‘Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash’ Review: Wet And Wild

You pretty much have a good idea of what you’re getting into with Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash. Call of Duty it isn’t. In fact, even Splatoon it isn’t, despite the fact that someone once described the game as “Splatoon but with waifus.” It’s its own beast, a game that’s built merely on the presence of fan service, with a bunch of big-boobed bikini-clad shinobi students going at it in a full-fledged water war.

However, if you can accept the premise and get into the vibe of the game – which is fairly easy considering its subject matter – then you’ll find Peach Beach Splash to be a welcome surprise, especially with its tremendous amount of depth, with a whole lot of anime-based sexiness on the side.

The story deals with the girls entering a mysterious tournament where they’re not able to use their powers, although they can rely on a number of abilities while they pump up their pistols and shoot their adversaries with a whole bunch of water. This includes special dodge techniques thanks to water jets, hovering to get to higher ground, and even fashioned “finishers” where you can douse the girls so much that their tops practically fall off. For the record, you can’t really see anything, mainly due to strategically placed, ahem, “sun spots.”

What’s great is that the game takes such a simple premise and really takes off with it, adding some interesting story elements while keeping the general tone of the game completely intact. You never forget the fact you’re playing a bikini-clad, water-shooting game, but the twists and turns taken over the course of the tournament actually keep you more involved than expected – especially if you’re a Senran Kagura fan that bought the countless games that came before this one.

Tons To Unlock

Peach Beach Splash has a great variety of characters and abilities available, along with a number of weapons that add to the game, including sniper rifles and very large cannons that could make Super Soakers look like pea shooters. There’s also quite a bit to unlock in the game, so it feels good progressing through it and seeing what comes up next. You can unlock a ton of cards that will help you in battle, unlocking combat pets and buffs that will assist your character as well as cool little effects. The cooldown period takes a slight bit longer than expected, but, again, it mixes things up very well.

Let’s talk about the gameplay for a moment. It’s actually not bad at all, although it’s a little looser than what Splatoon 2 has to offer. This allows you to get better maneuverability while at the same time getting the jump on your adversaries. The auto aim does work here, even if there are times it’s not quite as reliable as it could be. The overall combat, though, feels pretty good, and you’ll get the hang of what it has to offer with the help of the game’s useful tutorial system.

As for the presentation, this is probably the most refreshing Senkan Kagura game I’ve seen to date, mainly due to the design of the 3D stages and the cool effects that emerge from some of the weapons. There are times that the frame rate can dip a little bit, but as a whole, it looks cool.

Bring A Friend — Or Don’t

The music doesn’t have much to offer in the way of variety – it’s mostly background noise – but the Japanese voiceovers are a lot of fun, especially when someone squeals at top decibel following a loss.

There’s also a lot to offer here for a water gun-shooting game. The single player modes are stacked, as you can play through a story mode that, again, has a lot of neat twists, along with the V-Road Challenge, which lets you take on a number of tournaments with a squad of your favorite shinobi girls.

Multiplayer is here as well, though not quite as smooth as it could be. Once you do get into a ranked match, it is good fun, and the customizable free matches have some rule sets that you can adjust, in case you’re looking for a challenge. It just takes a little longer than usual to connect, which is something I hope XSEED fixes down the road with their servers.

There’s A Lot More Here Beneath The Surface

Also, the co-op horde mode deserves a mention, because it’s a good time fending off waves of enemies provided you have the right water battle squad (if there’s such a thing) to help you along. As if that isn’t enough, Peach Beach Splash also has customization options. Along with unlocking new goods and weapons, you can adjust your soldier’s looks in a number of areas.

Look. Peach Beach Splash isn’t here to reinvent the shooter. Far from it. It’s simply trying to have fun with the theme, while at the same time pouring on the fan service like it’s going out of style. It’s not a perfect game, but it gets the job done exactly where it needs to. Plus, it’s surprisingly loaded with bonus content, fun storytelling and, of course, girls for days. If that’s what you’re in the mood for, dive right in.

RATING: Four out of five stars.

Disclaimer: A PlayStation 4 review code was provided by the publisher.