Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic! | PS4 Review

Eastasiasoft, and their league of developers have done good in bringing to the West some formerly Japanese only gaming experiences. Whether it be more risque shoot 'em ups or the line clearing games like this particular game offers they've done good to let us in on something different. With 'Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic!', in particular, we are privileged as a gamer to be able to not only unlock some impressive Bishoujo style anime art through gameplay, but also compete for top score on the game's online leaderboards. While the scoring, and goal are simple the execution is anything but that. You see, with games like this clearing sections of a picture is risky business. With enemies moving, and bouncing around the playing field ready to end your line to edge connections the task at had is made increasingly more difficult. Tack on the games base difficulty as well as additional difficulties per section of gallery art, and you have yourself quite the challenge. Luckily for you there are a handful of items or power-ups with which to ease the process. Just know that scoring is an ordeal that requires strategy, and multitasking. You have to mind the timer, your lives, the enemies, the spawning items, and complete a certain percentage of the artwork before you can unlock the prized art within.

Broken down by two base difficulty settings, and six star rated collections of artwork inclusive challenges 'Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic!' pits you, the cyber security cadet, against swarms of viral entities. Your goal being to unveil the girls of cyber warfare who will aid you in your ongoing battle. Basically, unlocking gallery art by revealing the girls' images with a line towing avatar that can section off portions of the framed image as the enemy threat makes it's way back and forth upon the given background. By connecting lines to edges you will not only unveil more of the hidden art, but also score points based upon the area cleared. The bigger the area you clear the more points you will get. The catch being that if your towed line gets hit by an enemy before you are able to complete the connection you will lose one of your four lives. Additionally you can complete sections of the image with enemies inside for bonus points. Making the total end tally that includes the time spent, lives remaining, and a perfect bonus opportunity all the more lucrative if achieved. 

In total there are five galleries of challenges. Ranging from a single star collection to a six star rated collection. Each of which demands an efficient, and perfect playthrough to earn the golden star for the given images. With each given challenge, numbered 1 to 100, you'll find an increasing number of enemies as well as new enemy types. The enemies vary and include things like pinging stars, homing rockets, sentient viruses, and boss-like enemies which shoot as if they were in a shmup. Avoiding them, and completing each image to 75% in the most timely fashion is the key to banking that top score on the game's leaderboard. Doing it without losing lives being equally as important. For your efforts you will gain access to the unlocked gallery images as well as several PlayStation trophies. That, and a place on the game's online leaderboard.

Visually, and audibly 'Bishoujo Battle Cyber Panic!' is a step up from previous eastasiasoft anime releases. It harbors a more Asian anime art style with background effects that make it more than just a flat image. The enemy design is decently done as well. This of course is all accented by a soundtrack that harkens back to games it's inspired by. A sort of trance, or synth pop style quality with a historically dated sound. Kind of like something from the 60's or 70's. Collectively it's a nice complimentary package with notable replay value. There is strategy to be had, and learning the best strategy can get you leaderboard bragging rights.

The verdict ...

For what it is I think eastasiasoft's developer did a nice job at bringing forth, and reviving an otherwise very simplistic genre of games. The art is good, and the challenges to unlock said art engaging enough. I know it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but for anime enthusiasts it might be something worth looking into. Even those of you who like the bragging rights of earning the top score might find this to be a worthwhile purchase. It gets my approval.