#oneaday Day 289: Re:Newal

I finished the Hanzou arc of Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal tonight, so I'll have a writeup on that part of the story in the next few days. I'm podcasting over the weekend so I might not have time to write it then, but definitely by the end of Monday at the latest.

I think this might have ended up as my favourite Senran Kagura game. I love all of them, as is probably clear at this point, but returning to the decidedly bleak tone of the original is a nice change from everyone being friends and getting into shenanigans. I am, however, expecting 7even to mark a return to this style, given the teaser at the end of Peach Beach Splash, so I'm looking forward to that.

I'll talk more about all this in my proper writeup, but I really appreciate the various changes they've made to the gameplay. The addition of visible attack telegraphs is fantastic, as it allows you to dodge, block and parry much more strategically than in past games. It also makes the Hanzou finale Orochi fight really cool and dramatic as you're weaving in and out of all manner of crazy attacks — that whole stage's reimagining is absolutely fantastic.

I very much appreciate the clear progression and how the passive skills you learn through the Yin and Yang levels apply regardless of how you're playing. Getting that "dealing damage heals you" bonus from maxing out Yin makes playing Frantic on Hard much less risky — and I sense it's going to be extremely useful in the Daidouji fight, which I haven't cleared yet.

The addition of the Secret Growth Medicine to level up characters without grinding is great, too. You still have to collect it, so there's a certain amount of grinding in that regard — plus the only way to level up Yin and Yang is through playing in Frantic and Transformed status respectively — but you don't have to grind for simple experience level any more, which is a welcome change, and makes it much easier to get all the girls up to max level.

And it's just a really good beat 'em up. The strikes have real weight and impact to them, the special attacks are satisfying, the enemies are varied and interesting, the characters all play very differently to one another, and the one-on-one battles against the other characters are a genuine thrill. The final Asuka-Homura showdown in the Hanzou arc was like something out of a shounen anime — all coloured energy blasts flying around the screen while the pair of them shout at each other and a nice Japanese lady sings about… something or other. (I can't find the lyrics to Rinne anywhere!) And I love the Burst system; finishing off a fight with the Burst super move is so satisfying.

So yeah. Loving it much more than I expected; I thought being a remake of a game I'd already played would dampen the enjoyment for me somewhat, but it's actually been a fantastic experience — plus it's a good few years since I played Burst anyway! Looking forward to writing about it. Watch out for the first of (probably) two pieces on it soon!