Onechanbara Z2: Chaos

Girls, guts and gore! Are you not entertained?

By Urian Brown August 26, 2015

Onechanbara is a silly title, both literally and gameplay-wise. The term “onechanbara” is a play on the Japanese words “onee-chan,” which is a familiar term meaning “older sister,” and “chanbara,” which is a genre of film featuring sword fighting. With that in mind, the series is famous for high-impact sexualized violence, with scantily-clad young women slicing and dicing the undead with swords. Onechanbara Z2: Chaos isn't the first Onechanbara game to reach the States, but it's the first one to have come out here on PlayStation, with older games having been out for the Xbox 360 and the Wii.

One Chan001

In this installment, you play as four sexy supernatural swordswomen: Kagura and Saaya, vampire sisters who were the protagonists of the first “Z” game, as well as Aya and Saki, who are sisters from the original games. Each of them have a distinct fighting style with different weapons they can equip. Orbs can be collected to unlock new weapons and even outfits for your characters to wear, and rings can be used to augment their stats. The limited edition release of Onechanbara Z2: Chaos includes a bonus “strawberry and banana” outfit that definitely pushes the boundaries of how much skin can be shown in a video game. I'm not bothered by risqué material at all, but you'll have to judge it for yourself.

One Chan003

Speaking of risque, Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is developed by the same team that has worked on the Senran Kagura games. Both series have similar hack n' slash gameplay and lots of titillation, but while Senran Kagura focuses more on the cheesecake, Onechanbara is all about blood and guts. There's a lot of violence in this game. Bloodshed and dismemberment are a constant, and you get graded on your finesse (or lack thereof). Using special moves to kill off large mobs is nothing new in action games, but in addition to tagging your companions into the action, they can fight alongside you and perform even stronger special moves with you. Of course, there is a transformation gimmick, and while there's a boost in speed and power, it takes a toll on your body, so there is some risk and reward for transforming. There's a lot of neat ways to kill things, but ultimately you're going to repeat yourself throughout your adventure. Bosses aside, there isn't much strategy and variety to combat aside from just “kill em' all”. It's fun but wears a little thin in the long run. There's some good tunes, too, although nothing legendary.

Onechan002

Similar to Senran Kagura and Hyperdimension Neptunia U, Tamsoft's trademark seems to be repetition. Repetition and titillation—Repetitillation. If you don't mind games with repetitillation, Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is something you should check out. 

Hint: Switch your characters often! Some weapons aren't as effective against certain monsters.

by Ray n.