Senran Kagura has become a common name in the game industry since its first title back in 2012. Senran Kagura started out as a fun side-scrolling brawler featuring female ninjas. The sexy undertone and over the top gameplay became a staple for future releases. The brand has expanded way beyond the side-scrolling genre with a card battling game, a rhythm cooking game, a third person water gun shooter and a dating sim. The popularity has even branched out into manga and anime. The latest game release is Senran Kagura: Peach Ball, a pinball adaptation based around the (in)famous shinobis.

Experiment

The girls are all gathered at the local arcade for what seems like some casual time away from the normal ninja fighting shenanigans. Everything seems to go smoothly until one of Haruka’s experiments is found in the bathroom and is mistaken for soap. As a result, some girls are transformed into an animal-human hybrid form without having any recollection they were once human.

The only way to get the girls out of their hybrid state is by using the peach ball to “bop” them back to human. Since you are presumably good in pinball and the peach ball fits perfectly in the machine, it almost seems too good to be true. The only thing left is putting the girls on (or actually in) the pinball machine and start racking up points. A plot as thin as ever but should we really have to care about a good plot in a pinball game…

Peach missions

After choosing which girl you’ll save first and which ball you’ll use, you are set for a very flashy looking pinball game. On the right, you’ll see a list of “peach missions”. These all involve hitting certain targets (often multiple times) on the machine. When you succeed in these peach missions you get the opportunity to hit the girl and play a sexy challenge. These sexy challenges are just a mini version of a pinball table on which you need to hit targets as much as you can in a set amount of time.

In doing this 3 times, you are presented with a “super sexy challenge” and a chance of turning the girls back to normal. Once the super sexy challenge is completed you have to rhythmically hit the girls bottom or breasts with the flippers in order to rack up points and transform the girl back to normal. Once a girl is saved, another girl is already being lured onto the machine for you to save again.

Pinball wizard

I played a fair share of real-life pinball machines in my life. For the longest time, I was very skeptical about the digitalization of pinball machines. Digital pinball machines never feel right to me. Recently I’ve changed my opinion a bit since noticing these digitized machines have come a long way. Virtual pinball machines on computer and consoles have also come a long way since monstrosities like Sonic Spinball and Kirby’s Pinball Land.

The latest Pinball Arcade and especially Pinball FX3 titles have really shown that real life ball-physics can be closely mimicked. The great pinball titles mentioned have set a certain standard and I’m sad to say that Peach Ball doesn’t hit that standard at all. While the game is enjoyable because of the over the top theme, real pinball enthusiasts shouldn’t get their hopes up this might remotely be a good pinball game.

Ecchi

The appeal in Senran Kagura: Peach Ball comes entirely from the style it brings. The pinball aspect is certainly playable but if you would strip away the Senran Kagura layer, not much would be left. The ecchi style is the main selling point for this title. The heaps of erotic innuendo presented during your playthrough makes up for the lack of pinball content. The 2 tables presented: Peach Land and Spooky Shinobi Park both play almost exactly the same. Each table has 3 different themes to somehow spice things up but these changes are only visually and offer nothing different in gameplay.

After playing for about 10 minutes you’ll know the sweet spots on the flippers. Hitting the same ramps 10 times in a row becomes a walk in the park and getting those peach missions shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. All the flashy stuff happening and the many suggestive poses of the girls will have you laughing but in the end, this gimmick will fade and you’re left with a subpar pinball game.

Conclusion

Senran Kagura: Peach Ball is a quirky pinball game for fans of the Senran Kagura genre. The main selling point of this game is obviously the suggestive looking girls. The pinball aspect isn’t all that great and the repetitiveness sets in real quick after a few tables. Only get this title for the manga/anime aspect, pinball enthusiasts should look elsewhere.

5,5/10

Tested on Nintendo Switch