We love Senran Kagura and don't care who knows it! Oh, hi. I didn't see you there. For day 15 of Eric Vs. 365 we played Senran Kagura: Burst Re:Newal. Well, by "played" we really mean "dressed up cute big booby girls", but same difference. I gotta say, though, that while we love the Senran Kagura action games, stuff like Peach Ball and Reflexions are definitely creepy and weird, but that is a topic for another time. For this blog we'll take a look at how SK: Burst Re:Newal compares to SK Estival Versus.
Senran Kagura Burst was the first Senran Kagura game released for the Nintendo 3DS. It was a 2D side scrolling beat-em-up with a story about rival good and evil high school ninja girls. Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal is a 3D remake of that game that brings the gameplay up to par with the more recently released SK Estival Versus. There are some key differences, though.
SK Burst was from a time when the series was wildly different than what we know today. Back then the story was super serious and, honestly, not very fun. Eventually Senran Kagura kind of ditched the rivalries and seriousness and embraced the fanservice and now the games are largely just excuses to see busty girls in skimpy outfits. I'm OK with that. Because of this, however, the plot of Burst Re:Newal is kind of a drag compared to Estival Versus or Peach Beach Splash.
Read our Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal review
Read our Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal review
The gameplay also isn't quite up to the standards we've gotten used to. Mechanically, the gameplay in Burst Re:Newal is the same 3D musou beat-em-up like Estival Versus, but the scale of the battles you fight isn't really comparable and is far less interesting. There are fewer enemies onscreen at a time in Burst Re:Newal and you only fight one main character shinobi at a time, which makes the missions really pretty dull compared to Estival Versus where the screen would be full of enemies and you'd fight up to 3 shinobi at a time. Burst Re:Newal is still fun, just not AS fun.
The fanservice is also toned down a bit in Burst Re:Newal. Estival Versus had special finishes where your opponent would be stripped and fly off only to land in some embarrassing position, but those finishes aren't present here at all. Also gone is the creepy dressing room "feature" where you could grope the girls, but that is no big loss because it was creepy. That feature is still in the Nintendo Switch version, though, but it's creepy so why would you even?
All in all, I'd say Estival Versus is still the superior Senran Kagura beat-em-up and is the one I'd recommend. Burst Re:Newal and Estival Versus are both a lot of fun, though, so play them both if you're a fan. I liked them enough that I got the PS4 platinum trophy in each, which is actually saying a lot considering the only other platinum trophies I have are for Farming Simulator 15 and 17.
As for this video, I decided to just focus on playing dress up because it is silly and funny and that's what I felt like doing. If (when) we do other Senran Kagura games I'll actually play them properly, I promise.
As for this video, I decided to just focus on playing dress up because it is silly and funny and that's what I felt like doing. If (when) we do other Senran Kagura games I'll actually play them properly, I promise.
