Samurai Maiden’s characters look great. Really great. While perhaps not leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, nevertheless, they’re a striking cast of multicoloured, glassy-eyed femme fatales that glow from every angle. As is much the case with most output that falls into anime ecchi categories, they’re not particularly deep or interesting characters, with surface-level personalities ripped, well, straight from a cartoon. But that’s not why you’re here, is it? Hell no, you’re in it for the pantsu, and that’s one area Samurai Maiden delivers in aplomb.
Before we get assaulted in the comments section for ragging on people who enjoy this kind of media, let it be known we actually like Samurai Maiden quite a lot. It may have all the staple hallmarks of the ecchi genre, including a plot that’s been written on the back of a train ticket, but as a game, it does very well.
The story follows high school girl Tsugumi, appropriately attired with choker and lingerie stockings, who is suddenly contacted by an ‘angelic voice’ which says she’s going to meet a demon lord. She’s mostly nonplussed by this and is promptly whisked to the Sengoku Period, where she's set about escaping a burning building only to be assailed by hordes of undead samurai. The game is all voiced in Japanese with English subtitles, which is preferable, and everything looks absolutely fantastic. The textures and environments aren’t pushing boundaries, but they are stylistically balanced for form over graphical excess. The presentation is top-notch and it’s smooth as hell, with an unflinching frame rate in both docked and handheld modes, even with tons of enemies on screen and blazing effects going off everywhere.
Samurai Maiden is a basic 3D hack-and-slash affair cut from the Dynasty Warriors cloth, but with some neat angles (and we’re not just talking about the upskirts). Tsurugi, the player character, is aided by three other maidens with varying skills. After the initial training stage, you unlock the other maidens sequentially by working through missions. These aides follow you on-screen and can unleash special attacks once a gauge is filled with a tap of the 'A' button — these aren’t precision perfect and tend to follow your line of sight, but are powerful enough to stun bosses, buying you a few seconds to lay into them.
The stages are bland early-on and quite brief, but soon begin to expand. There are some platform sections to utilise your double jumping skills, but it’s mostly rinse-and-repeat combat in a fashion far less varied than something like Bayonetta. By stage five, things start to diversify and evolve, and by the sixth you will have acquired three maiden helpers, offering a lot more variables in combat and strategy. When you unlock Hagane, her anchor firing skill allows you to swing across chasms and drag treasure chests from various precipices.
Soon, on-the-fly switching between your onside trio of assistants becomes essential for certain junctures and battles, as only some have healing powers and abilities to get you to out-of-reach spots. Its uncluttered structure is simple but effective, and it takes ten minutes to get to grips with, but a good while longer to master. Boss encounters toughen up quite quickly and give you fewer windows of opportunity to get out of the blast zone as you progress through the game, meaning you need to optimise your teamwork to survive.
Combat is nicely implemented because it’s enjoyable without being overwrought. The controls are where you would expect them to be for the genre, with light and hard slashes, dodge rolls, double jumps, automatic combos, and easily initiated specials performed by your aides. It’s fast, furious, and visually enticing, featuring booming pyrotechnic swathes of flame, lightning and explosions. There’s just enough mechanical and strategic scope to keep it interesting, too, requiring you to find scarce moments amidst the fracas to deploy timed mines, healing urns and all-important special attacks.
Overall, it flows well, looks dazzling, and sounds really good, with excellent music to accompany the action. The soundtrack is a fusion of traditional Japanese elements with catchy, ambient dance beats. If there’s any real issue with the game’s composition, it’s that your trailing helper occasionally obscures Tsurugi in the camera’s foreground, requiring a quick adjustment with the analog stick.
Between missions you sit at your camp, where you can switch between unlocked equipment, and enhance both weaponry and the skills of your three allies, increasing your HP and strength of attacks. You can also switch between any attire that you’ve unlocked, some of which is expectedly risqué. And, if the available clothing options aren’t doing it for you, and you absolutely have to have the Victory Swimsuit, you can cough up some spare change for the DLC.
With the evolution of your acquired weaponry and its different properties, as well as leveling up of your accompanying girlfriends, Samurai Maiden has a progressive nature to it. While the game itself isn’t overly challenging, you can unlock increased mission difficulties — and there are plenty of them to work through. Earning good end-of-stage ranks isn’t so easy, making this a goal in and of itself for those who want to discover everything on offer. Replaying missions is an optional part of the process, and, once you’re more powerful, you can go back with newfound abilities to shoot for higher ranks and unlockables.
It plays well, is aesthetically enticing, and is pretty good fun in a base, action-oriented, arcade-like way. But, it wouldn’t be ecchi without a good dose of fan service. As well as buoyant breasts and panty flashes galore, Tsurugi’s clothing gets dirtied and torn up during each stage’s battles, which is a neat effect. The press release states “forge everlasting bonds with your ninja friends!”, which translates as “partake in a spot of highly fetishised lesbianism amongst girls of questionable ages”. This works by increasing the overall ‘affection’ of your band of cohorts, earning more points at the end-of-stage wrap-up based on performance and usage factors. Eventually, the ‘affection’ manifests itself in ways that will have heterosexual males as saucer-eyed as the gals themselves.
Usually, we’d spend time poking fun at this, but since it’s not our first rodeo with Japanese anime erotica we will instead declare that, on this particular occasion, the quality of the game overshadows its cruder excesses. Samurai Maiden isn’t a title of great depth, and for hack-and-slash diehards, it’s worth noting that much of its appeal is hedged in the obvious sexualisation of its cast. A good test is whether or not one would play the game regardless of these themes, and while this isn’t the case for many in the genre, Samurai Maiden stands as a rare exception to the rule.
Conclusion
Samurai Maiden is mostly hack, slash, dodge, and hack some more. But, while naturally repetitive, it’s not much different in that respect from many traditional arcade games. What it does well with is in expanding its combat options in enjoyable but never confusing ways; by giving your aides different skill functions in attack and healing, and in navigating stages. It’s a simple but nicely layered adventure that will encourage grinders to unlock its galleries, weaponry and digital trinkets, while appreciating what is an attractive-looking and well-optimised game. Increased challenge is there if you need it, and, discounting the trite elements of its dialogue and story, the character models are exceptionally good, mildly bewitching, and do a great job of selling the product.
Comments 60
Hold up, it’s actually, ok? I thought it was going to be completely trash! Wile there are other games like this I could play, I’m glad that it actually sounds enjoyable, might give it a shot in the near future.
'nevertheless, they’re a striking cast of multicoloured, glassy-eyed femme fatales that glow from every angle' .. someone's down bad lol
"Hell no, you’re in it for the pantsu"
I'll admit it. I laughed.
This wasn't on my radar at all. It's actually decent, though? Will def look into it more. I guess this is the closest we're getting to.a real Senran Kagura game on the system
I'll have to add this to my order of physical imports.
Thanks for the review.
I mean I literally own a copy of Waifu uncovered 2 on Switch so I'm not too proud to give this a go
I just had a look at this one Steam, there's something like £70 worth of DLC costumes for this game! 😂
Have this on physical and as games go it’s okay. Graphics on Switch are okay and the combat is engaging. Your character is a bit lethargic to begin with and things feel a little cumbersome in combat but things open up when you start levelling the characters up. The level designs while basic are an improvement on the onechanbara series. Levels are short which is a plus on the switch. Only real negative are the loading screens which thankfully when you replay a level are bypassed.
This looked cute when I saw the trailer for it. Looks way up on the usual D3Publisher quality as well (Billiard - the cue ball doesn’t even connect; THE Table Game - everyone gets the DLC but Europe; their Simple series). Might have a look next payday.
Surprised it is good, after main Senran Kagura games I kind of lost my hope in these type of games being just as fun.
Bought it on Steam though I haven't played it yet. Glad to hear it's pretty decent.
Could you not just play Dynasty Warriors?
Pre ordered from PlayAsia. Gonna be a long wait until i can play it 😔
From the review alone you'd think when the devs were asked whether they'd go for quantity or quality, they decided to go for both.
While I prefer playing games that I can proudly play in front of family and friends, I'm really glad they managed to make a good ecchi action game
@nessisonett I'd say this is a game for when you think the Sengoku period didn't have enough anime girls (and lace).
Not unlike when Dragalia Lost introduced a hot-headed anime girl named Nobunaga that was best friends with a small, sleepy and equally animey girl called Mitsuhide. They have a sleepover where they talk about never betraying their friendship. The less you think about it the better
@nessisonett you could, but this game has hot girls, so worth checking out for fanservice.
Just because you can play something does not mean other games with similar gameplay won't be worth checking out
What's about performance in handheld mode?
I mean, this looks surprisingly decent. I prefer my characters a bit deeper and less obviously fanservicey but it's not like this genre is well-known for that with about as fanservicey and mindless gameplay for most of them.
Saw the review on Switchwatch was so funny. Almost sold me on the game lol
@nessisonett
@Tobiaku
Why does no one ever ask that question when a game is needlessly a game where one plays as anthropomorphised cat people.
There are many on switch, and not once have I heard something like, "Why would you play this zelda inspired game over zelda, itself?"
Instead it's always, "Oooh, you can play as adorable cat people."
Just like how a lot of people like games that paste cat people on top to make a quick buck, some people like games that paste sexuality on top, often for a quick buck as well.
Devs sometimes put a lot of care and effort into ecchi style games like this. It's actually fascinatingly funny. So yeah a bit surprising but not that much. I like the hack and slash style genres but the Switch is well served for that with better charcters and based on better "worlds". So not for me.
Cheers for the review.
Need to find out if the Switch version is censoring pantsu too before I decide to buy it. Sadly what I have read so far it seems like Switch is censored too in this case. Game supposedly has black void covering pantsu, and character models disapears if you get to close in photo mode. Also the translation is supposedly funky, translating high school as gen z.
a bit of a hefty asking price for an eshop game.this one seems more like a wait until the physical version is 50% off
NintendoLife must flip a coin and decide when to criticise a game for being overly-sexualised 😪
hot samurai wafus.......Sold!
@Tobiaku usually wen it comes to these ecchi type games the switch gets the uncensored versions not like sony who censors their games left and right.
"The game is all voiced in Japanese with English subtitles, which is preferable"
No. No, it's not! Most of us don't understand Japanese, and it'd be preferable to hear something we can understand instead of taking our eyes away from the action to read subtitles.
@RiasGremory I know Switch usually gets ecchi games uncensored, but according to Sankaku this one might still be censored on Switch.
@Tobiaku how so?
@nessisonett if the game plays like Dynasty Warriors then maybe.
Meanwhile while a lot of people say that games like Persona 5 Strikers or Senran Kagura are “like dynasty warriors”, they play different, and that is one of the reasons I played them.
As for this game, it’s like saying why do people play Apex if there is Valorant or why do they play CoD if there is CS GO.
Because unless a game is a 1:1 clone of something, there can be plenty of other reasons to play it anyhow.
@Rayquaza2510 if it has the same censorship as other versions of the game it has black void under skirts hiding pantsu, and character models disapears(?) if you zoom in too close in photo mode.
@Tobiaku ah, makes sense now.
@BenoitRen uh yeah we do. These niche anime Japanese games [especially of the ecchi variety like Senran Kagura which was also never in English in the games] appeal to a specific and small demographic that have no issues with the Japanese language/reading subtitles since they are also likely anime fans that don’t wait for English dubs. English dub is usually a “I can take it or leave it” territory.
@BenoitRen The vast majority of video games don't even have full voice acting, so reading basically has been and is the default.
I have the PS5 version, and I'm shocked by how poorly it runs on that console. Looks like it's just under 1080p, it has extremely long loading times (by far the longest I've ever seen on PS5), and the frame rate drops. It's hard to imagine the Switch version runs smoothly.
@Tobiaku, I mean if the "censorship" exists in all versions of the game, then that's likely how it was intended to be.
I mean, it's also entirely possible that it was "censored" during development to adhere to Sony's policies so that issues didn't pop up later & they decided to apply that to all versions, but even in that case Switch isn't missing out on something other platforms are getting.
Unless there are confirmed differences between the Steam/PC version & what's available on console (Switch, PS5, & PS4).
@RR529 A coherent assessment. This game, as far as I can tell, was heavily marketed for Playstation, so it'd make sense that the game was designed from the ground-up to meet their standards for what content could be included in that version.
Perhaps a pity for those primarily here for the T&A, but, to be frank, nothing about the trailer footage screamed that this was ever going to be a hardcore fanservice game.
It just seems like a fun action/dynasty warriors-style experience with cute anime girls and yuri baiting.
@BenoitRen Highly preferable in my opinion. I find the typical American anime voice acting very irritating.
@Tobiaku Didn’t notice any “black voids”. Pantsu everywhere during gameplay.
@Tom-Massey, thanks, then its a buy for me
Hey as someone who has been enjoying the game I wanna talk a bit about the censorship some were concerned about.
@Tobiaku
The panties aren't censored in gameplay, if you wanna be a filthy pervert you can look as much as your heart desires. The black void censorship you're speaking of only appears when you pause or when you enter the photo mode. Otherwise everything is visible normally. The game is also the exact same across all platforms by the way. Now was this implemented because of Playstation's policies? No clue, and we can't really know who decided that, but in the first place it's so small and doesn't actually prevent you from seeing upskirts, if that's what you desire, so not much of a problem in my eyes.
As for the translation I'd say it's mostly fine, but as you've said all mention of high school girls have been removed, however that's not really unique to this game. Senran Kagura for example was very explicit in it's translation to never really state the age of the girls and to refer to the schools as ''academies'' so yes things were altered because of the translators personal ethical standards but nothing that is new in this genre. Otherwise it's OK.
I recommend the game if you like these sorts of simple fun hack and slash games and can stomach ecchi fanservice stuff/ are a fan of it, and I DEFINITELY recommend it if you're a fan of yuri(girl on girl love).
@steely_pete thank you so much for the explanation! Will buy the game
Great to read a review about this kind of game that doesn't attack people who might be interested in it, and actually seemed to pay attention to the game underneath the content without automatically dismissing it.
@Tobiaku, @Ralizah, Can confirm the existence of the "black void" on PC, so it's definitely release wide, but as others have mentioned, it only appears once you pause the game.
During gameplay the game is happy to blatantly fully show everything... with about every action you take (jumping, dodge rolling, getting knocked on your butt, etc.), so if you really feel the need to take screenshots of such things for whatever reason the game makes it ridiculously easy even without pausing.
Really, the game is so blatant with the fan service (all the girls have jiggle applied to the usual area, plus bottom, & even tummy believe it or not, even if it's not entirely apparent with their default costumes), that I can only assume the pause blackout is some sort of (pointless) Sony effect, though of course we'll probably never fully know.
And yeah, the localized text removes all instances of High School or Schoolgirl with "Gen Z". I don't have nearly as much an issue with this as I would visual censorship, but surely they could have come up with a better alternative as it's a very clunky solution, as she sometimes refers to "Gen Z" like it's a place. A minor issue at the end of the day though and the game seems fun so far.
"you’re in it for the pantsu"
...I care more about the jiggling bewbs, but whatever...lol
Whatever wisdom I've gathered through age, experience, marriage, and most especially raising a little girl of my own has taught me that there will never be a good reason to play something of this theme.
Of course, to each his own.
@Arawn93 I wager they appeal to that demographic because they have Japanese voice acting. An English dub is more accessible and would allow it to appeal to more people.
@Tom-Massey I assure you there's enough annoying Japanese voice acting as well. There's a lot of over-acting and screaming little girls that grate on the ears.
I pre-ordered. I think it's important to support games like this on Switch whenever possible. might not be a Senran Kagura or Oneechanbara, but until we get those ported, best anyone can do is keep showing that the audience for these kinds of games are on Switch and not on Playstation.
@ottoecamn: Not sure if you are are aware but this game is also on PS4&5 as well, just saying, but I get what you mean.
On-topic thanks for the review. Will try it out eventually.
I preordered because I'm lesbian, and a game like this is right up my metaphorical wheelhouse.
A game where a modern-day schoolgirl gets isekai'd, becomes a samurai, and kicks incredible amounts of ass while romancing a cute foxgirl? Sign me the hell up! It doesn't hurt that miko and schoolgirl outfits are really cute.
The people complaining about censorship aren't applying their own standards evenly. EVERY translated game makes JKs into "college students" or whatever. Because here in the Western world, you aren't allowed to kiss or hold hands or go on adventures unless you're of age, and you LOOK enough like it to satisfy literal puritans.
And the people complaining about fanservice seem to think lesbians are all magical fairies in a realm full of glitter and pixie dust, whose love is pure and chaste and not meant for mortal eyes. Or more likely, that we aren't REAL. That we're just a straight man's fantasy, so any time we show up in games it's to sell more copies to straight men.
How do you not see that that's MORE fetishizing than having schoolgirls show pantsu and kiss?! I am not a bloody unicorn!
I want more games where anime girls are the protagonists, and get to be cute and awesome and horny for each other! I want more games where you play as a girl, and no one's in love with a man! Or where the guys are all robots and a talking mouse, like in Neptunia! And I would really like it if MALE REVIEWERS would stop pretending I don't exist, and shaming people for liking fanservice games. Because I'll take them any day over the torture porn of another Tomb Raider or The Last of Us, or a "wholesome" fluffy pastel game that makes being horny a sin.
THANK YOU.
Those of you who enjoy this game should also try Eternal Radiance on the Switch. It's cheaper, with the dialog more in a VN style and gameplay is very similar, though the game may be shorter (also pantsu). If any of you know any other game similar to these 2 please let me know.
@steely_pete
Still it lacks the "fun" that Bullet Girls Phantasia and previous Shade titles had. Just throwing some shade in there because that is what makes up of the meat of your typical PSV era inspired niche weeb game
Quite frankly... the game is abysmal. Despite what the review says, the game is not fun at all to play after the first hour.
@Snatcher word of warning, dtoid gave it a 5/10 and said unless you're only in it for the moe it doesn't offer much. Check out some other reviews before you bite.
I gotta agree that it looks incredibly charming, but after watching some gameplay I can see past that.
@MARl0 that's some useful information right there. I hate when that happens. I'm also still baffled at how KeyWe runs and looks on PS5.
ô_o almost feels like they're emulating the Switch release xD
@Coffeemonster The Simple 2000 series is full of masterpieces, and I won’t hear a single bad word against it. Yes, that includes Demolition Girl.
… Man, I’d love a Simple 2000 collection on Switch, or for the European releases to be on the PlayStation Plus Ultra or whatever service… But they could name their price on a Simple 2000 Collection on Switch.
But how can I enjoy the "textures" when I'm reading subtitles the whole game? Down with subtitles, need more dub!
@Lysanderxx It's a visual novel kinda story. Screw your dub! They more often than not break the charisma of their characters, especially if the characters in question are neck deep in moe'.
@ChessboardMan They did release one for switch, but it's just a repackaged collection of board games from the PS2 era.
Not a fan of how the review comes off as a girls gone wild or P0rnhub review.
Like, yes, sexiness is fun and is what makes something ecchi. I don't mind that on principle, enjoying it even. But the personalities also matter since they give a sense of comfort or endearment towards the characters, allowing for emotional satisfaction beyond instant bodily desires, creating a stew of infinite charm. But I don't think I saw that anywhere in the review, save for the dismissive line in the intro. Kinda disappointing really. Especially coming from this guy who has Evenicle as one of his favorite games of all time.
The writing part of the reason why Senran Kagura got a decent start. The characters were fun. They had decent chemistry. And if they have to be cartoony or tropeish to be charming then by all means.
@Samalik What's Evenicle? Never heard of it. I think you're confusing me with someone else.
The "personalities" are paper-thin cliche, there's more emotional connection with a morning cup of tea and slice of toast. The game is fun, though.
@ChessboardMan Oh I know, I have a lot of them myself, but you can’t deny there’s some flaws. The balls in Billiard must move by means of like magnetic fields or something, because they never connect when you look up close - and i just got confirmation that there was indeed a snafu on THE Table Game’s DLC. It’ll now be available in Europe around 19 December.
I got the cartridge Asian English version from Play Asia. Still waiting on it but good to sees its decent.
@Jumping_Dead Why would you say that? It takes an hour before it starts getting interesting. You haven’t assembled all your team until around that point, which means to don’t have certain skills, and when the challenge increases you need to call on all of your helpers regularly and utilise their skills to win boss battles. There’s no technical issues as it’s well-optimised for Switch, and while it’s not a particularly deep game I’m not sure why you would call it “abysmal”. That’s a word I’d reserve for far poorer products.
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