Senran Kagura Peach Ball review for Nintendo Switch

So here?s Senran Kagura Peach Ball for the Nintendo Switch and in case you don?t know then this is a pinball game that is for adults and not for kids! So with that out of the way if you?re familiar with the Senran Kagura series then you?re probably aware that spinoff games like Peach Ball are about having a sexy time with busty girls more than they are about the genre of the spinoff and that is no different this time.

The story here is that each of the girls has forgotten they are human when coming in contact with a mysterious ball that causes them to think they are a cute animal. But you are in luck since Haruka has opened an arcade which hosts many machines including pinball! And in order to help the girls remember you must play pinball while they sit on the table and experience being hit by the magical Peach Ball! And believe it or not that?s the story which really is just here to get you to the table and some pinball action so how does the game actually play?

Well for the most part this is a half-decent pinball game and no pun intended! You only get a few tables so if you were hoping for variety then just forget it. Another complaint I have especially in the first few stages is that everything is very overwhelming with constant dialog and stage hazards and worst of all tutorial prompts stopping the game to tell you about events that will mean nothing to you just seconds later when the game resumes play and you lose your ball because you weren?t ready for the game yet! Even hours later the game manages to still interrupt you at the worst times with a dialog box explaining something just as you were about to hit the ball. So yes this eventually becomes less of an issue but how this was never addressed just boggles my mind!

But I?m sad to say that the ball physics feel slightly off and most of the time you won?t feel like you have total control over your shots. Several times I would do my best to hit the ball at an angle hoping to go through a highlighted path only to find it repeating the same one and wearing down on those rails just as much as it does on my patience. I also noticed a few times that the ball would slip from the end of a flipper where I would then get a ball out or watch it fly in an unexpected direction than I wanted. This is even more so in the special areas where the flippers almost are made to eventually lose the ball after a few hits!

So either way you?re boned if you wanted a pinball game with precision and this will lead to many frustrating moments while playing a girl?s story stages. But not all is lost since you can still have a good time if you play the tables fast and loose like the rest of the game treats the video pinball genre. So if you spend your time here just button mashing on the flippers and enjoy the mayhem then you can still have a good time. You can also change camera angles to show more of the table from above and I liked mode F for this but the closer views will show more of the girls so just use the angle you want!

I did say that the game is overwhelming and that does hold it back in the beginning. You progress by completing missions which show up on the right side of the screen. This will earn you points and open up the Sexy and later a Super Sexy Challenge which will then complete the stage. But just try to not pay much attention to specific missions or else you will find yourself losing balls while trying to read the text onscreen. Your best option is just to keep your ball on the table and just wait for the Sexy Challege to appear in time because by now you?ll remember that precise play is somewhat out of your hands and you?ll have more fun if you just chill out and knock a few balls around while the game does it?s thing.

So there is some casual fun to be had in the video pinball side of things but it would be much more fun if the game gave you better control over the ball. You can tilt the table to move the ball up or down but this is hit or miss and it seems like the game wants you to make use of this function more than you expect. But if you?re interested in a solid pinball game then you might want to look elsewhere and if you?re here for the Senran Kagura side of things then the overall game will have more on offer with cutscenes featuring interactions between the girls as they bring each other back to human form and other activities.

And yes there are side modes that let you dress the girls or spend more intimate time with them and these have been in previous games so returning fans will know what to expect. One side thing that does bug me is not being able to preview anything in the shop. So that being said it does look okay for graphics and the sound is also good. I do like a lot of the music and the whole game is very upbeat and colorful.

But this is a mixed bag and for the limited tables and sometimes frustrating pinball experience you might want to wait for a deal on Senran Kagura Peach Ball. Yes there is pinball fun to be had along with side activities but for what you get it feels like the game is ripping off a limited audience who does deserve more effort in these spinoffs.

Note: XSEED provided us with a Senran Kagura Peach Ball Nintendo Switch code for review purposes