Humor is what drives Senran Kagura Peach Ball, and while the cast that shows up here is selective much like Reflexions, it’s a solid five (though everyone will have their own preferred best girls) with Yumi, Ryona, Murasaki, Yomi, and Senran Kagura mascot Asuka joining you for some pinball as they also try to save each other from their uncontrollable animal forms. From the outside looking in, there’s no doubt questions arise trying to make sense of it all, why the shinobi are the way they are, and if such fan-service is really necessary, but they are genuine, fun titles that surprisingly grip me with their stories and gameplay most of the time, and while Reflexions and Peach Ball take a back seat when it comes to a story that has any footing and focus heavily instead on a more intimate experience with heavy use of the HD Rumble feature of the Joy-Con, they do well to not take themselves seriously, and still retain the humor found in other Senran Kagura titles. It’s easy to dismiss Senran Kagura if you’ve never played any of the games before.

Put all of this in the mix with Senran Kagura and, especially as a fan, you have an over-the-top ecchi arcade where the entire experience is a perpetual bounce. Sure, the core mechanics are the same – in pinball’s case, the act of reflecting a ball with flippers – but seeing different perspectives and how you go about getting a high score with insane layouts, it can make for an adventure directing the trajectory of the ball and watching how it interacts both scripted and improvised with its environment, triggering a plethora of lights, sounds, and vibrations that ignite the senses.

Regarding what we consider classics and part of history, pinball doesn’t get as much love as Tetris does, but one thing they’ve had in common is their ability to adapt to a bunch of different licenses and styles with twists to make them consistently feel fresh. I don’t think I’ve ever gone out of my way to play pinball before, but put a machine in front of me and I can be on there for hours.

Pinball has always been one of those things I play from time to time whenever I’m in the moment.

Senran kagura reflexions esrb