XSEED games is back with a new SENRAN KAGURA elease, opting for something very different this time around from the hack-and-slash nature of this series. Are you ready for a tasty challenge?

SENRAN KAGURA: Bon Appétit! is a rhythm spin-off of the popular bouncy ninja series, SENRAN KAGURA. Featuring cooking battles instead of shinobi brawls, the story focuses on lighthearted humor, delicious food, and the series’ lovely ladies. The culinary warfare is carried out through an array of rhythm battles. Tapping the correct buttons in time with the beat will rack up your combo and determine the size and quality of your dish.

Bon Appétit takes the SENRAN KAGURA franchise into new territory, taking the fight into the kitchen. Most of the series favorite characters are back for one more round of ninja action, this time around changing their sharp blades and weapons for extremely sharp knives, hard-as-stone pots and several other accessories in order to turn the ingredients at hand into culinary masterpieces.

Master Hanzo has decided to call for a very special tournament where all the ninja ladies will be compelled to compete, thanks to an extremely alluring prize: a magic scroll which can grant whoever holds it a single wish. With such an outrageous prize, it is easy to see why all the ninja girls are ready to cook like they’ve never cooked before.

Since this is a rhythm game, for SENRAN KAGURA Bon Appétit! players will need to press the Vita square, triangle, circle and X buttons along with one of the four directions of the D-pad, all along to the beat. Sometimes said buttons or directions will need to be mashed a set number of times, or they might need to be pressed and held over a section. And to make sure everyone can have fun with the game, every song has three difficulty settings so that novice and expert players can maximize their experience.

This being a SENRAN KAGURA game, there just HAS to be some fan service, as always. Since the characters aren’t directly attacking each other, how will they end up losing their clothes? Enter pervert Master Hanzo. During the cook-off, there will be intervals where Master Hanzo will evaluate how each character is doing and, if one of the characters is doing very well, Master Hanzo will be so happy he will burp so hard it will tear some of the clothes of from the character that is losing. This will happen twice during the match, with one final face-off at the end that can end leave your opponent completely naked… unless you’re the one who was losing!

The game has a nice selection of songs, the only problem being that said songs are set to each specific character, meaning that every time you fight, say, XXXX, you will always play her song. On the bright side, this is a budget release at $14.99, and if you want to double your fun you can get the expansion pack for another $14.99 to have access to new characters and new songs.

Trophy hunters will be happy to hear that SENRAN KAGURA Bon Appétit! has a full trophy set, making their $14.99 purchase one hell of a deal for their trophy collection. Getting the Platinum trophy will probably take you around 30 hours or so, and the DLC also includes an extra set of trophies.

SENRAN KAGURA Bon Appétit! is a fun rhythm game offered at a value price. The songs are good but might get repetitive after a bit, which is why it’s nice to have the option to expand your music collection with the DLC content available at the PSN store. Having a full trophy list is also a great bonus that gamers will definitely appreciate. Since every song features an easy, normal and hard version, it will be easy to

[review pros=”Fun gameplay
Good music” cons=”As heavy on the fan service as ever, which might keep some people away from this” score=75]

Disclaimer

This review is based on a Vita copy of SENRAN KAGURA Bon Appétit! provided by XSEED Games.