Kotaku: Senko No Ronde

Senko No Ronde 2 Cast Revealed

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:20:00 MST

Shooter specialist G.rev let slip the other day that Senko no Ronde 2 was in the works, revealing two new gender ambiguous additions to the cast of fighters. Now, courtesy of Yahoo! Japan blog Gemaga, we know a half-dozen characters who will comprise a portion of the roster. As fans of the first can see, gender confusion runs amok yet again, as Cuilan returns and a character known as ??? blurs the line between the sexes. Someone at G.rev should be made to pay for this.

Senko no Ronde 2 [Yahoo! Japan]

G.rev Goes Ahead With Senko No Ronde 2, More Gender Confusion

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:40:40 MST

The Naomi based fighter-shmup Senko no Ronde eventually wound up on the Xbox 360, arriving in the West as WarTech: Senko no Ronde. It didn't do particularly well with critics or buyers, which seems odd considering its can't-miss formula of gender neutral anime teens piloting robots that shoot pastels lasers at each other. Still, developer G.rev is giving it another go, it seems, as an arcade sequel tentatively known as Senko No Ronde 2 is due to arrive in Japan next year. A teaser image featuring Lev Lefanu (left) and Henri Xia Xiaotien (right) is all that we've seen so far—another very blurry character is shown in a second pic—but we have little in the way of details beyond that. Anyone willing to wager the sexes of these two new additions? I'm withholding judgment for now.

Senko no Ronde 2 Announcement

Clip: Battle Storm: Senko No Ronde

Kim Phu — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:40:00 MDT

Now this a game that the bums I sometimes call friends can sit down and be "entertained" by for at least a couple of hours after they go into a spacecake-induced coma while visiting me in Amsterdam. I, however, can appreciate it sober because I'm cool.

Coming out for Xbox in the US this May (though it has been in Japan for quite some time), Battle Storm: Senko no Ronde is the UbiSoft's American version of the Japanese fighter/shooter that looks like it could melt your mind in about two seconds. I could easily take an epileptic seizure if that's not available, though. Kim Phu

Shooting, fighting, androgyny: Senko no Ronde coming stateside [Joystiq]

Senko no Ronde Gets Hump Pillows

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 15:40:04 MST

I'll admit I have a bit of a Senko no Ronde obsessive streak. But my interest in the game starts and stops with playing it. And maybe securing a Sanjo Sakurako P2 costume gashapon, but that's really as far as it goes. Fortunately for the otaku crowd with crippling shyness/unrealistic female expectations, G.rev is releasing a pair of "holding" pillows featuring two of the game's loveliest ladies. Fully reclined, lightly dressed, and ready to be "held", Changpo and Ernula adorn the 107 x 45 cm (42 x 17.5 inches) pillow cases. They'll set you back a hefty 8400 yen (about $70) when they ship in March. They should be washed in warm water with non-chlorine bleach and dried on low heat, following... use.

We'll keep our eyes peeled for an importer who'll bring them stateside (in discrete packaging, of course). Michael McWhertor

Ubisoft Bringing Senko no Ronde For 360 Over?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:20:09 MST

Released last summer in Japan for the Xbox 360 and summarily over-pimped by yours truly, G.rev's hybrid shmup-fighter hasn't shown up on any Western release lists. Until now.

Listings for Senko no Ronde Rev. X, published by Ubisoft, have appeared on mega-site Gamespot and multiple North American online retailers. All list different dates in May but all peg Ubi as the publisher.

Coincidence? Of course not! We await comment from Ubisoft but know, deep in our hearts, that our localization prayers have been answered. Michael McWhertor

Senko No Ronde: 10 Minutes Of Hot Shmupping

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 13:35:55 MDT

One of the disadvantages to being Weekend Editor, is that when something pops up during the weekday that I'm really psyched for, I have to wait until Saturday morning to gush about it. The other downer is that none of the other editors seem to give two squirts about Senko no Ronde Rev. X for the Xbox 360. Jerks!

On the plus side, I can do a write up on a wildly unpopular subject like Senko no Ronde and won't get any grief from the management. They're all off on their respective yachts, screwing models on piles of cash. Where was I? Right, Senko no Ronde! I've previously written about the game, but now you, lucky reader, can see it in motion not just carefully chosen words.

Thanks to the lovely Blimblim of Xboxyde, we've now got 10 minutes worth of white hot shmup-fighting action in video form. And its in 720p for those of you with beefy computers and overflowing bandwidth. Put down that porn and start downloading! Michael McWhertor

The first 10 minutes: Senko no Ronde Rev. X [Xboxyde]

Senko No Ronde For Xbox 360 Site Love

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 21:15:53 MDT

If you've been reading Kotaku weekends for the past four months, you might notice a dearth of Xbox 360 content. It's not that I'm biased against Microsoft, just apathetic. Frankly, I'm more often into games from Japan, a region in which the Xbox family has noticeably struggled (plus they still haven't sent that complimentary 360 to my house). So when something as wacky and, well, plainly Japanese like Senko no Ronde gets the Xbox 360 console treatment, I'm forced to start paying attention.

The hybrid fighter-shooter, not unlike a 2.5D Virtual On, made big waves with the arcade and shmup crowds when it was revealed, but hasn't done much attention grabbing at arcades. Most folks in the Senko no Ronde know were expecting a Dreamcast port, as the game runs on the Naomi arcade platform, but somehow Microsoft wooed the game's dev to take it to the 360—and Xbox Live.

The official site has been updated with some drool-worty 720p resolution screenshots and lots and lots of Japanese text that'll tell noobs how to play this... brawler-shmup... thing. If you're looking for something different, check it out. Michael McWhertor

Senko No Ronde - Screenshots

Senko no Ronde Gets Date, Looks Pretty

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 07:54:23 MST

G.rev, creator of fine shoot 'em ups like Under Defeat and Border Down (who and huh?), were a bit of a surprise developer in Microsoft's stable. They were, after all, focused on Sega's aging Dreamcast and Naomi hardware. But that doesn't mean they can't make Xbox 360 games, and make them look mighty pretty!

The G.rev Web site finally gives us our first look at what they can do with a powerful next-gen lighting model and a couple more polygons, plus a July '06 release date! If you like hybrid shooter fighting games, put this on your buy list.

Senko no Ronde Rev. X Screens