The Oneechanbara series

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The cover of Simple 2000 Vol. 61: The Oneechanbara

The Oneechanbara (THE お姉チャンバラ, Za Oneechanbara^?) is an action game series developed by Tamsoft for D3's Simple 2000 series for the PlayStation 2. Most of the titles are Japan-exclusives, but one has been released under a different name by 505 GameStreet in Europe. The hack and slash gameplay is reminiscent of Koei's Dynasty Warriors series, but involves the player controlling Aya, a Japanese cowgirl in a bikini who wears a scarf and wields a katana. The player is pitted against hordes of shuffling zombies and nightmarish boss creatures, who spill torrents of blood over the gameworld, screen and Aya when they are attacked.

1 Gameplay
2 Story
3 Series
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The Oneechanbara series puts players in control of a lone girl (or in later games, two girls with the ability to tag out) against a legion of the undead. The gameplay is like a mix of Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors, as players guide their characters through the stages, completing tasks whilst hacking through enemies. One big difference between these games and games like Devil May Cry is that the player-character's weapon becomes progressively covered in blood, causing their attacks to be slower and to inflict less damage, even getting stuck in enemies if it gets too bad. This is represented by a "Blood Meter" near the health bar, showing how "dirty" the weapon is. To prevent this, players must actively clean off their sword to keep the blood meter from filling up.

[edit] Story

This is the story of the hatred between two sisters in 20th-century Tokyo. Aya has grown up alone with her father, who has strictly trained her in swordsmanship. But now that he has been killed, she is looking for revenge. Saki grew up alone with her mother and saw her die of illness and in poverty. She has taken vengeance on her father, who left her and her mother to pursue swordsmanship. Saki has now discovered an ancient art that can bring her mother back to life, but to be able to complete the process, she needs her stepsister Aya's heart at all costs...

In a whirlwind of love, hatred and rage, the battle between the two sisters has begun. ^[1]

[edit] Series

Developed by Tamsoft, the Oneechanbara series includes several upgrades and sequels that have been released since the original game.

Simple Series 2000 Vol. 61: The Oneechanbara (released as Zombie Zone in Europe) released in Japan on June 26 2005.

Simple Series 2000 Vol. 80: The Oneechamploo − The Neechan Tokubetsuban The Oneechamploo is an upgrade to The Oneechanbara and includes two new characters: D3 Publisher idol Riho Futaba and her younger sister Makoto. An European release under Zombie Hunters is scheduled for release around early 2007, currently slated to be March 23, by Essential Games.

Simple Series 2000 Vol. 90: The Oneechanbara 2 was released on December 22 2005 in Japan. A full sequel to the original game, it features a new female playable character clad in biker leathers. There is no news of an English language release.

Simple 2000 Series Vol. 101: The Oneechanpon is an upgraded version of The Oneechanbara 2 featuring returning characters Riho and Makoto, as well as the female warriors Kiku and Hana, the stars of Simple 2000 Series Vol. 87: The Nadeshiko.

Oneechanbara VorteX was released on the Xbox 360 console in Japan in December 2006.

The Oneechanbara Mobile was released in Japan in late 2006.

Aya, the series' main character, has also appeared in Simple 2000 Series Vol. 91: The All*Star Kakutou Matsuri, a fighting game featuring characters from many different Simple 2000 Series releases. Saki had been featured in a cell phone D3 fighting game as well.

A set of 6 (8 if the 2 secret variations are counted) official gashapons was released in Japan on January 4 2007 by Yujin. The set consists of characters from the series, including Aya and Saki from the first game, Reiko and Riho from the third and fourth games respectively, and Aya and Saki from the Mobile Game.