An exclusive action shooting game for Sony’s PlayStation 4, SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter is often described by critics as a blend of genres uniquely termed “Zombie Panic shooting action”. This is because of its emphasis on knuckle-breaking gameplay and wild themes. In fact, this title is a confirmed part of the long-running Oneechanbara universe – except in a part of the Oneechanbara universe that involves Japanese school girls protecting their illustrious academy from the drooling hordes of brainless zombies that want to eat them alive.
How to Download SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter
You can download SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter by clicking on the Download button which you’ll find at the end of this review. You can download the game from Steam. There also numerous DLCs available which you can acquire in one bundle. They include school zombie hunter costumes and outfits. You can have as many as 18 DLCs:
- Onechanbara Red, Black and Blue Kagura,
- Micro Thong: Red, Yellow & White,
- Lingerie: Blue, Red & Black,
- Cherry Tomatoes & Cabbage: A, B & C,
- Avocados & Watermelon: A, B & C,
- And Starfruit & Melon: A, B & C.
The Game Review and the Gameplay
For those that may not be familiar with Oneechanbara, it is a series of horror action games developed by the selfsame Tamsoft – the company behind SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter – and is a portmanteau of the Japanese word Onee-chan (older sister) and bara (sword fighting).
Described as alternatively hack-and-slash gameplay but likened to a shoot’em up, Oneechanbara games not only typically have tough difficulty but also horror-movie themes and action-movie themes as well. This is much the case with the game.
Set in a private institute called Kirisaku, SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter puts its protagonists on the frontlines of a massive though relatively unexplained zombie invasion. Much of the school is wiped out except for the five protagonists of the game: Sayuri, Risa, Mayaya, Enami, and Rei.
The girls can wield weapons ranging from baseball bats to machines guns, rocket launchers, or even sniper rifles. On top of this, the girls each have a special skill such as martial arts. In a puzzlingly comical maneuver, if things get particularly tense with an invading horde of zombies, one of the girls can toss their uniform at them to “distract” them temporarily.
Of course, because of this, the game has a mature theme and is recommended for players of 17 years of age or older in its home country of Japan. But it isn’t just gratuitous sexual content you’ll find in SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter but also violence galore. With five-player multiplayer, you can invite a raft of your friends to join you in this Oneechanbara-inspired blood-and-chest fest.
In terms of character skills, Sayuri is gifted with the handgun and is also a kendo student while Risa can use assault rifles and the classical Japanese weapon, the Naginata. For her part, Mayaya is skilled in the use of sub-machine guns and also used to be part of the softball team, giving her access to a range of melee weapons in the game.
Enami can use sniper rifles and used to be on the school’s soccer team and Rei can blast away zombies with the shotgun or use her skills as a martial artist. Two other characters you encounter along the way, Anna and Ren, occasionally help your team out in tight spots but also serve as a way to convey part of the narrative and storyline of the game. Though it is as nonsensical as the majority of the premise of the game, it is nonetheless lovingly crafted and a part of the Oneechanbara experience, one that SG/ZH: School Girl/Zombie Hunter distills in its own unique way.
