Developer: D3PUBLISHER/TAMSOFT
Publisher: NIS America
Platform: PS4
Tested on: PS4
Onechanbara ZII: Chaos – Review
Zombies being slaughtered by girls in bikinis is bound to be a funny sight. This is something you’ll see multiple times in Onechanbara ZII: Chaos, as you will need to save the world from the ghastly threat, although you seem to have enough time to quarrel with your companions. If you’re into hack and slash action, undead monsters and an overall crazy theme, this title will be something to your liking.
Story
There are two clans that have been in battle with each for as long as anyone can remember. The Vampiric clan tears on the blood of their enemies while the Baneful clan can stir their own blood to obtain immense power . They have their own specific powers which they use more than often. At this moment, there are two girls at each side. The Vampirics have Kagura and Saaya while the Baneful are fortified by Aya and Saki. Their fight still continues, although they have teamed up in the previous game as they have fought against the Vampiric Queen Carmilla. She had plotted a scheme so that the two pairs would kill each other, but the sisterly bonds were too strong making them work together to defeat this evil mastermind.
At this point, Kagura and Aya are fighting each other as the struggle begins once again. Eventually, everyone is battling again in the ruins of the castle of Queen Carmilla until a weird girl shows up. With an immense power, she breaks the floor and the girls are being separated. During your fall, you get a glimpse of your opponent, namely a figure smiling on the throne of the defeated witch. This is where the story starts and your quest for saving the world commences.
It is a great thing that you get a small update about the previous storyline as the original first game isn’t released in English. The overall narrative might not be that thick, but this isn’t really necessary as you will simply slay numerous enemies.
Graphics
Onechanbara ZII: Chaos is an exclusive title for the PS4 but it doesn’t really use the full potential of the console. Overall, the graphics are great but the environments look quite pixelated and a lot of the levels use loads of the same elements, which make the surrounding quite boring. The areas are quite empty but this is needed to kick some undead butt, although you won’t see the same theme of environment twice.
Taking a look at the characters, it is clear that you’re the naked shining star in a sea of darkness. The surroundings are mostly dark and gloomy but the protagonists really stand out. This is necessary so you can find your girl between all the gushing blood and dismembered limbs. There are splatters on your screen as well and the seeping of the blood gives a nice touch.
When you compare the girls with the enemies, you’ll see soon enough that the opponents are a lot darker and bland. Even more, you will encounter the same foes multiple times at different locations and it would have been more fun if there was a bit more variety. Each area seem to have their own specific bad guy but they will reappear at other levels as well.
Cutscenes are something else as well. Next to the normal movies, you will also witness a ‘comic book’ that has a unique animation style. The combination of both elements might be unexpected but they fit really well as it emphasizes the chaotic part of the game.
Sound
The music in Onechanbara ZII: Chaos is an extension of the feeling of the game: chaotic. Be ready to experience some up-tempo tracks that will get your blood pumping. Most of the locations have their own particular music so it is a treat to find out what a new area has to offer sound wise.
If you like moaning and shouting, you’ll be happy to hear that the developers added loads of such sound effects. Next to the swooshing and slashing sounds, you’ll hear numerous other noises like the whining of the enemies, screaming from the assaulting undead and the lovely moaning from your girls.
You can enjoy the English voice acting as well. The protagonist all have their own particular voice and they fit their character quite nicely. There is one major downer, namely the lip syncing. There are hardly any movements at all which downgrades the quality of the cutscenes.
Gameplay
Onechanbara ZII: Chaos is an action/adventure hack and slash game and takes you on a quest to save the world. Since this is the successor of the Japanese Oneechanbara Z: Kagura, you might be fighting undead that were first seen in the previous game, making it hard to understand what is happening. At the start of the game, you’ll get a short intro of what has happened In the previous game which is much appreciated but doesn’t cover the whole package.
Upon starting a new game in story mode, you get an overview of all the buttons used in the game and then you’re just thrown into battle. A bit more explanation would have been nice but you can also go to the ‘practice’ mode in the menu and hone your skills there. At the beginning, you can only play as Kagura but after a while, you can switch between all four characters. Every girl has their own particular weaponry although this can be altered. Every character starts with their main weapon, but it can be switched to the secondary one. There is a sub-weapon as well, which can be used when pressing the ‘O’ button. Having that much weapons means that there are special combos you can obtain per fighter. These combinations can be checked in the menu, although you can just keep on bashing buttons and still be victorious. One handy thing is that you can chase enemies, and hit them into mid-air.
Slashing into enemies means that blood will splatter all over the place, including on your weapons. All this excess gore will stick on your arms like glue, slowing you down. At certain times, it is a good idea to ‘refresh’ your weapons by swooshing. Nonetheless there is a great thing about being bathed in blood. The girls have special abilities due to their heritance, and they will soak up blood which makes them stronger. When the red meter is filled, you can activate their overdrive, giving them immense power and other nice perks. Ideal when you want to stomp a boss.
Next to this amazing ability, every character has a set of special attacks called ‘Ecstasy’. Before you can actually use them, you need to fill at least one of three blue bars by attacking enemies or making combo’s. When all of them are full, you’ll do more damage and your attack will last longer. The last special move on their sleeves is that they can heal themselves by consuming blood, although you can use several items to heal yourself or boost your attacks/damage.
When entering a level, you only will be battling undead in waves in a closed off area. These rounds can be short or quite long and get quite boring after a while due to the fact that you will encounter the same enemies over and over again and due to the button bashing. Most of the time, you stand alone against all the enemies, but after a while your friends will be ready to join you in battle by using the cross merge combination. This means that there will be two or more fighters on the scene, making it a bit more chaotic but you’ll be able to crush the undead much faster.
Clearing a pack of mobs will give you a certain ranking. How this is actually calculated is not clear as you might receive unexpected outcomes. These scores will be revised at the end of level, giving you an overall rating. How higher your ranking is, the more money you get. This cash can be used to buy new weapons and rings to give them more power and extra abilities. You can buy these items in the main menu and you can equip a max of three rings per girl.
The game offers a lot of other possibilities as well. You can go on missions with certain goals or you can change the appearance of your girls. These clothing or accessories have to be earned by completing ‘quests’. Before you can get the loot, you will need to fulfil several goals. The dressing up has a lot of possibilities as well, as you can choose where the item will be shown and you can alter the position as well. Another possibility is the ‘gallery’, although this isn’t available from the beginning of the game, although the name covers what you can find here.
Overall, Onechanbara ZII: Chaos has lots of great elements but there are a few downers as well. For example, the AI could have been a lot better since some of the enemies get stuck behind parts of the environment and keep on walking against an invisible wall, while others just stand still at the edge of the arena and don’t do anything. This means that you will need to search for the last undead before you can continue and this is quite bothersome at times, especially if you want to obtain great rankings. The camera tends to get stuck when you’re fighting loads of enemies or when you’re up against a big boss which makes it more difficult to actually hit something.
Conclusion
Hack and slash games are always chaotic, but Onechanbara ZII: Chaos takes the term to a next level. Prepare yourself for bikini girls, their somewhat decent sisters and lots of blood and limbs. The story is probably one of the biggest assets as the battle between the two clans and saving the world is the majority of the game. The graphics aren’t bad but it’s clear the capacity of the PS4 is far from being used. If you like to see blood and limbs, monstrous enemies and half naked girls slashing and fighting, you might like this one. If you’re a fan of structure and a proper overview, you might want to avoid this one.
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