Neptunia X Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars – PS4 Review

Genre: Action hack n’ slash RPG
Developer: Compile Heart, Idea Factory, Tamsoft
Publisher: Idea Factory International
Release Date: October 26th, 2021
Edited by AlexKnight2005

 

When it comes to the world of game crossovers, many of them can be put under the idea umbrella of “One games world, two-game series doing a similar thing,” but sometimes, you do get one that tries to mix up the formula enough to feel unique. Neptunia X Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars Is an action hack n’ slash RPG title developed by Tamsoft and Compile Heart, later released by Idea Factory International. Nep X Senran sets out to make a world that feels at home for both games cast of characters and does so convincingly, for the most part.

The player starts as the Neptunia character as odd metallic ninjas drop from the sky and threaten their homeland of Heartland, one of many places in Gaminjustri. Sitting on a rooftop while staring at the moon aimlessly, the story behind Nep X Senran starts with a battle of two sides, pushing to be more than just enemies. Upon their defeat, Neptune and the girls are sent with a letter of peace by Historie, a shogun of sorts, to speak with the shogun of Marveland and kick-off an investigation to save the whole of Gaminjustri.

 

 

While I felt the story is one of the highest production to date of the Neptune spin-off games, I did find it somewhat like every experience so far; a save the world adventure. While there is nothing wrong with these stories on paper and a story archetype that has been successful for the franchise over the years, it has started to get stale.

Dashing into the forest beyond Heartland, the gameplay of Nep X Senran is surprisingly simple to pick up but also rewards the players who experiment with how they build their ninja. To start, let’s talk about the base of operations, Heartland. Heartland acts as the game’s hub during the player’s adventure and can make adjustments to their chosen ninja. Beginning with the shinobi base, you can check things like the status of a character, their active spirit gems, what skills they have equipped, equipment, and the team’s formation, who is the main and sub ninja in essence.

 

 

Once you have checked on your ninja, you can check out the market, where you can buy items like upgraded kunai and throwing stars, spirit gems, and health items. Here you can also talk to other ninjas in Heartland through Ninchat and take on extra requests for better items and money in the shrine.

To break down spirit gems, they are items that you can equip onto a board and gain additional stats like the item drop rate, increased damage to certain types of enemies, etc. There is also the P&C Meditation minigame you can tackle for additional buffs to be used in your following few missions, these buffs depending on how successful you were at that attempt. This is one of a few things I felt stood out to me, as it utilized the player’s ps4 controller as a balancing board like some older ps3 titles and six-axis motion controls. It allows the player to customize their ninja outside of just their equipment.

 

 

 

Now, all geared up, we enter combat and get to the meat of the adventure. Combat plays similar to a combo system, using basic attacks and skills as an in-between attack, alongside throwing weapons to do some decent ranged damage. Nep X Senran also uses a system known as Fuurinkazan Drive. This element-based system gives the player various buffs for a limited time and changes the color of certain portions of the ninja garb to match the element.

While the gameplay is accessible to all players, new and old, I found myself growing tired of the game as I went on. One of the most significant factors of this was how one-note everything felt during combat. You generally would find a combo or set of combos you preferred, build towards that combo’s strengths, and go forward with that for the base of your missions. Add to this that the spirit gems, while I liked the idea of being able to expand and tailor how your ninja is built, often boiled down to get an idea of what you were fighting in the following area, swap out to fit that zone, maybe toss some item drop stuff for extra items/money and you are good to go.

Looking into the reflection pond, the styling of Nep X Senran keeps true to modern games, with a more significant emphasis on some 3D elements not seen in previous titles. Visually, I found the game to be a solid mix of previous Neptunia titles while mixing in more reactive elements like the backgrounds, something usually seen in the Senran Kagura games. Because of this, the backgrounds stand out far more than usual, resulting in small things like plants swaying in the breeze or more realistic idle animation. Nep X Senran also sports some of the best models of the characters to date, with each of the Neptunia girls receiving a ninja-themed makeover that feels rightly connected to this alternate world.

The game itself is pretty, but it only has a few notable locations you enter, something I wish they expanded upon in hindsight. It is also where Nep X Senran takes its biggest visual hit, the lack of visual variety. The game can also have some animation clipping, depending on the level and how many things are on screen.

Laying down by the pond and listening to nature, Nep X Senran as a game soundtrack is solidly varied and diverse. Musically, the game focuses on more Asian-oriented sounds like the gong but mixes it with other instruments outside of that and electronic beats, depending on the locale, to keep the soundtrack fresh as you play. The sound effects are well used here, but I find the more action-driven musical score often overtakes them.

As the last sakura petal hits the water, I found Neptunia X Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars to be one of the better spin-off entries to have come out. This title, while not perfect, does show how versatile the Neptunia series can be and that when given the right pairing, it stands out far better than following trends. Neptunia X Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars is currently a ps4 exclusive at $49.99 on the PlayStation network.

Pros:

• Easy to pick up and play
• A creative story
• Solid character customization
• A soundtrack that adapts
• Some of the best models to date

Cons:

• Gameplay becomes stale overtime
• Games load time can vary
• Minor animation clipping

DarkLunarDude gives Neptunia X Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars a Drastik Measure of 8.3 out of 10.0 (83)