Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire Review
Fast Facts
Title: Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire
Developer: Chorus Worldwide
Publisher: Chorus Worldwide
Website: Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire
Genre: Shooter, Action, Arcade
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Age Rating: PEGI 7
Release Date: 30/01/2020
Price: £11.69 – Rapid Reviews was very kindly provided with a review code for this title.
Welcome to the review of possibly one of the craziest games I have ever played. I present to you Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire. This is the newest game from Chorus Worldwide and the first game they have released in twelve years!
You play as one of five sisters ranging from youngest to oldest and battle your way over five stages and six bosses as you compete to marry an angel, Yashin. In simple terms, it’s a top-down shooter with power-ups and a bonus system called Tension Bonus System (TBS) which multiplies your score until you die.
You also get a Powershot System which changes your normal attacks to a heavier red damage laser beam that shreds enemies with ease. You get the standard bomb that clears the screen of enemies and the opponent’s lasers off the screen.
On top of this, mapped to one of the face buttons (B, in my instance) is a special power that varies from each character. From a fire witch who whizzes around the screen killing enemies as soon as they appear to a spinning ice blade which causes massive damage. The thing is this is not limited so you can just hold the button and let the super move do the work, you can’t shoot your lasers at the same time but on the easier difficulty levels, this was not an issue.
Each of the five sisters has its own basic laser from your standard single bullet to three-way shooting and grouped up shots that are slower but cover more of the screen, This adds a great level of replayability to the game as you try to beat your high scores on each level
The levels are all set against each sister you’re not playing as. So, if you pick the lovely Sonia you will fight the other four Lale, Ece, Nur and Selma. You also fight the Angel Yashin as the last stage in both normal and demon form before you end the game.
The Developers have also announced a 6th character called Ode who will be released shortly after the game as a free download and adds another level along with her own story.
The stages are pretty short and just throw masses of enemies at you before you face your sister at the end of the stage in a boss battle where you have to move fast and shoot quicker to drain the life in the 90 second time limit.
Your high score tots up as you shoot, burn or use your powers to destroy enemies along with collecting the coins that are left on the level for your pleasure. If you do die though your score goes right to zero and you carry on the level where you left off reducing your potential top score.
Luckily, the first time you get shot you lose all your coins and a piece of health which leaves you with two more hits until you sink without a trace and either restart the level or continue with your reduced score.
On the easier level, a play of the whole game as a character is about 30 minutes which means its ideal for a quick blast. I only died maybe twice the first time I played and that was due to me not knowing what I was doing and panicking when the screen is full of laser blasts and enemies to dodge.
The game at its core is a top-down scrolling shooter, with Space Invaders and the classic Ikaruga as clear influences. The game is fun and I really enjoyed it, You may be thinking I thought you said this game was crazy? It seems quite straight forward. Well, let’s move onto the crazy bit.
This game is filled with a very anime story, you get cutscenes before a level and some more before and after the boss fights. The basic story is your choice of character moaning and putting down the sister or rival for Yashin’s hand in marriage.
You get some amazing back and forth insults including a classic “I hope that apple pip grows into a tree in your stomach,” and “you are goldfish poo.” Anyway, along with loads of put-downs like those, the actual story is crazy.
You basically spend your time reading why your choice of sister should get the man and what sets her apart from the others in typical over the top narrative which although crazy was actually fun to read and especially corny in places.
As is often the case with anime games focused on women vying for a man, the ladies don’t have many clothes on and in the cutscenes, they are often dressed in revealing tops and leaving little to the imagination.
Each sister has a unique story arc and you may see a wedding or two on your way to completing the game. Of course with a press of a button, you can skip these cut scenes if shooting bad guys is your thing.
The colours on the screen are mad with points, enemies, enemy lasers, your lasers, pickups, and coins to grab or dodge. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to see what’s going on but after a few minutes, you get used to it.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with this game, the learning curve is not too hard and with three difficulties you can ramp things up at your own speed. The story although crazy was fun and I had a few laughs along the way mainly at the bad put-downs and insults I was reading. Its very much an Ikaruga type game but a lot easier and would be a great entry into the top-down shooter genre. It has online high score tables and at such a small download would be a great game to have to waste 10 minutes while sitting on a tube or while out.
Rapid Reviews Rating
You can buy Sister Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire at the following places.
eShop
