OneChanbara (お姉チャンバラ), initially defined The OneeChanbara (THE お姉チャンバラ), is a series of action-adventure hack and slash video games originally developed by Tamsoft for D3 Publisher's Simple 2000 series. The title is a portmanteau of the Japanese words onee-chan (お姉ちゃん, lit. "big sister", but also a colloquialism for a young adult woman) and chanbara (チャンバラ, "sword fighting"). The series centers around Aya, a cowgirl who wears a scarf and wields a katana, who is pitted against hordes of zombies and other monsters.

Onechanbara
Wii variant to the first Onechanbara logo (North American release)
Genre(s)Hack and slash
Developer(s)Tamsoft
Publisher(s)D3 Publisher
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows
First releaseZombie Zone
August 7, 2004
Latest releaseOneeChanbara Origin
December 5, 2019

Gameplay

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Players guide their characters through the stages, completing tasks while fighting through enemies. 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" showing how dirty the weapon is. To prevent this, players must actively clean off their sword to keep the blood meter from filling up.[1][2]

In addition, there is also the "Blood Lust" meter. As a character kills enemies, this meter starts to fill. Once the meter is full, the character will go into a "blood frenzy". This gives the character an increase in attack power, but drains health. To recover from a blood frenzy, the player must use statue items, which are dropped by dead enemies. Additionally each level will contain a large statue. Going to the large statue will remove the blood frenzy and also recover any lost health.[2]

Games

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Main series

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Title Details
Simple 2000 Series Vol. 61: The OneeChanbara ("Zombie Zone" in Europe)

Original release dates:
  • JP: August 26, 2004
  • EU: October 21, 2005
Release years by system:
2004 – PlayStation 2
Simple 2000 Series Vol. 90: The OneeChanbara 2

Original release dates:
  • JP: December 22, 2005
Release years by system:
2005 – PlayStation 2
Notes:
  • A sequel to the original game. The first to feature Aya's sister Saki as a playable character.

Original release dates:
  • JP: December 14, 2006
  • NA: February 10, 2009
  • EU: February 27, 2009
Release years by system:
2006 – Xbox 360
Notes:
  • The first game in the series to be localized in North America and support online features.
  • Backwards compatible on Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

Original release dates:
  • JP: February 7, 2008
  • NA: February 10, 2009
  • EU: February 27, 2009
  • AU: March 27, 2009
Release years by system:
2008 – Nintendo Wii
Notes:
  • This release came packaged with a CD of music from the previous OneeChanbara games.
OneeChanbara Z: Kagura

Original release dates:
  • JP: January 19, 2012
Release years by system:
2012 – Xbox 360

Original release dates:[3][4]
  • JP: October 30, 2014
  • NA: July 21, 2015
  • EU: August 28, 2015
Release years by system:
2014 – PlayStation 4
2016 – Microsoft Windows

Updated versions

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Title Details
Zombie Hunters

Original release dates:
  • JP: June 23, 2005
  • EU: March 23, 2007
Release years by system:
2005 – PlayStation 2
Notes:
Zombie Hunters 2

Original release dates:
  • JP: June 29, 2006
  • EU: September 28, 2007
Release years by system:
2006 – PlayStation 2
Notes:
  • 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 Dragon Sisters.
OneeChanbara Z: Kagura with NoNoNo!

Original release dates:
  • JP: November 7, 2013
Release years by system:
2013 – PlayStation 3
Notes:
  • An upgraded version of OneeChanbara Z: Kagura including a new character: Nonono from the Dream Club series.
Onee Chanbara ORIGIN

Original release dates:
  • JP: December 5, 2019
  • WW: October 14, 2020
Release years by system:
2019 – PlayStation 4
2020 – Microsoft Windows
Notes:
  • Remake of the first two games in the series.

Spin-offs

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Title Details
The OneeChanbara Mobile

Original release dates:[5]
  • JP: January 11, 2007
Release years by system:
2007 – Mobile
Notes:
  • Rail shooter featuring illustrations by character designer Kengo Yonekura.
Z.P.F. Anna: Onechanbara Special

Original release dates:[6]
  • JP: July 1, 2008
Release years by system:
2008 – Mobile
Notes:
  • Rail shooter spinoff featuring Anna as the main character.
OneeChanbara Special

Original release dates:
  • JP: March 31, 2011
Release years by system:
2011 – PlayStation Portable

Original release dates:
  • JP: January 12, 2017
  • WW: November 17, 2017
Release years by system:
2017 – PlayStation 4
2018 – Microsoft Windows

Other media

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Aya, the series' main character, has also appeared in Simple 2000 Series Vol. 91: The All*Star Kakutou Matsuri (released as All-Star Fighters in Europe in March 2007), a fighting game featuring characters from many different Simple 2000 series releases.

Title Details

2008 – Live action film[7]
Notes:
  • Live-action film directed by Yohei Fukuda starring Eri Otoguro, Manami Hashimoto, and Tomohiro Waki.
  • The theme song is "69 Balloons" by Aural Vampire.

2009 – Live action film[8]
Notes:
  • Straight-to-DVD sequel to the 2008 film.
OneeChanbara Kurenai

2009 – Manga
Notes:
  • Published by Champion RED Comics.

Reception

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Aggregate review scores
Game Metacritic
Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad 39/100 (X360)[9]
OneChanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers 55/100 (Wii)[10]
Onechanbara Z2: Chaos 57/100 (PS4)[11]
SG/ZH: School Girl Zombie Hunter 59/100 (PS4)[12]
Onee Chanbara ORIGIN 69/100 (PS4)
62/100 (PC)[13]

References

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  1. ^ Hatfield, Daemon (2009-02-12). "Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers Review". IGN. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  2. ^ a b "Review: Onechanbara Z2: Chaos". Destructoid. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  3. ^ "Onechanbara Z2: Chaos European release date set". 17 July 2015.
  4. ^ Joe Sigadel (July 1, 2015). "Press Release: Onechanbara Z2: Chaos Launches On July 21". Oprainfall. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  5. ^ "Cel shaded Onechanbara comes to cell phones". Siliconera. 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  6. ^ "Z.P.F. Anna: A Blend Of Resident Evil 4 And The Onechanbara". Siliconera. 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  7. ^ "ポロリもあるよ!? 『お姉チャンバラ』映画製作発表記者会見が開催」". Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  8. ^ "Meet The Stars Of New Onechanbara Movie". Kotaku. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  9. ^ https://www.metacritic.com/game/onechanbara-bikini-samurai-squad/xbox-360/
  10. ^ https://www.metacritic.com/game/onechanbara-bikini-zombie-slayers/wii/
  11. ^ https://www.metacritic.com/game/onechanbara-z2-chaos/playstation-4/
  12. ^ "SG/ZH: School Girl Zombie Hunter Reviews". Metacritic.
  13. ^ "Onee Chanbara ORIGIN Reviews". Metacritic.
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