Rampant zombies and samurai vixens in bikinis make for a surprisingly decent action game.
Saki and Aya are two battle-hardened, badass sisters (or half-sisters as is according to the official story) who serve as the central heroines of the game. In spite of their differences, the two are skilled in the art of samurai swordsmanship, and they must put it to use in a world gone mad and crawling with endless legions of undead zombies. It sounds similar to the likes of Dead Rising and Dawn of the Dead, but to much more varied and outlandish effect here. The game is set up as individual chapters, and you will control two characters with one on the field at a given time (you can switch between the characters using shoulder buttons, and another character named Annna can be unlocked as you play through the game). From then on in, you will attack scores of zombies and other wicked creatures using a variety of attacks such as sword slashes, kicks and even guns. Make no mistake--blood will fly, and quite often, and it even has an effect on your body and your weapon. As you cut multiple enemies into bloody Slurpees, your blade will collectively be stained, dulling its sharpness. If you try to attack a zombie with it, you'll only end up literally getting your weapon stuck in its body and trying to pull it out. The solution to this problem is "cleaning" your sword, which is rather quick yet somewhat leaves you vulnerable.
Both sisters have special attacks and abilities--an Ecstasy Attack and a Rampage Mode. An Ecstasy attack is a super powerful attack maneuver you can unleash when you fill up a yellow meter by performing combo hits in succession, but you have to continue connecting your attacks before it swiftly drops to zero. Rampage Mode occurs when your HUD portrait fills red to its capacity, and your character goes completely apeshoot with increased attack power and speed as your life bar slowly ebbs away (and you can die from this inherent ability if you let it prolong without visiting a statue or using a statue fragment.) You can even develop your characters by customizing their individual stats at the end of each level depending on how well you do.
There are a number of game modes to fool around with as well, like Free Play mode, which lets you replay any level you've completed any time you like and to your heart's consent. Survival Mode pits you against waves of zombies and rewards you items for your endurance. Dress Up is perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of the game. Be it downloads from the Marketplace or awards in game, your girls can be retrofitted with a variety of skimpy (and mildly conservative) clothing items so when they're out slashing zombies and fighting evil, they'll look damn good doing it. Hairstyles, eye color and skin tones may also be changed.
The sound quality is somewhat subdued but gets the job done nonetheless. The music is comprised of some guitar riffs--appropriate considering the overt nature of the game. Voice work is entirely Japanese with subtitles.
Onechanbara is one of those games that connects with varied audiences--some may like it, others may hate it, and the rest will probably just laugh off its ridiculous nature. For me, it was a surprisingly decent and fun game that didn't feel like a waste of time. My best advice to you is if you want to give this game a chance, rent it first before you make the decision to add it to your library. The game may or may not connect with you as it did with me, but it all boils down to when you take that first step.