The seven different personas go from ‘shy student caught in a rainstorm’ to ‘tutor falling for her pupil’, and all the way to ‘mythical swordswoman cooling off after fierce battle’. It’s considerably more fleshed-out here - instead of offering a proddable dress-up doll, each of Asuka’s fantasies comes with its own backstory and a wide variety of romantic settings. Yes, the meat of the game, so to speak, takes place inside Asuka’s imagination and is structured as an expanded version of the ‘dressing room groping’ minigame that turns up in many of the other SK games.

Massaging them allows her to drift into a fantasy world where a more intense massage can take place. Here it acts as more of a psychological trigger, though, with Asuka’s fingers each representing a different aspect of her personality. How can he help her with that? The holistic art of reflexology, in which pressure is placed on certain parts of the hand in order to treat various bodily ailments. The player controls that boy - or at least his hands - as he attempts to get her to overcome her nervousness and admit her true feelings. Series star Askua is introduced as a regular high school girl who’s invited a boy to meet her in a classroom after hours. Senran Kagura Reflexions is another wheel-spinning sidestory that (at first) seems to be taking place in an alternate dimension. Between water gun shooters, remakes and pinball games, the developers seem willing to do anything they possibly can to keep selling games while stalling the narrative conclusion that series fans are desperate to see. While I won’t go so far as to say that it rivals Assassin’s Creed in this respect, the Senran Kagura series is sure taking its sweet time moving the main plot forward. WTF What? There’s just one CG? You could have told me that and saved me 45 minutes. LOW Trying to figure out how to unlock all of the CGs.

HIGH The true ending’s explanation for the story.

Senran kagura reflexions review