See what Xseed brought to LA with them!
My last appointment for Day 2 at the Electronics and Entertainment Expo belonged to Xseed games this year. I was going to see two games during this booth tour, Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash and Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star. Let’s jump right into it; the appointment was for 5:30 so the show floor closes at 6!
Starting off with Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash for those who aren’t familiar, the franchise is based around scantily dressed women who in past games fight. In this spin off game, they form 5 on 5 teams and shoot each other with water guns. In the anime business, this would be considered fan service. If this doesn’t do it for you, the part in the 5 on 5 battle where you can finish your opponent off by soaking their bikini all the way through and knocking it off their body will clinch it for you.
The controls are pretty solid for a water gun, bikini shooter. There was only one time I got hung up on a double jump and one time I got stuck moving forward. Other than that, reloading is quick and easy to do. Certain water guns attack better than others so test out all kinds. You’ll be able to collect cards in game to get better guns and abilities so keep looking for the best combinations. There will be more than 30 playable characters and you’ll be able to customize their outfit and weapon.
There are tourneys/cups so you can collect currency to buy card packs so you can get cards for abilities and guns. You’ll also be able to play online 5 on 5 matches against friends or other people. I will say this, as simple as the controls are, there is a slight learning curve but after you get the hang of it, you’ll be soaking the competition in no time.( see what I did there)My first demo match was a little shaky at the start but we pulled it out and then tied the second with 1 second left on the clock. This game is going to be crazy online! Expect to be playing it in the summer.
Last demo of Day 2 belonged to Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star for the Nintendo Switch. I was getting to play it in handheld mode and it graphically looked gorgeous! The Switch version gets the previously released DLC as well as a new Unshackled Bride outfit. Switch Joy Cons connected to the system played great, no lag or anything to report in this hack and slash type game. This game reminded me a lot of Hyrule Warriors/Dynasty Warriors in terms of having to defeat a lot of enemies before something will happen in the game. I was able to attack wave after wave of enemy just fine.
As I said, the game plays like a hack and slash game. You have the option to change your character in battle, in theory I guess that’s your servant. For the first time, you can control the servants and since you can control the servants, this will open up new combo options. The enemies come at you fast and in large numbers so be on your toes. The action comes at you quickly but the story at the start is detail oriented and lengthy. You’ll want to make sure you don’t miss anything important.
To recap, the controls for both games are sharp, responsive and crisp. They both have their issues here and there but what game doesn’t? Senran Kagura Peach Beach Splash is fan service at its finest but it’s a pretty good team shooting game. Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star is a hack and slash that looks great on the Switch!