Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad

Also known as: Oneechanbara vorteX: Imichi o Tsugu Monotachi (Japan)

Developer: Tamsoft

Bikini Samurai Squad was the first game that I had played in the Onechanbara series. And in a quick side note, back when it released I was making gameplay videos on YouTube, before that got popular - a German video game website had linked to my gameplay for their review. I always got a little kick out of that, so I felt like mentioning it here to help aid my poor memory. Anyway, shortly after playing this game, I played the Wii game in the series (Bikini Zombie Slayers) and then went back and tried to play earlier games in the series to try to figure out some sort of story…mainly to understand why you're controlling scantily-clad lady folk while you splatter the blood of zombies everywhere. I, personally, enjoy the Onechanbara franchise for the b-movie cheesiness that it provides…though, the hack 'n' slash gameplay does get pretty repetitive after a while. There is very minor strategy that you can use during combat, but mindless button mashing will likely result in you seeing the credits roll just as easily. There's not a lot technically wrong with this game in terms of mechanics or controls…but the design of the game does leave a little to be desired. Anyway, this is a passable game if you're looking for some mindless zombie slashing to pass a few minutes. Just don't expect the gameplay to blow you away.

Review added: 10/12/2024

Operation Darkness

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Success

Operation Darkness is a game that I've always wanted to get into, but just never seem to stick with it. I should love this game. I like history, I like supernatural creatures, and Operation Darkness combines them both, creating an alternate reality of World War II where zombies and werewolves have been sent to the front lines as weapons. I think the problem, for me anyway, is that it's a typical turn-based strategy game. While I don't necessarily mind the genre, and some games (like Final Fantasy Tactics) I fall in love with, I have a bit of a history of starting games in this genre, then moving onto something else. Unfortunately, that happened again this playthrough. The problem is that while Operation Darkness is a passable game, it's not really anything beyond that. So, for someone like me, who isn't a huge fan of the genre, it can be hard to stick with the game for the long haul and it can feel a bit boring at times. The unique story is what I tried to use to push me along, but unfortunately, that failed as well. The game also has some puzzling aspects…like how some parts of the environment can be destroyed…but other things that would be destroyed much easier are indestructible. The difficulty also seems to ramp up pretty quickly, so that may drive players away a bit - and the poor camera in the game is partially to blame for that, in my opinion. Still, though, there's enough good here for it to be passable…but not much more than that, unfortunately.

Review added: 10/12/2024

Otomedius Excellent

Also known as: Otomedius X (Japan)

Developer: Konami

Otomedius Excellent, sequel to Otomedius Gorgeous (released only in Japan), is basically Gradius, but with the difficulty turned WAY down. It also replaces the ships in Gradius with females that fly around…depending on the girl that you choose to soar around as, you may be given a peek at their underwear, since the camera tends to move to beneath the ladies as you enter and exit the levels. Is that really necessary? Can you imagine if the flying characters were the guys that wanted stuff like that in this game instead? When the camera moved beneath those fellas, the underwear shots would probably have brown skidmarks on them…anyway, let's continue on. I mention the underwear, because that's one of the problems with this game. The gameplay isn't the focus of the game - the perverted aspects seem to be the main focus, followed by graphics (because it's hard to be a perv with grainy pictures), and then gameplay was a distant last place. That's not to say that this game is absolutely terrible. It's not…it just happens to be a barely passable game. And perhaps the developers knew this and tried to spice things up with some creepy perv stuff? I don't know who the audience for this is, honestly. But, if you're new to shooters and don't mind dealing with some pervy visuals, then Otomedius Excellent may be an okay starting point due to its low difficulty. Other than that, unless you're a perv-o, I can't really see why anyone else would want to play this.

Review added: 09/12/2024