We're not sure what it is about October/November, but these Japanese game developers seem to think that when the weather gets nippy, it's the perfect time of year for a bit of stripping. First there was busty ninja bake off, Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit, and now comes Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed, a game about tearing the clothes off. It's a bit of a bizarre game, and undoubtedly someone will get in a Twitter tiz about it and all it stands for, but those ready to give it the benefit of the doubt will find a colourful world full of things to do and discover. And an awful lot of underwear.
Seemingly blue check boxers are very popular in Japan
It all begins when the protagonist, a guy named Nanashi, wakes to find himself strapped to a table, being interrogated by a mysterious guy. Turns out what he thought was simply a job interview for a part-time position paid in rare, limited edition anime figures, was something a lot more sinister. Luckily, before things can take a turn for the worse, the little meeting is gatecrashed by a purple-haired woman, who whisks you away from the danger, feeds you some of her blood and enlists you in her quest to take down your would-be employers.
In a nutshell, Akiba's Trip is about tracking down a group of evil vampires - known as Synthisters - who've been terrorising Akihabra's nerdy clientele and turning them into zombie shadows of their former selves. Now, what's the best way to kill a vampire? Garlic? Crucifixes? A stake through the heart? No. Apparently it's to rip off all their clothes in broad daylight and expose them to the sun's deadly rays, and watch them disappear in a puff of purple smoke. So, it's up to you and your group of social misfits to scour the streets and strip the bad guys, while avoiding getting stripped yourself. Because you're also a Synthister, but a good guy, and that apparently makes all the difference.
Like so.
Operating out of the gaming bar MOGRA, which, along with much of the game's locales is an actual place in the nerd mecca of Japan's Akihabra district, Akiba's Trip is basically a beat 'em up. When you're not busy collecting flyers from maids or pounding the pavement checking out the various shops, you'll be taking on the Synthisters in fast-paced multi person brawls in the middle of the street, with the aim being to unclothe your opponents as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Each character, yourself included, has three different health bars, corresponding to three different areas of clothing - trousers/skirts, shirts and headgear. Depending on which button you press during combat, you can target each of these areas to systematically wear down the clothing and make it easier to whip off. Expose all three areas of a Synthister to the sunlight, and you'll defeat them. Ideally, you want to wait until all your opponents are in a similar state of wardrobe malfunctions before you move in for the disrobing, as then you can 'chain strip' everything in one huge combo, and potentially end up with an elusive pair of underwear for your collection. But in reality, such combos tend to be a tricky to pull off, and are more likely to see yourself stripped instead as you try to set it up - at least until you start to get the hang of things in the latter part of the game.
Stripped enemies sometimes leave behind clothes, weapons and accessories that you can use to kit out you and your companions, giving you bonuses to armour, attack/defense stats and more. There are hundreds of items to collect, some of which can be bought from stores, and some, such as underwear, can only be got by ripping them off your opponents. As you pinch the parkas, cat ears and school uniforms from your opponents, you'll come across increasingly bigger and better weapons with which to beat them with. Ranging from the more everyday whacking implements of boxing gloves, swords and umbrellas to the more exotic computer monitors, capsule machines and bus stop signs, each is perfect, if a little unusual, for smacking potential vampires upside the head. What better way to strike fear into the hearts of Synthisters everywhere than to show up dressed in a pair of horrendous pink flowery (women's) leggings, a frilly blue maid top, wielding an oversized kebab?!
Is that a missile on your back or are you pleased to see me?
Not wanting to go it alone, you can party up with your fellow MOGRA 'freedom fighters' when patrolling the Akiba streets. and through various conversations with the game's female companions, you can unlock several unique endings. At certain points in the game's story sections, you'll be able to interject with one of three responses, which, if you pick the correct one, may win you favour with one of the ladies. Some of the conversation options are pretty funny, and somewhat egotistical - despite his love of geek culture and anime models, Nanashi's responses can seem a tad bombastic and full of himself. Although we've yet to see one of the daft options get us any further with one of the ladies, resisting the urge to declare that "perhaps she just has a thing for young stallions like me" when discussing a well-endowed business woman is too tricky.
Continuing the theme of comedic relief, protagonist Nanashi is equipped with a high-tech smart phone, like every good otaku. The game's Twitter rip-off, Pitter, is likely to raise a smile, along with the random emails that land in your inbox, as they chat about Akiba's top restaurants, speculate on the bizarre strip brawls they see breaking out around turn or send you spam about the latest religious cult. The camera app has a more practical application too - by taking photos of the folks in the street, you'll be able to pick out the Synthister's from the crowd, thanks to the slight wibble they have when photographed. This comes in handy with side quests that simply ask you to beat up unspecific Synthisters, but it is a little cumbersome to use, as you have to mash the back button several times to go back through your phone menus and back to the game - by which time your target has wondered off.
Eat capsule machine, vampire!
The other big downer is that the game itself isn't actually all that long. Depending on how many side quests you take and how much time you spend tracking down every Akiba collectable flyer giver-outer, you may find yourself blowing through it in around six hours or so. However, with tons to collect, see and do, as well as multiple endings to unlock, it can go on for a lot longer, particularly if you like your games with a side of WTF.
In fact, WTF describes Akiba's Trip very well. It's an off the wall beat 'em up with a suitably crazy, light-hearted story to match, all wrapped up in a nerdgasm of otaku, anime and gaming references. Yes, it's a game about stripping the clothes off your enemies, but it's done in such an over the top daft way that it fells more funny than creepy. It may be the strangest game we've played all year, but it's a far cry from the worst. And we do so love our kebab stick.
Format Reviewed: Playstation 3
