Koihime Enbu
Genre: Action
Publisher: Degica
Developer: UNKNOWN GAMES, M2 Co., LTD
Release Date: May 19, 2016
Degica has been known for publishing quite a library of games to the steam network, and as of late has featured a newly anticipated fighting game. Koihime Enbu is a very stylized game, with 2D designs on 3D models for its characters, and a very simple system. With a storyline that’s pretty easy to follow, colorful characters, and different locations, this game does show some promise to be an interesting new title.
With Koihime Enbu, the game gives several game modes to choose from: Scenario Mode (Story), Arcade Mode, Training Mode, and Online Mode. The modes pretty much play out like any other fighting game modes. With Story Mode, you’re able to go through and select from a cast of 13 characters, each with their own fighting styles, weapons, personalities, and stories. The character designs are so well done it makes it enjoyable to play through each of the characters. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses that add a challenge when it comes to all the opponents you face.
The combat is very simple, with not a huge set list of moves, but the ex counter system allows extra attacks to be accessed, and gives a bit more tactic to this game. It has you juggling opponents in the air and landing as many perfect strikes as possible. Once you’ve selected your character, you have the ability to choose between 2 tacticians depending on which faction the character you choose is from, which allows you to gain certain abilities in combat; such as creating openings, stunning opponents, or prolonging combos. The Training Mode is very solid and gives a good basis for learning the game’s mechanics as well as setting actions for your opponent to do to practice and learn the movements of your selected character. Online play is solid, allowing you to play with friends or randoms online. Though there is a bit of lag with differing regions, it still holds pretty well.
Now as for the more technical aspects of Koihime Enbu, I was very pleased. The soundtrack is great and comes through very clearly along with all sound effects and the Japanese voice acting. The settings menu is very clean and concise, allowing you to go in and set the game to the specific settings you want them to be at. The one negative aspect of the game configuration is that you cannot alter the resolution of the game, which is something I hope they can throw in later. Graphically, the game’s unique style of 2D design on 3D character models makes it quite charming at times but it can suffer slightly laggy movements.
It’s not as smooth as I would hope, but it doesn’t take away from the gameplay itself or alter it in any way. I will say the game is both keyboard and controller supported, but as with most other fighting games, definitely stuck to the controller to play as I found it to be quite comfortable. A few times some of the moves wouldn’t go through, but the game was pre-release when I first got my hands on it.
With that being said, Koihime Enbu is a very simple fighting game with colorful characters, fun game modes, and quite a bit of replayability to it. Does it have its kinks? Yes, a few here and there, but I can forsee them being updated and fixed over time. Now the price tag for it is set at $39.99 on steam, and it is quite high, and as fun as this game may be, it definitely isn’t worth that high of a price tag. Best thing would be to wait til it goes on sale if you’re really wanting to pick this title up. You can pick up this title now on Steam.
Recommendation: It’s a fun game, but best to wait til it’s on sale.
BijouxDemon gives Koihime Enbu a Drastik Measure 7.3 out of 10. (73)
Pros:
- Cast of characters with varying fight styles and stories
- Good soundtrack
- Fair amount of replayability
- Online mode to play with friends or random
- Solid story to go through for each character in Scenario Mode
- Controller and Keyboard support
Cons:
- Moves feel like they don’t hit sometimes
- Not as large of a move set for the characters
- No resolution options in the configuration
- Sprites feel a bit chipped/could be smoother in the animation
