Reviewed on: PS4

Despite being a worshipper of fighting games and their tactical complexity, the barrier to entry for a beginner is very high. There are countless controls and nuances to learn, and these games generally run at great speed, demanding superhuman reflexes to stay at a competitive level.

Imagine my surprise on opening my review copy of Senko no Ronde 2, which I barely knew, and being greeted by a One-on-One fight screen. Taking a deep breath, I braced to be frustrated by yet another fighting game and began experimenting with the game for this review… Within minutes I knew I wasn’t playing just another fighting game, but a unique blend of quite distinct genres and, to my pleasant surprise, an engaging and quite fun experience!

Fun: 9

Senkoro is a mix of 3 video game genres:

• Fighting, where opponents trade blows to bring the opponent’s health bar to zero;
• Shoot’em Up, where the player pilots a ship (in this case, a robot) shooting at obstacles and enemy ships;
• Bullet hell, the brutal sibling of Shoot’em Ups, where the player must constantly dodge showers of bullets;

The blend is surprisingly good! The mechanics highlight the strongest points of each genre, offering dynamic battles that prioritize attention and strategy over superhuman reflexes and coordination. In no time you will have a favorite character and will formulate your strategies, develop your favorite combos and study the best ways to approach each character in combat… And you won’t even notice the time go by!

The game offers an arcade mode for you to face a sequence of increasingly powerful opponents. It is a good chance to master your concepts and try out all the characters in an environment without the pressure of a competitive setting. There is also a story mode, but it is hard to get involved in the plot and care about the events narrated… The story is a bit confusing and uninteresting (and the same can be said of the multitude of generic anime characters).

With a minimal dose of experience in the single-player modes, you can play online or in local multiplayer – and the game shines as a fun experience for casual matches and also for its depth for those seeking the adrenaline of competition.

Mechanics: 8.5

The game applies my favorite game design philosophy: that a game should have simple controls and mechanics, offering depth in its technical and tactical aspects. Add to that the fact that each Round normally takes no more than 30 seconds to end, and we have a game for all kinds of players. There is no time to feel frustrated, the next round gives you the chance to try a new strategy against the style you observed, and the mechanics provide constant tension… Because it is always possible to turn the game around!

On the controls side, we have one button that fires simple “bullets”, one button that fires energy or a mechanism (costs energy) and one button for a special ability or maneuver (which also consumes energy). Besides that, you can defend against a barrage of weak shots or dodge at high speed. There is a special move that can strengthen the robot’s attributes or simply be a more powerful attack, and this ability recharges over time… And finally there is a button that activates BOSS Mode, a temporary transformation that makes the robot practically invincible and turns the arena into a true bullet hell, with barrages of shots and energy blasts for the opponent to try to survive with their defenses and dodges.

In terms of technical depth, the game enables advanced maneuvers such as precisely weaving between projectiles, working out the best sequence and positioning of attacks to maximize your damage and using the defense button at the most appropriate moment to clear the shots around you. When a robot’s health bar hits zero, it doesn’t lose instantly: instead, it enters Vanish mode, in which you must stay alive for a few seconds to recover part of your health. In this period any damage is fatal, but your BOSS Mode becomes even more powerful… Learning and mastering all the tools at your disposal is the key to turning the tide!

The tactical sphere is what ensures longevity in a fighting game, and Senko no Ronde 2 works this aspect with mastery. Having a slightly slower pace than traditional fighting games, Senkoro allows everyone to appreciate the genre’s deep tactical complexity, which would usually be buried under obscure mechanics and the demand for superhuman reflexes and coordination.
Here you must learn to position yourself advantageously, study your opponent’s movements and attacks, consider your approach and also take into account ways to get around the opponent’s options. The simple controls and mechanics allow you to think about all these aspects, and the game’s speed lets you consider all of it fractions of a second before acting.

Audiovisual: 7.5

Senko no Ronde 2 is an updated version of a Japanese arcade game with more than a decade of history, and that is visible in several aspects of its presentation.

The backgrounds are poor and generic, varying between outer space and a psychedelic black background, and the robot models don’t have many details.
What saves the game’s look are the effects and particles. Each hit produces a multitude of light effects and the sea of projectiles fills the screen, turning each battle into a choreographed spectacle. Regardless of the players’ technical level, every battle is beautiful and can be appreciated by any spectator.

The sound effects are competent, but even these seem to be the same ones from a decade ago, as they seem slightly below the quality expected for a 2017 game.

The game makes a strange design decision, taking up a large area of the screen with character portraits on the sides. These images are static, staying exactly the same regardless of whether the pilot takes damage, is low on health or uses a special attack. So besides wasting space they don’t contribute to raising tension or reinforcing any emotion.
The design of the pilots and their mechanics seems generic, reinforcing the impression that the universe built to justify the battles is totally unnecessary.

Final thoughts

Senkoro brings together a bunch of wild ideas and manages to bring out the best of each of the genres it represents. The game has truly high points (such as the beauty of the special effects and the excellent work on controls and mechanics) and also some serious flaws (the game’s presentation and the complex, uninteresting universe), but its qualities highlight the best of the genres it represents, and you will find yourself playing just for the pleasure of playing.

To close this review, here is a clip of arcade mode that I captured while playing on the PS4. You can get a sense of the progression in difficulty and the style and pace of the matches… I just ask that you not pay too much attention to my mediocre skills!

[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3wGA8gsZc” width=”800″ height=”480″]

Score

Fun = 9

Mechanics = 8.5

Audiovisual = 7.5

Overall : 8.4

PlayStation 4 version