Curvaceous female protagonists in video games are a tale as old as gaming itself – do you remember when Nintendo first revealed Samus’ identity and face at the end of Metroid in 1986? – but they’ve started to fall out of favor in recent years. But with Bayonetta, Tifa Lockhart, and Stellar Blade’s protagonist, Eve, all finding themselves in the spotlight lately, fans want to see a “forgotten” NSFW-lite PlayStation exclusive make a comeback.
Initially launched on PlayStation 2 in 2004, OneChanbara, otherwise known as Zombie Zone in Europe, is a simple hack-and-slash video game with an equally simple premise – you play as Aya, a scarf-wearing cowgirl who wields a katana that she uses to cleave down all sorts of monstrosities, including zombies.
The series would later sell well enough to spawn six mainline installments, multiple updates, several spin-offs, a relatively recent remake, and even a pair of live-action adaptations.
For many gamers, OneChanbara is a guilty pleasure kind of game. The series isn’t the best in the genre, but the games are not terrible either. They’re mid, as the kids say these days, right up there with the likes of Dead or Alive.
Franchise fans recently voiced their opinion on Reddit where, as the moment, one particular thread already has over a thousand upvotes and nearly two hundred comments.
As previously mentioned, the latest entry in the franchise, Onee Chanbara ORIGIN, launched on PS4 and PC in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The game is a remake of the first two titles. It was panned when it first came out due to bugs and issues, especially on PC. While the developers ultimately fixed the problems, most had already moved on by that time.
A better attempt with a larger budget that’s more in line with what Tamsoft did with Onechanbara Z2: Chaos, wouldn’t be the worst idea. As far as genres go, “zombie slashers featuring scantly clad girls” almost always make a killing when done right.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear if Tamsoft will revisit the series anytime soon. Its most recent title, Neptunia x SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars, also features female protagonists, but the content is toned down in comparison.
In the meantime, fans of the fictional genre can look forward to Stellar Blade on PS5 in April. We recently found out the identity of the Korean model used for the body of the protagonist and the game’s director wasn’t shy about admitting the reason they chose her specifically.
