Fanservice is the name of the game for both the franchises of Hyperdimension Neptunia and Senran Kagura. The former typically embraces the JRPG genre centered on four distinct girls, whereas the latter hones in on an action-packed dojo of crafty ninja women. Well, developers Compile Heart and Tamsoft decided to bring the two together into an action hack-and-slash chock-full of laugh-out-loud dialogue and proportions that’ll take up your whole screen.

First, and foremost, it’s important to note that Neptunia x Senran Kagura Ninja Wars is primarily a Senran Kagura title in gameplay. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Neptunia characters. However, unlike recent Senran Kagura titles that feature dress-up and intimate modes, that’s not to be found in this T-rated title. This shouldn’t matter to most, as the game retains the staples of each franchise with its witty takes on the game industry and pop-culture references in meaty dialogue sections that take up most of the playthrough’s runtime.

That aside, Neptunia x Senran Kagura Ninja Wars has the whole experience without that factor. There are hilarious interactions between series staples, as “Nep-Nep” gets steadily ignored, Vert is as oblivious as usual, and Asuka remains a strong-willed fighter that plays well with the Neptunia cast. Fans of either franchise know what they’re in for when they make this purchase, so the walls of text won’t be an obstruction to them. It’s likely that they’re welcomed and looked forward to.

When it comes to the combat, it’s a fairly-involved hack-and-slash affair with a lot of systems going in. It is more than just a button-mash point-A-to-point-B dungeon-crawl. You’re going to have to mix up your special attacks, dodge, equip the right gear, and switch to your partner at the right moments to survive. There are a dozen playable characters in Neptunia x Senran Kagura Ninja Wars, so you’ll surely have something to fit your playstyle once you do some experimenting and trial-and-error.

As far as the difficulty goes, it’s easy to slice and dice your way through the fodder enemies. However, bosses pose a real threat, as they take a lot of hits before their stagger state occurs. This is where dodging to get invincibility frames matters. Thankfully, you have plenty of gauge to expend your special attacks and are given a lot of healing items to make it through the gauntlet. I did find some areas where I was under-leveled, so there’s some grind to be had. It is not an overwhelming amount of grinding though and nothing that can’t be knocked out in a quick run.

The target audience for Neptunia x Senran Kagura Ninja Wars’ $49.99 price tag is almost guaranteed to be a fan of either franchise. It’s hard to recommend for the uninitiated that will be faced with several consecutive minutes of text (which can be skipped) to get to the combat. On top of that, the combat alone likely isn’t worth $50. That being said, diehards of Neptunia or Senran Kagura will be appeased with what this game has to offer in both its enveloping story and its tight combat.

A PC Review Copy of Neptunia x Senran Kagura Ninja Wars was provided by Idea Factory for this review.

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Neptunia x Senran Kagura Ninja Wars

49.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Great Dungeon Gameplay
• Deep Systems
• Signature Fanservice

Cons

• Minimal Combat, Mostly Talking
• Either Too Easy or Too Hard