The Senran Kagura series originally launched, remarkably enough, on the Nintendo 3DS back in 2011. Since then it has proven to be a versatile franchise for Marvelous, spanning several systems and branching out to different genres. Now, Marvelous is placing power partially in the hands of players in Senran Kagura Reflexions, a romance game where the player must use a very truncated version of reflexology massage to help one of the girls regain her lost heart. While the game is not overly long, Reflexions is a mostly enjoyable experience – read on to find out why.

Senran Kagura Reflexions
Publisher: Marvelous
Developer: HONEY PARADE GAMES
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 13th, 2018
Players: 1 Player
Price: $9.99

Reflexions makes great use of the HD Rumble feature of the Joy-Con while asking players to take part in 3 mini game like events.

These range from massaging the palm of the hand and the fingers of Senran Kagura mainstay Asuka, to poking, stroking, grabbing, and slapping different parts of her body – to finally using different massage techniques to increase her pleasure to the point of almost achieving “release” in the final event.

Yes. You read all of that correctly. While the franchise is relatively well known for its fantastic fan service, Reflexions ramps the tantalizing titillation to ten. With the HD Rumble feature of the Joy-Con controllers, you will feel Asuka’s heart beat as you gently massage her fingers.

You will feel it as you poke and stroke her arms, thighs and more erogenous areas. You will feel it as you run a massage tool across her arms. There’s even a vibrator like object that is unlockable later in the game.

And what is your reward for all of this? Well, beyond just seeing Asuka basically melt in to a puddle of pleasure, players will eventually unlock all 5 pieces of her heart, allowing her to “break free” and enunciate her emotions for the player.

You can also unlock different outfits, hair styles, and accessories to use in the “mini reflexology” mode.

That is the entirety of the game. You massage Asuka and after filling a vial 5 times with different colors associated with different parts of her body, the game ends after Asuka reveals her hearts true feelings.

Players can continue the game by playing the mini reflexology game, which is just the second event of the main game that allows the player to use the outfits and accessories unlocked during the main game.

Most players will be able to complete everything needed in about 5 hours, as Reflexions is a very short game. Unless you really enjoy playing dress up and want to continue to suggestively grope Asuka, there really isn’t much left to accomplish after you unlock her heart.

Story wise, since the game is relatively short, there isn’t really much here. As mentioned, while you massage Asuka, parts of her heart will eventually unlock, directly explaining why you are massaging her in a very suggestive manner. At the onset of the reflexology session, when you are massaging her palm and fingers, a thought bubble will appear near Asuka.

This bubble will indicate which part of her personality you will be dealing with in the second event. These personalities are… varied to say the least. More moderate examples of her personality include a seductive tutor, a warrior from a fantasy game, a school athlete, and a school sailor uniform with the spunk to match.

Then we have idol Asuka, little sister Asuka – who begs for head pats – and Asuka dressed in nothing but a ribbon. One of these is way more lewd than when her little sister persona asks you to stop grabbing and jiggling her impressive mammaries.

Each personality has a different way of expressing Asuka’s feeling for the player. Seriously, little sister Asuka is extremely lewd and will probably be a fan favorite just for dialogue alone.

Additionally, each part of Asuka’s body is associated with a different color that changes between her different personalities. Some actually enjoy it when you grope her in inappropriate areas. Her reactions and dialogue will vary depending on which parts of her body you massage and which color you choose to focus your fingers upon.

Here’s the thing dear reader, this game is short but it has a lot of charm. However, if you’re the type of person who shy’s away from overt visions of voluptuous vixens in varying degrees of feminine sexuality, please, pass this game over and retreat to your nearest feminist approved basement where you can respect women in your own manner.

If you’re not the type to shy away from a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously while tantalizing the player, it’s probably worth the 10 dollars, especially when the planned DLC characters are eventually launched. I just probably wouldn’t play this game around younger children, jealous significant others, or puritan parents. They’ll probably give you strange looks.

Senran Kagura Reflexions was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a review copy provided by XSEED Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here.

The Verdict: 7

The Good

• Lot’s of “plot”
• Easy to use controls that make good use of the HD rumble feature of the Joy-Con
• A short and exceedingly endearing story for fans of the Senran Kagura franchise

The Bad

• Overt sexuality with borderline eroge scenes will probably turn away most main stream players
• The game itself is extremely short and doesn’t offer much beyond just causing a fan favorite character to writhe in pleasure
• Extremely simple gameplay that honestly does become tiresome the umpteenth time you play through each event again and again