Game Review: Shinobi Refle Senran Kagura

The most intriguing and sexy game on Nintendo Switch, Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura, has launched in Japan yesterday.

It’s time to find out whether Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura is worth your time…. and money.

What’s the best way to describe Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura? I’d call it a “massage simulator”. Yes, it’s a game where you get to fondle with a school girl named Asuka, but don’t expect anything extreme such as Asuka appearing in a swimsuit. After all we’re talking about a game on the Nintendo Switch. The most you’re going to see is this:

Anyway it’s time to get into the meat of the game. Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura consists of four different modes – Shinobi Refle, Mini Refle, Diorama, and Costume.

The game makes extensive use of HD Rumble and the only controller you can use are the Joy-Con. Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura supports traditional controls (analog stick, buttons, etc) which are probably what you’re going to use when the Switch is in Handheld Mode, as well as motion controls, which work very well in both TV and Tabletop Mode. The motion controls will definitely help immerse you into the game much more.

In Shinobi Refle, you’ll meet Asuka in a classroom setting, who wants to find out who she really is. Each scene in the game is fully voiced in Japanese, and you can expect to see plenty of dialogue (also in Japanese) of Asuka asking you to make her good.

During the first step, she’ll invite you to massage her hands. Through HD Rumble, you’ll feel her rising pulse and both of you will eventually be pulled into a fantasy like setting.

There are multiple scenarios for each fantasy like setting, such as you and Asuka studying together, you as a producer and Asuka as a performer, and much more. Each scenario features different dialogue that read like something coming from a romantic anime or manga.

If you understand Japanese (or have watched too much anime), I believe it will be easy to understand what Asuka is saying. In fact, I think it’s a huge waste if you don’t understand what she is saying at all because it does help get you into the mood too.

So after a few dialogues you’ll start “healing” Asuka by touching and rubbing her. This includes literally almost any part of her body and she will start moaning in pleasure as her mood increases.

It’s also during this section of the game where you’ll get to feel how different parts of her body feel like through HD Rumble. To give you a rough idea how her boobs feel like through HD Rumble, imagine slapping a pair of balloons while swinging the Joy-Con in the air. The vibrations, coupled with motion control, are pretty well done.

As the skinship progresses and Asuka’s mood continues to rise, you’ll get to pleasure Asauka through a variety of ways – your hands, a brush, a roller, and an electric massage. The brush and other tools will gradually be unlocked after completing more scenarios.

Unfortunately this is the game’s most challenging part and it isn’t really that tough. You’re given around one minute to increase Asuka’s mood to the maximum. This can be done by controlling the tempo of your massage, making sure it’s not too weak (to the point where Asuka is turned off) and not too strong (to the point she starts feeling pain).

After the final section, Asuka’s heart meter will appear and the meter will be filled based on your performance in the game. You’ll then return to the classroom and repeat the same thing again except with new scenarios that you haven’t unlocked yet. Once everything is completed, an hour would have passed.

Depending on your performance you’ll get a puzzle piece in a heart shape container. It’ll take a few more playthroughs to complete the container, with the same multiple scenarios.

And that’s almost it to what Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura has to offer. The other mode, Mini Refle, essentially lets you fondle with Asuka or spray a water gun at her without going through all of the extra steps in Shinobi Refle, so it’s essentially “Arcade Mode”. The Diorama mode lets you adjust how she looks like on the menu selection screen through different angles and settings (you can take photos too), and in Costume mode you can customize the outfits and accessories she wears.

Conclusion

To sum it up, Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura is essentially a 1 hour experience for 10 dollars, slightly longer if you wish to complete the heart container. Heck, it takes even longer to download than completing the game because it’s larger than Super Mario Odyssey (6.8GB over 5GB+). If you want to add another hour to that experience, you can always buy another character (with different conversations and voice acting) but that costs another 10 bucks.

Still I find that 1 hour or so of time an unique experience, especially with the game’s great use of HD Rumble. Want to know how boobs feel like in HD Rumble? Then this game is for you. Otherwise I guess there are plenty of other games that offer more bang for your buck.

I also do hope Marvelous Games will eventually localize Shinobi Refle: Senran Kagura for the western audience, because we all know how thirsty people are to feel boobs in HD Rumble that they wouldn’t mind shelling out 10 dollars merely for that experience.