How About Them Senrans?

I wasn't planning on doing two Patron-Only posts today — and I'm certainly not going to make a habit of it, for those concerned about their inboxes — but what with all the Senran Kagura announcements earlier it seems like a good opportunity to post a few immediate thoughts, and also to summarise what was announced for those who happened to miss the stream and/or subsequent discussion on social media.

Quickly, then, here's what was announced and/or confirmed:

• Senran Kagura Refle for Switch got some new video footage showing how you'll be able to interact with Asuka using the JoyCons.

• Senran Kagura: Peach Ball was announced for Switch, but no game footage was shown. The game features the Senrans in cute animal-themed outfits and is apparently a pinball-style game of some description.

• Senran Kagura Burst is getting a remake for PS4 in the form of Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal. The new version reimagines Burst's 2.5D brawler gameplay in the full 3D style of Shinovi Versus and Estival Versus. First footage here.

• Senran Kagura 7 confirmed for 2018 after being teased in Peach Beach Splash. Again, no game footage as yet, but a teaser trailer suggests a potential return to the "main plot" of Shinobi vs. youma, as well as the presence of the extended cast, who were absent from Deep Crimson.

• Senran Kagura New Link coming to mobile, as a follow-up to New Wave. The game looks considerably technically superior to the HTML-based New Wave, with full 3D depictions of characters and battles, but details are pretty scant for now.

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On the whole, these are pretty cool announcements. I'm particularly excited about Senran Kagura 7 — and intrigued by its title, since the last Senran Kagura game to have a number in its title was 2 or Deep Crimson on 3DS, which was actually the third game to come out. By my reckoning, we have Burst, Shinovi Versus, Deep Crimson, Bon Appetit, Estival Versus and Peach Beach Splash as the first six games, suggesting even the sillier titles in the series (like Bon Appetit) are considered canonical.

I'm especially happy about Senran Kagura 7 because, as I say above, the teaser trailer looks a bit like we'll be returning to the overall dramatic plot of ninjas vs demons that we last saw all the way back in Deep Crimson. I have nothing against the character-centric stories of the Versus series and in fact they're a big part of the series' ongoing appeal for me, but it will be nice to get the "big plot" moving again.

Refle I have no idea what to make of right now because it's still not 100% clear to me what kind of game it is. I mean, obviously you get to hang out with Asuka and… do things to her, but the big question is why? Still, it looks like a charming enough game, and if all the visual novels I've played over the years (not to mention Summer Lesson on PlayStation VR) have taught me anything, it's that games where you get to just hang out with a character can be highly enjoyable too. Also Asuka is lovely, so there's that, too. (Why isn't this a PSVR game, though? HD rumble be damned!)

Likewise for Peach Ball. I like pinball and I like Senrans, so this sounds like a fun time. Will there be any substance to it beyond it being Senran-themed pinball though? That remains to be seen, but if nothing else this game lends further credence to my theory that the Senrans are a strong enough ensemble cast now to transcend the style of game they originally appeared in — something which Bon Appetit and Peach Beach Splash have both ably proven, too.

As for Burst Re:Newal, I'm very happy to get a chance to revisit where it all began, and I hope Deep Crimson gets a similar treatment in the near future. I'm a little disappointed that they haven't stuck with the 2.5D brawler format of the 3DS originals — the fact that they were essentially modern Streets of Rage-style games was a big part of their appeal to me — but the Versus series, Estival in particular, has shown that Takaki's team are pretty good at making solid, challenging 3D brawlers now, so it makes sense.

And New Link? Hm. I tried New Wave and found it tedious and dull (not to mention indecipherable, due to it not being in English and my Japanese being rudimentary at best) but will admit it has some absolutely gorgeous art on its collectible cards. New Link sounds like it will be put together to feel a lot more like a "proper game", but it will still almost certainly be yet another free-to-play gacha-based game. That said, Granblue Fantasy and Fate/GO have both shown me that this type of game isn't automatically bad, and so I remain cautiously optimistic about this — albeit unconvinced that it will get localised, as New Wave still doesn't have an English version.

All in all, it was a good day to be a fan of the titty ninjas. And if you're not already? Well, I got plenty of stuff for you to read and educate yourself!