Senran Kagura is a series that appeals to a specific audience. Games appealing to a specific niche normally don't sell that well, but the beauty of a niche market is that if the games are good—your audience will be repeat customers. This is the case with Senran Kagura, where it is successful enough to have fourth game released in North America within the span of three years due to the series' passionate fanbase. And since Senran Kagura 2 is a direct sequel to Senran Kagura Burst, it's expected to have a lot more content and thrills. But is Senran Kagura 2 bigger and better than its predecessor?

Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson is a brawler for the Nintendo 3DS for mature audiences. Like the other games, it plays like a beat 'em up with some visual novel vignettes in between stages. There's also a healthy amount of fanservice, with the main appeal being interesting camera angles focusing on cute bouncy schoolgirls transforming into ninjas and the resulting clothing damage. There are 10 girls with completely unique move sets (and assets) to play with. And later on in the game you can play with two girls at once, using tag team moves on your foes. If you have a friend who also owns a copy of the game, they can control the other girl for a co-op experience. The threats are larger this time around, with the shinobi girls banding together to fight malevolent creatures called “Yoma,” creatures which are born from the blood shed from constant fighting between good and evil ninja.

Senran Kagura 2 is a tricky game to recommend. On one hand, it improves from Burst in almost every way. Better graphics, better fighting mechanics, better story progression and a much better and more stable framerate. And it's a lot harder than the previous Senran Kagura games. Unlike Burst and Shinovi Versus, you can't just rush in and wail on mobs. There's a bit more planning involved and learning how to dodge and using special moves effectively are a must. The enemies are much tougher and more aggressive this time around and while that adds challenge, it can get overwhelming and much of your time will be spent replaying missions if you get careless enough to get killed in battle. Thankfully your experience isn't lost when you fail a level, so you can retry until you're strong enough to win. Still, it can get aggravating. There are special missions that can be played if you want to earn items to augment your characters' defense, speed, power, etc. You can also augment your characters by giving them different weapons and outfits, but those are merely cosmetic. Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson is one of those games on the 3DS that you'll need to play with the 3D on. It doesn't enhance gameplay, but definitely enhances the experience.

Hint: If your character is under leveled, replay old missions or tackle through the Yoma's Nest to earn more experience.

by Ray n.