12 years since the last game from Alfa System, Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire is finally here. The game is a return to the anime-infused arcade shoot-em-up style that brought the Castle of Shikigami series such popularity. How does the new game hold up to the devoted fans of fan-service, anime tropes, and easy-going gameplay? Let’s explore Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire.

Five Sisters, One Angel

The highly desired angel Yashin is up for grabs and looking for a suitor. That’s great unless you’re five sisters desperate for the angel’s heart. In a series of anime tropes and silly dialogue, you meet five sisters, all of which have different styles and attitudes. After a bit of narrative, you enter levels where you get to play as a sister. All characters have their own attributes, which play into classic shoot-em-up gameplay.

Sisters Royale is an arcade-style, vertical scrolling shooter, and implements a new Tension Bonus System to encourage more strategic gameplay. For example, the further you are from enemies, the more you earn for your overall score and multipliers. Another system, the Powershot System, slowly charges your normal attack into power attacks, meaning it’s easy to deal out much more damage as you rack up points.

Fan Service Done Mildly

A huge dislike of mine in anime-style games is heavy fan-service. Call me old fashion, but I don’t need young girls barely covered in armor to have a good time. Luckily, the anime fan-service tropes are rather mild in Sisters Royale. I still wouldn’t recommend the title for younger children, but the game is rated E10+. I think most of the game is about finding romance, rather than strictly sexual innuendos and situations.

I don’t want to bash people who really enjoy that sort of thing; everyone likes what they like. I just appreciated the emphasis on the gameplay over sexual overtones. Yes, characters still wear bikini-style armor and show a lot of skin, but this isn’t simply a game meant to turn you on. Which gets me to a bit more about the gameplay.

Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire – Does the Gameplay Hold Up?

In a lot of arcade shooters, the experience is simplified to the point where after a few hours, you’ve seen it all. In Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire, that holds true. The game isn’t bad, but I didn’t find myself connected enough to the story to really make me want to continue. I did keep playing for the purposes of the review, but unless you love anime girls and simple shoot-em-ups, I don’t know that there’s enough here to keep you entertained for long.

The plus-side is that if you’re casually interested in the game, the price point is only $13.99 USD. For anime fans, arcade shooting fans, or just people who want to try something from a studio 12 years removed from their last game, then $14 isn’t too terrible to swing.

Final Thoughts on the Game

I think overall Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire does well with what it sets out to achieve. No, it’s not something we’ll remember years down the road, but the muted fan-service elements and good visuals do make it accessible and entertaining. How long you’ll be entertained, I can’t quite say. If you enjoy anime and arcade shooters, you might keep with it longer than I wanted to.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire was provided by Chorus Worldwide Games for this review.

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Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire

$13.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Fun Premise and Dialogue
• Fan-Service isn't Full of Usual Cringe
• Gameplay is Fun for Arcade Fans

Cons

• Limited in Gameplay Diversity
• Story is Entertaining, but Doesn't Keep You Drawn in