SENRAN KAGURA: Bon Appetit! (PlayStation Vita)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): November 11, 2014
- Release Date (EU): December 12, 2014
- Release Date (JP): March 20, 2014
- Publisher: XSEED Games
- Developer: Meteorise
- Genres: Rhythm
Game Features:
Review Approach:
Introduction and the Presentation
The story begins with the main protagonist known as, Asuka, going on a journey to change people's opinion about food. What she wants is for everyone around the world to believe that food should be thick, long, and you should probably see where I am going with this... The game pulls no punches when it comes to innuendo, that's just what the game is. That line isn't the only line, there are tons more where that came from, and it will only grow from there! Besides the humor, the game throws constant fanservice at the player, something the series is known for after all. The series has always been about underage girls being in suggestive poses and saying suggestive things and this cooking spinoff isn't anything different.
That's right, if you are going into this game unprepared, you better get ready for boob physics everywhere.
Gameplay
Gameplay wise, it's a bit on the simple side of things. When the prompt comes up, it's up to the player to quickly press that prompt to keep up the rhythm. Continuing to do so, players will be able to shoot a "beam" towards their opponent and destroy a piece of clothing revealing themselves. Yeah. Not much else can be explained, after the match, the rounds will be tallied up and the one who hit the most prompts win. Maybe the developers didn't want players to feel too overwhelmed by the game. Whatever it was, the game feels too easy at times.
The story isn't really much either. For those wanting to play the game for the story will probably leave disappointed. Unless, suggestive double entendre are their thing because the story is filled will tons of those. I don't know, I skipped through most of the cringe-worthy dialogue and stupid scenes to get to the real meat of the game (Which isn't really much either!).
Oh, and let's talk about that wall of DLC. The character selection screen features tons of blacked out characters that cannot be unlocked during normal gameplay. These characters are DLC that are only unlocked once the players pony up $14.99 for the DLC pack, the same price as the game itself. I found it to be really off-putting, but hey, if players want to play as their favorite character they sure can after throwing another $14.99 at their screens.
Conclusion
Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit isn't for everyone. It's a mediocre rhythm game that feels like it's only there to pander to their fanbase that wanted to see their favorite girls in cooking gear. For people who aren't into this series, they aren't going to be jumping in anytime soon with this game.
While the game isn't broken in anyway, it's still not a very enjoyable game for those not into the franchise.
Verdict
- Nice artstyle
- Decent rhythm gameplay
- Music is bland
- Fanservice can be a turn off
- Music prompts could be placed better
- Sometimes repetitive
- Obsessive amount of DLC
