Overview – developed by Compile Heart in collaboration with Tamsoft, with publishing handled by Idea Factory International, Neptunia X SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars is a crossover JRPG hack and slash adventure. The 4 CPU Goddesses of the Neptunia series become ninja, joining forces with some of the girls from Senran Kagura in this action JRPG. This title is available on Nintendo Switch, Steam and PlayStation 4, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Idea Factory International for providing the copy of Neptunia X SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars that was used for this piece, via the Keymailer service. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note, I have previously covered the Nintendo Switch version of the game, which you can find (HERE). The details in this re-review will be similar to the Switch version, with some comparison between the two versions towards the end of the coverage. I will be referring to the game as Naptunia x Senran for the sake of brevity.
Story – In Gamindustri, a battle for dominance has arisen between the Heartland Nation, who use the Compa Style and the Marveland Nation, with their Honeypa Style. These two have been locked in battle for a long time. During one of their clashes, an army of Mechanical Ninja led by Yoh Gamer appeared to interrupt the battle. This new enemy is the head of the Headshot Style, proclaiming it the strongest of all styles and declaring the start of the “Super NINJA War”.
Gameplay – Neptunia x Senran is a dungeon crawling hack and slash JRPG, where the gameplay loop revolves around completing objectives set in each location. In order to complete the missions and tasks during the story, the player can deploy a team of two ninja into the dungeons. At the start of the game, the player can only use the Compa Ninja, but as the game progresses, new characters will join the playable roster, with a total of 10 characters to use.
The two Ninja system gives the gameplay a lot of depth, as the player can freely switch between the two. In the team there is a Leader and Partner, which are selected from the roster of playable characters. Each of the characters have their own action style, strengths and weaknesses, so finding the right pair is important for continued success with missions. Characters can also be equipped with different gear that is unlocked during play.
During the dungeon exploration, the player will encounter various enemies, including Yokai and enemy Mechanical Ninja. When these enemies appear, the player must use their ninja combat skills to cut them down. The different characters possess a standard combo and jump attack, alongside special ninja weapons like Kunai and Shuriken that can be used to extend combos. Players can lock onto enemies to focus attacks, or attack freely in a more chaotic manner.
Then there are the Ninja Arts, which are special powers that the Ninja girls can employ. These skills use the Stamina meter, with the different skills taking up varying amounts of the bar. The Ninja Arts also have a special chain system tied to their use, allowing several of them to be chained together with the “Trigger” meter. Four Ninja Art skills can be chained together, causing massive damage and if used in the right sequence, special effects can occur.
Alongside the Ninja Arts is the Fuurinkazan Drive, which will imbue the active character with elemental power for a brief time. These powers are based on the four elements of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, providing benefits based on their element. The benefits include faster stamina regeneration and more power at the cost of increased damage taken. These are limited per dungeon, so make sure to use them wisely.
When battling enemies, attacking isn’t the only thing that players can do, as there are several defensive options to deploy. Players can use a dodge skill, giving them a window of invincibility when used, with the ability to dash when holding it down. The dodge and dash skills use the stamina meter, like the Ninja Arts. Stamina will recover gradually, but it can be sped up by perfectly timing the guard button or by dealing damage to enemies.
As the player takes/deals damage, they will gain energy in the EX gauge, which surrounds the active character portrait. When this meter is full, the player will be able to unleash their ultimate attack called Shinobi Extreme. These special attacks will deal massive damage to all enemies within range of the strike, making a good too to employ during desperate situations. These attacks are tied to the active character of the duo, allowing them to be saved for later.
Throughout the dungeons, players will be able to use a selection of items to aid them in their missions. These include healing items, special temporary power-ups and revival items. These items can be bought from the shop in the home base, collected from defeated enemies and even obtained from chests. There will even be special chests scattered through the different locations, needing keys to open them that can be gained as rewards.
As players cut down their foes, the active duo will gain experience, levelling them up when set milestones are reached. When this occurs, the character will fully recover any health that has been lost, but if one of the deployed team is knocked out, they will not gain experience. This makes switching characters regularly very important, as the player will get a game over if both characters are defeated in the dungeon.
While exploring the dungeon, there will be barriers that stop the player from progressing, split into two different designations. The yellow barriers require a sub objective to be cleared, like opening switches and killing enemies. On the other hand, the red barriers can’t be opened, but they change depending on the mission. These make returning to the different locations more rewarding, increasing the replay value and possibilities for exploration.
At key points in each story mission, the player will come across event markers which will trigger when the area they are in is touched. These can often result in battles against powerful bosses or multi wave battles. The wave battles are pretty simple, needing to defeat all enemies before being able to move on. But the boss battles can be significantly more challenging, as they have a special gimmick to make them tougher to defeat.
In a boss fight, the opponent will often have multiple devastating attacks that cannot be blocked, as well as multiple health bars that need to be depleted. These powerful foes will also have a break meter, which will need to be reduced to perform a stun, weakening them for a limited time. While they are in a weakened state, the player will be able to deal significantly more damage to the boss. This is where a stored Shinobi Extreme attack can be very useful.
When not exploring the different environments, the player will be able to access multiple facilities at the home base. They will be able to talk to the different NPC characters through NinChat, adding to the world building and there are special events that can occur. In Market street, the player will be able to buy and sell items, including weapons, consumables and special spirit gems. The store will change as the player makes their way through the game.
Speaking of spirit gems, the spirit board can be accessed in the Shinobi Base, allowing players to give special benefits to the different playable characters. These gems can be link together in special patterns to give even more powerful boosted abilities. While in the base, players can also change their active team, equip them with better gear and even alter the Ninja Art attacks they can use. Ninja Arts are unlocked through levelling up.
At the Kumotsu Shrine, the player will be able to access special request missions, which are side content separate from the main story. If the player accepts a request, they will be immediately deployed to the challenge area from the shrine. The successful completion of this side content provides plenty of treasures for players to obtain. There is also a gallery containing story CG art, character details and more to view.
The last part of the base is the Peaches and Cream Meditation, a special mini game that can provide a boost to the player for a limited time. This requires the player to balance their selected character on a peach, filling the on-screen meter over time. There are three levels of challenge to select, with a fee required to access them. To control the balance, the player must use the gyro control of the DualShock 4 which is highly responsive.
From the home base, the player can access the world map, showing all of the locations that the player can visit. There is a training area where players can test off new skills, alongside all of the zones that have been previously cleared. When not in a dungeon, the player will be able to save and load freely, but there will be an auto save to prevent loss of progress. There is also a guide with tutorials and settings to modify the game experience.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to cover the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control scheme for this release is pretty easy to pick up and play, offering an accessible hack and slash gameplay experience. All of the key functions are set up to allow for fast, yet satisfying combat by using the face buttons, with the special functions set to Triggers/shoulders. The D-Pad is for item use, target switching when locked-on and tagging between partners. All of these inputs are comfortable and feel reactive, especially during intense sections.
Difficulty – there are three options for players to select from when it comes to the difficulty, with Easy, Normal and Hard being available in the options menu. These setting alter the gameplay in a variety of ways, with the most noticeable being the damage dealt and taken during combat. The general gameplay experience is balanced well, with the challenge being pretty forgiving for the most part, especially before boss battles with healing points often before the encounters.
Presentation – Visually the game is gorgeous to look at, offering a smooth experience that is pretty easy on the eye. The world and environments use 2D art for non-action, and full 3D for dungeons and action in general. The 2D art is beautiful with the signature look and fanservice that both series are known for. The music is excellent offering a mix of traditional Japanese instrumentation and modern rock style tracks, as well as Japanese only voice over that is performed well.
The textures, environments and 3d assets appear to be more fluid in motion compared to the Nintendo Switch, as the game is running at a higher frame rate. This makes it feel more consistent during play. The slowdown that was present in that version is not here, due to the higher power of the system. This doesn’t make the Nintendo Switch version inferior, as there are significant differences in the hardware, but it does generally feel like a smoother experience.
Final Thoughts – I had originally covered Neptunia X Senran a few years ago, so when I was given the chance to return to it on a new system, I was eager to take it on. In the time between the original play through and this, I had done a couple more runs through. With this experience, I quickly and easily picked this up and quickly got into the action. I had a great time with this and it was a tremendous amount of fun to play through it again.
I will say that the general experience of the PS4 version of Neptunia X Senran felt smoother, which is likely due to the higher resolution and framerate. But I do not think the Nintendo Switch version is worse than this, both versions of the game are just as good. The story has that silliness that Neptunia is known for, offering something that is as engaging as it is fun. Then there is the free flowing combat, which is something I would love to see again in the future.
The collaboration between Tamsoft and Compile Heart/Idea Factory, have created something real special. I would like to see another collaboration between these two, as they are both renowned for their distinct style, humor and fanservice. The artwork is gorgeous, the music fantastic and you can just jump straight into it and start playing. So with that being said, this is an easy recommendation for me to make for anyone looking for an action JRPG.
In the end, I give my revisit of Neptunia X SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars a final score of 5/5. This is an excellent action JRPG, which successfully combines the elements of both franchises that make them unique, the flow of combat, the elements of fanservice and humor work together so well. I do hope to see more in the future. If you want to check it out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Steam version (HERE)
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