Part of the reason why I bought a PlayStation 4 was so that
I could play anime games like Koihime Enbu that will never appear on Xbox. As
luck would have it, just as I was about ready to pull the trigger to import it
an updated release was announced for the West, at a bargain price no less, and
I was finally able to play it. Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is an all-female 2D
fighting game with a fantastic cast, great artwork, and intuitive and
accessible gameplay that is everything I had hoped it would be. The busty all
girl cast ensures it won't be for everyone, but if you like the Koihime Musou
franchise or just want a new fighter to check out, Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is
absolutely worth a look.
Game Details
- Publisher: Degica Co., Ltd.
- Developer: Unknown Games, BaseSon
- ESRB Rating: "T" for Teen
- Genre: Fighting
- Pros: Great cast; nice presentation; easy to get into fighting mechanics; price
- Cons: No tutorial; no story mode
- MSRP: $20
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Kohime Enbu was originally released on Steam and PS4 in
Japan in 2016. Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is an updated version of that game
available to download in the West at a very appealing $20 price point. It
includes an extra character over the first release, bringing the roster up to
14, and also allows any strategist assist character to be used with any fighter
(in the original you could only use strategists from the same faction as you
fighter). One other change over the original release is that RyoRaiRai no
longer has a story mode, but it does have most of the other modes you'd expect
- arcade mode against the CPU, online and local multiplayer, and a training
mode. Some folks might think the roster of 14 characters is too small but,
considering the source material, I think the roster is more than enough. Most
of the main characters that actually fight are present, so I'm pretty happy
with it even if there are a couple of memorable side characters I would of
liked to see.
Gameplay wise, Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is fairly simple, but
it also has some strategic elements that offer some surprising depth. There are
only three attack buttons, plus a special button, and that's it. All of the characters
basically have the same inputs - QCF, QCB, dragon punch motion, etc. - and
supers and special moves are activated the same way for each character. This
makes it seem overly simplistic, but the actual moves and reach and potential
combo strings can be different for each character, so there is still plenty of
learn. What this does is it makes the game very easy and intuitive to pick up
while still offering plenty of variety.
From a mechanical perspective, RyoRaiRai is interesting in
that normal attacks are almost useless as they do very little damage. What the
normal attacks do accomplish however, is that landing them give you the green
light to start doing super moves and combos so you can actually do some damage.
The reason for this is that blocking is crazy good in Koihime Enbu. In
technical terms you are plus on attack (so keep attacking) but minus on block
(if your attack is blocked and you try to attack again, you're actually
penalized and your opponent has a counter window). This gives fights an
interesting flow and feel compared to other games because you're constantly
playing footsies and probing for openings or waiting for a counterattack rather
than just going for outright offense.
Aggression can still be rewarded, however, thanks to the Fatal
Counter system. Landing certain strong attacks lead to your opponent being
crumpled, which you can then link into other moves after a launcher, wall
bounce, or ground bounce for long combos and massive damage. Your opponent is
helpless during this state, so as long as you can execute the linking moves
properly you can rack up huge damage and some very flashy and cool looking
combos. Because of the blocking and counterattacking core of the game, however,
you have to be careful when you try to go for these types of attacks because
they can be punished if you miss. Whiff punishing is actually another huge part
of the game as missed normal attacks have a huge recovery window that give your
opponent a lot of time to launch their own counter.
There's more to the game, but that's the general gist of it.
It plays fairly differently from most other 2D fighters, and is a lot different
from other anime fighters like NitroPlus Blasterz or ArcSys' games. Koihime
Enbu RyoRaiRai doesn't seem as complex on the surface, so it is easy to pick up
and play, but it has a lot of depth for those that want to seek it out. I do
wish it had a proper tutorial mode to actually teach you all of the more advanced
techniques, but there are plenty of YouTube videos to teach you that stuff,
which I highly recommend you check out.
The presentation in Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai is very nice all
in all. The visuals are clean and great looking with nicely detailed characters
and generally fantastic animation. It isn't as fanservice-y as it could have
been, at least compared to the anime, as there are the obligatory panty shots
and breast jiggle, but the costumes are surprisingly tame (except new character
Choryo, perhaps) and their clothes don't disintegrate (at all) at the slightest
touch like they do in the anime. The sound is also well done with the same (as
far as I can tell ...) voice actresses as the anime.
I have to say that I'm pretty darn happy with Koihime
Enbu RyoRaiRai. It looks and sounds great, features the cast of characters I
love, and has fantastic "easy to learn, hard to master" gameplay that
is a ton of fun. The $20 price point is absolutely perfect as well. People that
object to busty anime girls won't like it, of course, but anyone else looking for a
new fighting game on PS4 should definitely give Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai a look.
Disclosure: A review code was provided by the publisher.
