⚠️ SPOILER WARNING: This review contains some story spoilers. This is my second SENRAN KAGURA game, and I had a really good time with it. I played Re before this, so I already knew some of the characters, but I'm still pretty new to the series. I ended up completing the whole game and getting all the achievements. 😂 Combat The combat is probably my favorite part of this game. Everything feels really fast and responsive. The movement, dodging, jumping, dashing, and attacks all feel quick, and I really enjoyed having to react to what was happening around me. I especially liked how quickly I could move around the battlefield and continue attacking enemies. The aerial combat is also really fun, especially when chasing enemies through the air. It took me a little while to get used to everything, but once I did, the combat became really satisfying. There were definitely moments where I was just flying around the battlefield beating up enemies and having a lot of fun. 😂 I also liked that some stages can throw multiple playable characters at you at once . Fighting two characters together made some battles feel more chaotic, especially when I had to keep track of more than one opponent. in Renewal it don't have that... so this is interesting new combat stages fighting to me. Four Schools & Story I really liked having four different schools and their own stories. Getting to see different groups and perspectives made the world feel much bigger, and I enjoyed learning more about the characters through each story. At the same time, I was sometimes confused because some events and interactions can be different depending on which perspective you're playing. I still enjoyed seeing all four sides, though. It gave me more time with the characters and helped me understand their personalities and relationships better. I also liked that there are extra character stories instead of only following the main school stories. Shinobi Hearts I really liked the Shinobi Hearts stories. This was something new for me, and I enjoyed having these extra character-focused stories. Instead of only following the main story, I could slowly learn more about what individual characters were doing, what they were thinking, and more about their own stories. There are so many characters in SHINOVI VERSUS, so having these extra stories gave me more time with them and made me feel like I was getting to know the cast better. Even when some of the stories were simple, I still enjoyed having them. Characters The bigger cast was another thing I enjoyed. There are a lot of characters to play as, and I liked seeing how the different groups interact with each other. Some relationships are serious, some are funny, and some characters act completely differently depending on who they're with. It made going through the different stories more enjoyable instead of just feeling like I was fighting through the same thing over and over. Cutscenes & Presentation This is probably where I had one of my bigger disappointments. Some of the special animations and cutscenes feel very different from what I was used to. The Shinobi Transformations and some scenes during fights can feel like they suddenly move into a separate presentation instead of feeling naturally connected to the environment. It was a little weird for me at first. I actually appreciated having the option to skip those scenes, especially after seeing them several times. Sometimes I just wanted to keep fighting. 😂 It's not something that ruined the game for me, but I personally preferred how those moments were presented in Re. At the same time, I understand that SHINOVI VERSUS is its own game and isn't a remake, so I wasn't expecting everything to be presented exactly the same way. Character Designs Since Re was my first game in the series, it was also a little strange at first seeing some of the characters with different designs here. Some characters look noticeably different from how I first saw them, so it took me a little while to get used to it. But I honestly didn't mind it after that. I understand that this is an older game, and I still enjoyed the way the characters look. Customization I also enjoyed the customization. There are plenty of outfits and accessories to unlock and change, and with such a big cast, it was fun having different ways to customize the characters. Some outfits were familiar from Re, but I still enjoyed seeing them again and looking through all the different options. I definitely spent more time than I expected doing that. 😂 Multiplayer I was also happy to see multiplayer included. Unfortunately, since I'm playing this in 2026, finding other real players online was basically impossible for me. 😂 I did try the multiplayer with CPU bots just to see how it worked, and it was still fun to mess around with. Of course, I would have liked to experience it with real players, so it's a little sad that I couldn't really experience that part properly. I'm still hoping I'll get the chance to try the multiplayer with real players someday if there's ever an opportunity. 😂 Fanservice 😂 Of course, this is still SENRAN KAGURA, so the fanservice is here. And honestly, I enjoy it. 😂 The transformations, costumes, clothing damage, and ridiculous situations are part of what makes SENRAN KAGURA what it is. Sometimes it goes completely over the top, but that's also part of the fun for me. Just hoping for a setting to turn off the lights, though too. LOL 😂 Overall I really enjoyed SHINOVI VERSUS. The fast combat, responsive controls, aerial movement, four different story perspectives, Shinobi Hearts, bigger cast, customization, and multiplayer gave me a lot to enjoy. My biggest disappointment was probably the presentation of some of the special animations and cutscenes. I sometimes found the different perspectives confusing too, especially when certain events or interactions felt different depending on which story I was playing. But none of that stopped me from enjoying the game. I completed the whole game and got all the achievements, so clearly I had a good time with it. 😂 I'm still discovering the SENRAN KAGURA series, but SHINOVI VERSUS gave me another fun experience with these characters. I enjoyed it enough that I continued with the series and played the next game too. It's been fun going through the games one by one and seeing how the characters and story continue.