[VITA] Bullet Girls

To the Western world, the Vita was deemed a failure, being unable to generate enough sales compared to its predecessor. In my eyes though, it's the best portable system I've ever had. Got it since day one and it has served me well for years. Plus many of the (Japan-made) games are just my type.

Bullet Girls happens to be one of them. In a nutshell, it's kind of like a mix of Senran Kagura and the anime Sabagebu! The concept of Japanese high school girls playing with guns is nothing new, but bullets from the weapons here hurt about as much as a flick to the forehead. The only real casualties are the clothes they are wearing.

For now, Aya is all about using guns to stun and strip enemies. Her Medic experience won't be put to use until the sequel. 

The stage is set in Misakimori Academy, an all-girls institution with a long history where club activities are mandatory and most of them seem to be connected to military affairs. Enter the main character Aya Hinomoto, a first year student. She originally wanted to be in the Medic Club, but mistakenly sent her application to the Ranger Club. Though adamant at correcting her careless error at first, she slowly warms up to the Ranger Club's quirky members, realizing that she also has what it takes to handle a gun and become a full-fledged Bullet Girl. The club activities start in earnest, with Aya and fellow newcomer Yurina Kanezono subjected to baptism by fire from the get-go in the Ranger Club's annual summer boot camp.

Tsukiyo fancies herself as a support expert and hates being out in the sun, but she sometimes shows up on the field both for combat and skinship.

Anyone with experience with these kinds of games already knows where this is going: The main theme is guns, girls and fanservice. Each stage is made up of campus/city blocks controlled by a Bullet Girl, consisting of 3 standard missions with varying objectives. Accomplishing said missions will unlock a high-level mission with a boss fight. All of the missions will feature grunts of the female persuasion with similar features sourced from Misakimori's multi-purpose "Mob Club". Aside from foot soldiers with various weapons and costumes, the mob girls will also man tanks (consisting of a Panzer 4, Tiger I and Type-10 tank; the devs are obviously Girls Und Panzer fans), gunships, armored cars and VTOL personnel carriers.

Aki's weapon of choice is the Bazooka, but don't worry, the explosions aren't lethal to people... only the fabrics will be burnt to a crisp.

Carrying out the main objective is important, but if you play this game like a normal TPS, then you'll never get an S Rank. Aside from time, body count and player damage, the game's grading system also incorporates number of people stripped down to their birthday suits (but since this is a console game, the naughty bits are covered by smoke clouds). To do so, you either have to use a weapon with precision aiming (Assault/Sniper Rifle) or explosives (Grenades and Bazookas). For the former, you have to target several parts (Chest, Belly, Arms and Legs) and shoot until the fabric is torn off. For explosives, you just have to make sure that they get caught up in the blast, as it will damage all parts in one shot. If you succeed, you will get the girl's bra and panties as a prize. The undies vary in design and has passive enhancements that will give you an advantage in combat. Collect all of them and you get a bonus design.

It has been said that people who are regularly subjected to extreme forms of torture often find themselves craving for it actively, but I don't think this really counts...

Aside from military weapons and tactics, the Bullet Girls also train themselves in Interrogation skills, both in administering and receiving. Ostensibly, the training is meant to improve getting information from the enemy and resisting leakage of intel if on the receiving end. But of course, the main draw of interrogation is being touchy-feely with the girls, tickling their fancy in a good and bad way. A pleasant surprise awaits people who do both...

When a character's clothes go up in smoke, some of the clouds stick where it counts.

While it's (somewhat) accommodating for people like me who aren't into shooting games, Bullet Girls is not without some faults. For one, the fact that Handguns only have lock-on but no precision aiming is a whacked concept. Whenever you fire, the shots scatter to random spots, making it utterly useless for full-on offense or stripping. Underwear collecting can sometimes be a chore because there are a couple of designs that appear in only one stage and often on a sporadic basis. Also, stripping enemies with a rifle can be a painstaking affair, so bazookas are the better choice in the long run. Finally, in a risky situation, evade + fire with an assault rifle is a broken move that usually downs most enemies in seconds.

Many of the faults mentioned were remedied in the second game (though Handguns are still as useless as ever). Even so, Bullet Girls is still worth a look, if only to see the game's humble beginnings. The third game will be out pretty soon, after all...