Is Senran Kagura actually a good game?

Yes. Yes it is.

Not only Musou-style games. Peach Beach Splash is a pretty good TPS as well.

I actually heard the Versus games are awful musou games

The only game from the series I've heard is good gameplay wise is the second one on 3DS which is more a side scrolling beat em up i think?

Senran Kagura Estival Versus is the only one I played properly and I really enjoyed it, so much so that I ended up getting the plat for the PS4 version and buying the DLC characters. I'm not a fan of the series, don't even know the characters but the game was good fun.

It actually is a lot of fun to play from a gameplay standpoint. The fanservice is in every single element though, so be wary if that isnt your cup of tea. Played through the campaign and enjoyed it, but not enough to do all the side missions.

I played the first one and it was a fairly standard beat 'em up with an atrocious framerate. Not great.

It's pretty so that makes it a good game. Looking forward to that remaster or remake.

The gameplay and story are surprisingly decent considering it's subject matter.

Obviously this is subjective, but I'd say the Versus games are on a similar level to Hyrule Warriors.

From what little I played, Musou still the king at this type of gameplay. I still liked the gameplay of SK from what I played.

Will have to get back to playing it again.

Shinovi versus is definitely better than Estival, but yeah they're great games.

The Senran Kagura games are less musuo and more brawlers where you take on a bunch of enemies at the same time who have generally low health. While this may sound like a Musuo, the Dynasty Warriors series of games that the term generally refers to have some elements of strategy that the SK games lack. This isn't to say that they aren't fun, but I wouldn't really consider them in the same genre. That being said, while I do consider them to be fun, an appreciation for over the top fanservice will increase the satisfaction you get from one of these games, though I will say that the storyline in Estival Versus is surprisingly good...one of the best of it's year to be honest.

If you ignore the fanservice, which I totally admit is difficult in this space, it's a decent game. I enjoyed Estival Versus a lot, and Peach Beach Splash is a very competent TPS.

The fanservice is usually what slows or stops people from enjoying it.

Yeah, the gameplay is fun and addictive if you're into the genre.

Assuming you're talking about Versus, they're solid enough musou games. I'd say they're about 5/10 or 6/10 games, good for some mindless mashing and sex jokes. Estival Versus has the funniest and best story so far IMO, while Shinovi Versus has the best musou combat system of the two. Haven't played Peach Beach Splash yet.

I don't think they are as terrible as most games strictly selling on "plot" but few would play them if they starred a bunch of ugly dudes and a different story. The games are OK and to some they are enhanced by the "lighthearted elements" and cute anime girls. They're entertaining enough if you like cute anime girls but good? Nah, decent at best. I felt I had enough after one game myself.

Mediocre musou knockoffs with titty

They're about as good as Hokuto Musou

Clive said:

I don't think they are as terrible as most games strictly selling on "plot" but few would play them if they starred a bunch of ugly dudes and a different story.

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This is why Uppers bombed huh

Tonton said:

I actually heard the Versus games are awful musou games

The only game from the series I've heard is good gameplay wise is the second one on 3DS which is more a side scrolling beat em up i think?

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It's the other way around. The only thing SK2 had going for it, compared to the Versus titles, are the boss enemies. Had far more fun with Shinovi and Estival.

I like Hyrule Warriors, but being a better game then a musou isn't really a high bar.

Instant Vintage said:

If you ignore the fanservice, which I totally admit is difficult in this space, it's a decent game. I enjoyed Estival Versus a lot, and Peach Beach Splash is a very competent TPS.

The fanservice is usually what slows or stops people from enjoying it.

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Estival does let you tone down the fan service in the settings.

From versus on the games have been solid. I just avoid the spin offs.

Senran Kagura is bizarre because the series to my knowledge has good gameplay and well developed characters in spite of the shameless, at times tasteless fanservice. I've only played the first one on 3DS though, been too self conscious to try buying any of the newer ones so maybe the games have gone downhill since then but I doubt it.

I'd sooner play Hyrule Warriors though, if only because that game is pure awesomeness.

They run the gamut of being "okay" to "pretty good" depending on which game you go with but there's not really much point to get into it if you don't vibe with the characters. It's a very "personality driven" series which means you're going to have to embrace the fan service that comes along with it.

I can tell you that Estival Versus is a delight to play at 4k 60 FPS on PC.

All of the main ones are excellent beat em ups. The characters are each varied and the combos you can pull off are great. The stories are actually much deeper than most give it credit for. Obviously not literature quality, but they're not straight up porn with no story like some assume. My personal favorite of the genre. I haven't played (and possibly will never play) the water FPS thing.

Found the combat more enjoyable than the traditional Musou games, but not on the level of Basara. They're lacking in other aspects comparatively, but overall you'll probably have a reasonably good time with them, providing you're not someone who's developed a gag reflex to fanservice.

Absolutely

I only really liked the mainine titles on 3DS, particularly 2. The gameplay just feels better on that style of game over the Versus stuff to me.

I've only played the 3DS sequel and Estival Versus. Estival Versus is a really boring low-tier musou. SK2 on 3DS was pretty fun. The differences between character moveses and level design felt like there was a much larger variety than in EV where everyone felt like they played the same. Overall they are pretty mediocre games, maybe SK2 could be considered decent.

It depends on the game really.
SK2 on the 3DS is the best one imo, and a great beat them all for the platform overall,on top of an actually good story.

Versus games are decent Musou like games but have issues, both in terms of gameplay and presentation. Bon Appetit is a good rhythm game. PBS is a disappointing take on the shooter genre.

Let's see how the remake of Burst (the first game) will end up being, but at least it'll have a great story.

Great franchise.

Homura best girl .

They're not incredible, but they are solid and fun to chill out with, just like other musou games.

From the musous I've played (WO3U, DQH1+2, FEW, FOTNS, and Berserk), I would put Senran Kagura Shinovi+Estival far above Berserk and FOTNS, but a few notches below the rest. I'd have a hard time believing HW is worse than SKSV/EV.

SK is my favourite game in the genre, what it does better than 99% of the mussou games, is getting rid of running around big levels in combination with timed objectives...basically cutting the fat.

i liked senran kagura shinovi versus enough to plat it. i remember really enjoying it.

i quit estival versus, but i started it pretty soon thereafter, probably burned out.

peach beach splash seems fun too, hopefully i can get it around $25ish someday.

HypedBeast said:

So Im hearing a lot of praise for the story. What makes it so great? Is it the character interaction?

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Yeah, it's really down to the characters. They're all pretty damn likable. They carry the show as the overall stories really aren't much to talk about.

HypedBeast said:

So Im hearing a lot of praise for the story. What makes it so great? Is it the character interaction?

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Character interaction and the backstories are actually in-depth and serious. I was surprised by how serious Shinovi Versus got.

No shortage of sex humor to break it all up of course.

Don't hold it against me but I've actually platinumed Estival Versus!

The ridiculous "I've taken enough damage that my clothes all rip to shreds" or "you've performed a finishing move that mimics some sort of gratuitously sexual pose" or "you've shinobi'd and stripped all your clothes off, bounced your boobs and redressed in something even more revealing" is so awfully bad and cringey that it's actually really funny, and you can actually skip it all after you've watched it in horror like a car crash for the first few times.

The combat itself is really just good fun - every character has unique weapons and moves and fighting style, some are seriously so much fun! Smashing your way through impossible waves of enemies is really satisfying - dynasty warriors style I suppose. The story is insane and didn't seem to make much sense so I actually skipped most of the cutscenes and got straight to the fighting.

Disclaimed I'm female myself and I really was only playing it for the actual gameplay, honest!!

I think it's a conversation where one side recognizes that the sex appeal is a huge part of the game's marketing and raison-d'etre, but then seems to also hold a belief that that fact inherently brings down the quality of the game. This is mostly fine if it makes the aesthetic unappealing but they go on to be hyper-critical of the gameplay aspect, to a disproportionate degree (i.e. game is absolute trash with no redeeming qualities). So it's easy to see how fans can get miffed and overstate the strengths in response.

Most of my experience comes from SK1 and SV, but I played a little bit of Estival Versus so what I'm about to say might be less applicable.

On the gameplay side, there's a lot more leaning towards style over substance. There's a varied cast of playable characters and they mostly have some kind of gimmick, if only aesthetically. There's a lot variation visually, where you can see very distinct styles of fighting from each character. But you're rarely challenged to think about how to attack, even though you can technically. Jump cancelling and dash cancelling is as free as can be so you can really be a non-stop whirling dervish of attacks. It's high-intensity action distilled into easy to grasp controls. In that sense, you can see the same appeal as a musou game.

With the narrative, the mainline games try to balance the humor of the cast's goofy antics with the more serious drama of the risks that come with the duty of a ninja. The character's each have one reason or another for wanting to become ninjas which usually involves a past trauma or dissatisfaction with the way their life has gone. There is unfortunately very little elaboration on this aspect as the bulk of the story is character interactions where each person embodies a singular trait and makes them seem very one-note the majority of the time.

I had more to say, but I'll come back to this later

the second one is the best. hopefully they remake/remaster it for PS4/Switch.

God no, embarrassing fan-service nonsense that we should grow out of
If the story and gameplay is so good then that should be enough without the sleazy hook

HypedBeast said:

So Im hearing a lot of praise for the story. What makes it so great? Is it the character interaction?

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The story of Estival Versus is that the characters are transported to a mysterious island where their dead relatives show up, so a lot of the story has to do with resolving things unsaid or old regrets. One character's story has her getting the ingredients so her deceased mom can make her favorite dish for her one last time, another recurring storyline is about how one of the characters feels guilty for the last thing she said to her sister before she died, and about her coming to terms with that. It's surprisingly well written to be honest, far better than it would need to be for what is on display.

HypedBeast said:

So yesterday me and friend got in a big argument. He was telling me that Senran Kagura Estival Versus was not only a good game, but also a better musuo than Hyrule Warriors.

Or course I responded...

Mind you, I've never played any of these games before. It seems like something I would like, a cast of cute female characters with unique abilities fighting with a good combat system (Skullgirls and Vanillaware games are my jam), but when I look at the character designs they seem pretty generic, the dialogue is kind of long winded, and the gameplay looks like nothing special (though musuo games are funner to play than to watch).

So Im curious, for fans of the Senran Kagura series on ERA, are these games actually good, or are people only playing it for the "plot." Im willing to have my mind changed.

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Your friend is a dirty fucking liar.

Estival Versus is terrible. the FOTNS musou game is worlds better and that game is trash.

Fuck, remember in Versus rubbing up against a particular texture so you could hope to trigger a special animation to pass a quest that may or may not happen depending on the current star charts and air pressure (It's not reliable at all)? Remember being able to easily stunlock every enemy until they pop meter and then you can't hit them anymore so you just run away and then do it again over and over?

Estival is actual trash. Regardless of how you feel about fanservice, it's one of the worst musou games on the market.

The musou games are shite but the 3ds ones are ok.

The writing is unironically better than Fire Emblem Fates (though maybe that's not much of an achievement)

I got the Platinum Trophy for both Shinovi Versus and Estival Versus and enjoyed them both quite a bit. Dumb, button-mashing fun.

HypedBeast said:

So yesterday me and friend got in a big argument. He was telling me that Senran Kagura Estival Versus was not only a good game, but also a better musuo than Hyrule Warriors.

Or course I responded...

Mind you, I've never played any of these games before. It seems like something I would like, a cast of cute female characters with unique abilities fighting with a good combat system (Skullgirls and Vanillaware games are my jam), but when I look at the character designs they seem pretty generic, the dialogue is kind of long winded, and the gameplay looks like nothing special (though musuo games are funner to play than to watch).

So Im curious, for fans of the Senran Kagura series on ERA, are these games actually good, or are people only playing it for the "plot." Im willing to have my mind changed.

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It's one of my fav games, combat is great, pacing is excellent, controls are superb (on Vita). Shinovi Versus that is, Estival Versus was just more of the same with a less coherent story and fell flat in comparison.

HypedBeast said:

I personally dont mind it, It is just an aesthetic choice that will appeal to some and not others (which is why I mentioned Skullgirls and Vanillaware games in my OP, since they are very sexualized but have interesting aesthetics and fun gameplay.)

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Understandable, I feel SkullGirls is still better
Senran veers into... rapey territory

The thing that puts me off about this game is the artstyle, is waaay too "moe" (meaning that the girls look way too young which is especially bad considering the bodies they have). Not to mention that the last game had really weird stuff.

I don't even know if the gameplay is good but I can't get past the visuals.