There’s no denying that Japan is responsible for some seriously messed up games. Chances are you’ve come across at least a few videogames made in Japan that are questionable at best. There are popular ones that are eccentric and outlandish (Katamari Damacy), trippy experiences that emulate what it’s like to be on hallucinogenic drugs (LSD: Dream Emulator), games featuring scantily clad macho men hurtling through space (Cho Aniki), pinball featuring squealing scantily clad girls atop the table (Senran Kagura: Peach Ball), and a plethora of games that I shouldn’t even talk about unless I want the police at my door.

Aah, Japan…

Then it should come as no surprise that the game based on fighting your foes by stripping their clothes originated in Japan, and is even set in the very heart of Japan’s world-renowned pop culture district: Akihabara. First released in 2011 exclusively in Japan for the PlayStation Portable, AKIBA’S TRIP took the unconventional and risqué concept and managed to turn it into an action RPG. Considering the PSP was on its last legs in the West during this time, the game never made its way to our shores. However, we would later receive the sequel, AKIBA’S TRIP: Undead & Undressed, on PS3, PS4, PS Vita and PC.

Now that it’s been over 10 years since the original release, AKIBA’S TRIP is back and released in English for the very first time. So strip down, take a seat, grab some Pocky, and let’s dive headfirst into Akihabara in our safe-for-work review of this borderline NSFW RPG.

Plot

As the epicentre of pop-culture, Akihabara is truly a paradise for otaku, anime fans, gamers, and cosplayers. It’s a literal heaven on earth for fans of anything nerdy. Having completed my pilgrimage to Akiba three times, I know first-hand how incredible this ward is, like a bustling city in itself, streets lined with fascinating shops and the crowds that flock to them.

Sadly, Akihabara is in peril. Rumours are circulating of a group known as the Shadow Souls – dark, vampiric beings who take the form of regular people, and feed upon the blood of otaku. Anyone attacked by a Shadow Soul is afflicted with a curse known as Shut-in Syndrome, a disease that is quickly spreading throughout the inhabitants of the city. Those with Shut-in Syndrome become particularly vulnerable to light, and are forced to live life completely indoors, never again to venture into Akihabara’s busy streets. This plague is not only crippling Akihabara’s citizens, but even the suburb itself is at risk.

That’s until one fateful day where the player encounters a particularly unique Shadow Soul, who through a tender kiss, shares her blood with the protagonist. Gaining the powers of a Shadow Soul while retaining their humanity, the player sets off on a mission to avenge his friend who has been afflicted, and in doing so stumbles across an organisation named NIRO. Together with a team of unlikely heroes known as the Freedom Fighters, a ragtag group of otaku, the protagonist and the organisation must work together to unravel the source of the Shadow Souls, and their fearless leader, the Mother Soul.

For a game that seems like it would be almost entirely fanservice, there’s quite an intricate plot to be explored in AKIBA’S TRIP. What starts out as a slow, carefree stripping spree, eventually delves into a plot brimming with deceit, intrigue, and mystery, with writing akin to a teenage fanfiction.

Gameplay

Set entirely in downtown Akihabara, the game unfolds over the course of a series of missions as the player begins to investigate the mysterious beings roaming the streets in broad daylight. Though powerful, the Shadow Souls have one distinct weakness: sunlight. By identifying these foes using a special camera, you’ll have to wail on them until their clothes are fragile enough to be torn off entirely – once completely exposed, the enemy will immediately perish in the sun like a pale otaku.

However, this goes both ways. The main character, having gained the powers of a Shadow Soul, is also susceptible to sunlight, and must remain clothed at all times like a respectable human being. Enemies will have the chance to fight back and tear off your clothes if you’re not careful. This means that having a full set of equipment at all times is vital, and you’ll need to go into battle with appropriate headwear, upper and lower garments. These can also be retrieved from enemies, however the appropriate guide will need to be purchased at a shop, otherwise the clothes are simply torn and destroyed once removed.

Outside of combat, there are several other key elements to the gameplay. Quirky side missions will see the player helping out the residents of Akihabara with their odd requests, and be rewarded handsomely with some hard-earned yen. Players can also learn new skills from the Master of Stripping, who presents various challenges that will let the player earn rare clothing sets and new skills. Several minigames are also available, including an incredibly basic claw machine, quiz game, and strip scissors paper rock. Overall I enjoyed the addition of Pitter the most, which is a social network messenger that is available on the protagonist’s phone. By checking into Pitter occasionally you’ll get snippets into active missions, the goss about Akihabara, and mostly just some incredibly hilarious nerdy conversation. It’s like I’m actually on the internet!

Despite all the added extras in the game, there’s one particular activity you’ll likely spend most of your time doing: stripping people. Surely that’s going to be the highlight of the game, right? I mean, it’s basically all about stripping. Well about that…

Combat

To put it lightly, the combat for the most part is unenjoyable, clunky, and unresponsive. If this was a serious fighting game without any of the stupid humour or ridiculous concepts like stripping your enemies, you’d more than likely throw it immediately in the trash.

Playing out like a generic 3-button brawler, the combat is as basic as possible. By tapping triangle you’ll attack the enemy’s headwear, square will damage their shirt, and X will pummel their trousers. An array of weapons are available, including boxing gloves, swords, books, even old computer monitors. There’s also the option to dodge and block, though I progressed throughout the entire game without using either of these. Once you’ve damaged an item of clothing enough, you’ll receive a prompt to hold down the corresponding button and be able to tear off that garment. This can also be chained into a combo, taking off clothing from multiple enemies at once in a row, which helps significantly when surrounded by numerous deadly frogs.

What initially seemed like an amusing and light-hearted concept quickly became monotonous and tedious. Every fight is exactly the same, and requires almost no tactics or skill. Even the boss fights are unbelievably plain and feel just like fighting another enemy on the street. Towards the end of the game I was dreading any further fights, as the entire ordeal became such a pain that I just wanted to end.

Visuals

I’m going to be brutally honest here. AKIBA’S TRIP is quite possibly the worst looking game of 2021. Considering it’s essentially a “remaster” of a PSP game, I wasn’t expecting too much from the graphics department, though I was expecting more than this. The updated visuals feature new character models, improved textures, and modified lighting, and full 1080 resolution, but still feel as if they belong in another era. For a game that relies heavily on fan-service and eye-candy, there’s surprisingly little to enjoy here.

That being said, the game does somehow manage to replicate Akihabara quite well through its outdated visuals. The streets are based on actual locations and have distinct shopfronts that parody actual buildings in the area. Environments too feature a pleasant filtered light that washes through the skyscrapers from time-to-time, which is an attempt to modernise the PSP-era aesthetic.

Luckily, there are some redeeming features. Character art and short occasional cutscenes are now far more detailed, and have an attractive manga/anime art-style, though I only wish the same effort could have gone into the rest of the game.

Audio

The music of AKIBA’S TRIP is by none other than Toshiko Tasaki, a name you may not be familiar with, but chances are you’ve played a game featuring her music. She’s responsible for the music of the original Persona game, Persona 2: Innocent Sin/Eternal Punishment, and several of the Shin Megami Tensei games. An impressive repertoire of excellent game music! Most of the tracks are inspired by those that you might hear in the real life location – there are upbeat poppy songs, some vocaloid, and others that feel as if they would fit right into an anime series. The game does however feature a proper OP by ClariS – if only the rest of the music was up to this standard!

On the other hand, the audio of the voice acting is easily one of the best parts of the game, and makes dialogue much more enjoyable. Each character seems to embody a particular otaku stereotype, which is emphasised through their voices and intonations. It’s easy to pick the nerdiest of characters simply by the tone of their voice, or the villains by how sly and mischievous they sound. This can be swapped between Japanese/English at any point, but if you’re playing it in English then why are you even playing this game?

Conclusion

For a game concept as ridiculous and light-hearted as stripping your enemies, AKIBA’S TRIP somehow manages to do so in a bland, boring, and sometimes even unenjoyable manner. Many aspects of the game are already showing their age, particularly the poor visuals and the unintuitive combat – it’s a game that feels like an odd experience to be playing on a modern home console. There are, however, some redeeming factors that may convince you to stick through the entire game: plenty of otaku humour, amusing dialogue, and a reasonably accurate representation of Akihabara (albeit with far more stripping than what I’ve seen when I visited). If you’re a dedicated fan of Japan and its pop culture, this game may amuse you, but if you’re not that way inclined, then you’ll only be stripped of your dignity instead.

So, why should you play it?

• Amusing dialogue and comedy from a wide cast of characters.
• Reasonable representation of Akihabara.

But why shouldn’t you play it?

• Clunky, unintuitive combat.
• Dated visuals that look out of place on modern consoles.
• Incredibly repetitive gameplay.
• Story that reads like a fanfiction.

A review code on PlayStation 4 was provided for the purpose of this review. The game was played and footage captured on a PlayStation 5.