Previously we reviewed Senran Kagura: Peach Ball for the Nintendo Switch. Now the sexy pinball spin-off of the Senran Kagura franchise has landed on PC through Steam. For the most part this release is virtually identical to the offering we got on the Switch. Which, depending on your outlook, could be a good or bad thing.
Story
A gaming tournament at the local Honey Arcade has gone awry when Haruka’s experiments begin turning the other ninjas into animals. The only known cure for Haruka’s Beastall potion is the Peach Ball. Unfortunately the Peach Ball needs to resonate at a certain frequency to work. The solution, get the girls onto a pinball table and beat them with the Peach Ball until it activates and restores them to their true form.
Gameplay
The same pinball gameplay from the Switch version of the game is all here for the PC release. Your objective is to rack up tons of points by hitting the selected girl on the table with the Peach Ball. Other options for getting points is to complete missions that appear along the right side of the screen. Helpful tutorials pop up anytime something new happens on the table and really help drive home the basics of gameplay.
Once you hit a certain points threshold, you can enter a mini-game called “Sexy Time” that is basically a target practice mode where you are trying to hit a certain objective as much as possible. The awkward ending animations for completing these games are all present. To return the ninjas back to human form you need to activate “Sexy Time” 3 times with the final time being dubbed “Super Sexy Time.”
Controls for the PC version of Senran Kagura: Peach Ball are interesting. The Q and E keys on your keyboard control the left and right pinball paddles respectively. The 1 and 3 keys also perform this same task. The tilt functionality, used to knock the girls off balance on the table, is mapped to the W, A, and D keys. This mapping makes things more cramped than I would prefer personally. To use the functionality properly also means using two hands which just helps further cramp things.
Besides the games story mode, freeplay, diorama, and intimacy modes are once again included. There are quite a few laughs that can be gained from the diorama mode and I am sure there are plenty out there who enjoy the intimacy mode. If you are looking to unlock additional outfits and accessories freeplay is a good mode of choice. Even if it doesn’t offer anything different from the story modes gameplay.
Visuals
A ton of visual effects happen on screen at any given moment and the use of bright colors looks great. Thanks to the jump to PC visuals get just that ever so sharper presentation compared to the Switch version. All aliasing found on Nintendo’s console is also gone here.
Replayability
Sadly nothing has been added to the Steam release Of Senran Kagura: Peach Ball So expect to play a ton of story mode or freeplay if you intend to unlock all of the games outfits.
What It Could Have Done Better
Sadly the lack of variety found on the Switch version is still here in the PC version of Senran Kagura: Peach Ball. Only 2 tables to play make the enjoyment of learning them fade relatively quickly. It would have been cool to see at least one new table make it into the game in the time it has been since the Switch release.
Verdict
Senran Kagura: Peach Ball is exactly the same game as it was on Switch only this time with worse controls but a sharper presentation. The core pinball gameplay is still enjoyable, despite the over sexualized presentation, but there still just isn’t enough of it. For a $40 price tag it is really hard to recommend the title to anyone outside of Senran Kagura fans and lovers of all things Anime boobies.
