Ninjas and vampires and samurai! Oh my!

A pair of Tamsoft's sexed-up action games, Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus and Onechanbara Z2: Chaos, made ??their debuts on Steam in the past few days after previously releasing as PlayStation exclusives.

While both games were published by XSEED Games in North America, Onechanbara rights holder and Bandai Namco subsidiary D3 Publisher curiously went ahead and stealth-released Z2: Chaos on its own without the Marvelous-owned localization house, despite usi?ng XSEED's localization and English dub.

You can find our full reviews for Shinovi Versus and Z2: Chaos here and here, respectively.

Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus [Steam, Onechanbara Z2: Chaos]

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Flirting with progress

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is a game that wraps its identity around s??ex and violence l??ike few others.

This is, of course, nothing new for the series. Styling itself after exploitation films, Onechanbara has survived for over a dec?ade by flaunting cleavage?? and gore, brazenly prioritizing it above all else.

The franchise doesn't seem to have lofty aspirations, preferring to hew more closely to its budget-priced roots than evolve into something even remotely reminiscent a top-tier action game. Instead of glittering graphics, first-class mechanics, or even a decent story, Onechanbara focuses its attention on zombie-slaying girls in skimpy outfits, ?letting almost everything else fall by the wa??yside.

Z2: Chaos, though, Z2: Chaos is better. Not parti??cularly good, mind you. But better still.

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos (PlayStation 4)
Developer: Tamsoft Corporation
Publisher: XSEED Games
MSRP: $39.99 (digital), $49.99 (retail)
Released: July 22, 2015 

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos, being the direct sequel to a game that never? released on western shores, has a story that isn't easy to follow. Jumping into the adventure essentially in media res, you have to play a bit of catch-up, piecing together morsels of dialogue with information from loading screens and the accompanying art book to really get a good feel for what's going on h??ere.

In short, familiar faces Aya and Saki aren't exactly the best of friends with newcomers K?a??gura and Saaya. Coming from rival clans, Banefuls and Vampirics, the duos crossed swords in the prequel, but now find themselves forging an unlikely alliance to stem a worldwide zombie outbreak.

The ensuing adventure isn't exactly riveting, but the localization team at XSEED did its best to ham up an otherwise banal scenario. Combat is clearly the main attraction here, which is an area where the series has made s??ome progress since its last appearance in the West.

The combat system is straightforward, but has a few wrinkles to it. In the beginning, the game essentially instructs the player to button mash, suggesting you h??ammer on the square and triangle buttons and see what works. A full list of attacks and combos can be found in the menus, more of which can be unlocked between missions and mastered in practice mode.

Of course, the series' trademark blood meter returns. As you dispatch z??ombies, weapons will get progressively more crimson, necessitating periodic cleaning to remain effective. On the other side of the coin, enough carnage will send characters into a frenzy, causing a spike in offensive p??ower at the cost of gradually diminishing health. You need to pay attention, lest suffer the consequences.

The four protagonists can be tagged in and out of battle anytime, which players can use to their advantage in ?a number of ways. One character can set up a combo for another, and since all of them have vastly different movesets, this freedom opens up a lot of possibilities. For example, one of my favorite things to do was lock a group of enemies in?? one of Saaya's lengthy chainsaw attacks, then bring in another character to perform a devastating double team maneuver.

Sadly, the solid mechanics are wasted on an ecosystem that isn't treated with anywhere near the same level of care. Onechanbara Z2: Chaos has a linear and repetitive mission structure that funnels players through corridors and locks them into arenas at regular intervals. In these arenas ??you'll need to kill every last zombie, as they respawn ad nauseam, ?until you're allowed to pass.

Most of the enemies don't pose a threat on their own, but instead rely on sheer numbers to impose any sort of challenge. A lone zombie? often won't attack for seconds at a time. They can also get hung up on terrain or spawn outside the combat zone, which leads to a frustrating mini-game of sorts where yo?u're forced to play hide and seek with stragglers in order to proceed.

This is ?exacerbated by the fact that basic grunts can blend in with? their environments. The visuals are all over the place, ranging from pretty decent to downright abysmal, with the zombie hordes and background graphics obviously falling on the low end of the totem pole.

The character designs ?and accompanying sexual fan service are on the other end of the spectrum.

There are a variety of lewd outfits players c??an unlock, or purchase in the case of the shameless "Strawberries & Bana?na DLC costume," in which the heroines might as well be nude. It's pretty disheartening this is where Tamsoft decided to focus its efforts, rather than to improve the core game.

This game feels like it has tunnel vision; it's a product where some aspects of the experience are given incredible attention to detail, while others feel like they were lifted from something found in a PS2-era bargain bin. Just as often as I found myself enjoying Z2:Chaos for its pulsing soundtrack or slick combat, there were times ??where it embarrassed, aggravated, or bored me to tears.

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos could have been decent, but it seems content to revel in med??iocrity.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Subheaders are the bane of my existence

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is co?ming to North America on July 21, XSEED Games just? announced.

After a brief hands-on session with the upcoming PlayStation 4 exclusive at E3 the other week, I'm actually looking forward to this one -- which is surprising, given how forgettable my last taste of the series (Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers on the Wii) was.

It's still dumb, gory fanservice, but the combat mechanics actually feel solid this time around and the soundtrack is pretty killer as well. Speaking of which, in addition to the standard edition (releasing digitally via the PlayStation Store for $40), Z2: Chaos is receiving a limited physical release featuring an 80-minute soundtrack CD, 80-page book (guess they like ?the number 80), and DLC costumes. 

NIS America will be publishing Onechanbara Z2: Chaos in PAL territories sometime this fall.

The post Onechanbara Z2: Chaos eviscerates PS4 July 21 appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't act like you're surprised

If you want to play Onechanbara Z2: Chaos at TGS 2014, this is how you'll be playing it: looki?ng into windows strategically placed over where nipples would be. Obviously. Were you expecting something else? It looks like an extremely stimulating setup. The game must be absolutely titillating. B?reast joke. 

But this kind of setup looks extremely uncomfortable. I suppose it might ??be a better setup than PR representatives breathing down your neck to make sure you follow their directions, but it's still a little ridiculous.

I am curious, though -- is the game any good?

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Kill zombies, wear bikinis

Holy cr??ap, that song it goes into around the 45-second mark is so damn bad.

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos is hitting PS4 in Japan this October, where it can hopefully help shift some units, as the PS4 library isn't tickling the country's collective fancy. Looks I lot better than the Onechanbara I played on Wii. 

The post Onechanbara Z2: Chaos trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

The scantily-clad zombie slayers return to Japan this October

Sony's PlayStation 4 isn't setting Japan ablaze just yet, like it is in much of the world. Part of that has to do with the dearth of software specifically targeted toward Japanese audiences. Enter Onechanbara Z2: Chaos, the lat??est hack and sla??sh from Tamsoft and Bandai Namco subsidiary D3 Publisher.

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos was announced in the latest edition of Weekly Famitsu, and now we get our first look at the title's zombie-slaying heroines courtesy of the publication's website. The PS4?? action game is s??lated to arrive in Japan this October.

Though the Onechanbara series has a relatively limited appeal and likely won't spur PS4 sales in any significant way on its own, Z2: Chaos is an indicator Japanese developers are starting to support the machine. It wouldn't be at all surprising to see Sony's new console take ??off in its domestic market once the first substantial wave of homegrown software ar?rives.

Whether Onechanbara Z2: Chaos ever gets localized for western audiences is another matter entirely. The series hasn't made an appearance in North America or Europe since Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad and Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers hit Xbox 360 and Wii in 2009.

『お姉チャンバラZ2～カオス～』敵をバラバラに斬り刻む快感が味わえるシリーズ第2幕が始動 [Famitsu]

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