. There's a plot summary in the article, but basically Haruka's lastest experiment has caused Asuka, Yumi, Murasaki, Ryona, and Yomi (aka the Reflextions cast) to have their mentalities merge animals (you'd think Murasaki in particular merging with a fucking bear would be cause for concern, but I imagine she just inherits the "hibernation" aspect the most). The cure is to apparently beat them up with pinballs hit pressure points via an apparatus that works like a pinball machine.

Also Haruka works at an arcade.

Like the previous Switch title, this one acknowledges the player as their own character, who plays assistant to Haruka and is the one who actually plays the pinball game.

This game coming out and the above reminds me of something regarding Takaki's statements, but I'll post about it when I have more time...

Edited by Customer on Apr 5th 2019 at 2:41:41 PM