Note: Although this is not a paid review, I did win a free copy of the PC version of the game through Xseed’s Twitch channel. I bought the Switch version with my own money though.
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed is a single player, third-person semi-open world adventure game developed by Acquire Software and localized and released in North America by XSeed games. It is an HD remake of the original Akiba’s Trip, released on the PlayStation Portable in Japan in 2011. The original was the first in the series, followed by the similar Akiba’s Trip: Undead and Undressed and the RPG, Akiba’s Beat. It is available for the PS4, Nintendo Switch and the PC. This review uses both the Switch and PC (Steam) versions.
The game opens up with you as the Protagonist (who you can name, but the default is Nanashi) being attacked by a mysterious man while protecting a friend.. The attacker, Yu is a Shadow Soul, a mysterious race that drains the lifeforce out of humans. Left for dead, your life is saved by Rui, another Shadow Soul, who used her own blood to save him. You are soon discovered by the Akiba Freedom Fighters, a neighborhood watch group, but is taken into custody by a mysterious group. The group, NIRO, explains to you what the Shadow Souls are and how to defeat them; by stripping their cloths off and exposing their bare skin to sunlight. Now, you have to master the art of strip combat and discover the true aim of the Shadow Souls. In doing so, will will discover not all is what it seems in Akiba and there is a fine line between human and monster.
You are not alone in his quest (but you sure do a lot of the work.). You are supported by the Akiba Freedom Fighters; photographer and cosplayer enthusiast Gon; anime expert Nobu, the mysterious maid Sara; and their leader, junk shop owner Mr. Yatabe. In Niro, you mostly deal with your handler, Satoto Mido ,and her boss, Mr. Seiima. You even have potential allies amongst the Shadow Souls, such as Rui, the girl who saved your life and her friend Suzu. You also can visit your Sister, who can help you find items or model clothes for you (for the right price.) Then there is the Master, a mysterious woman you only see as a shapely silhouette, who guides you in the art of stripping. She also has a peculiar relationship with Ms. Mido.
If you played the original or Undead and Undressed, you will be familiar with the gameplay. You travel through different areas of Akiharbara , each filled with otaku, cosplayers and others. You take on missions you receive from NIRO, hunt down Shadow Souls or take on side missions for various residents. These missions vary from clearing the park of masked frogmen to getting slapped by your Sister and describing it to the client. You can also just wander about, dealing with charity workers, fortune tellers, and lowlifes trying to get money off of you.
Combat consists of high, mid and low attacks. each type of attack is assigned to a controller button (Y high, X mid, A low for PC, X high, Y middle, A low for Switch) with the remaining button (B) for jumping. Attacks are aided by weapons you can buy or find, ranging from boxing gloves, broom stick, and wooden swords to old laptops, brief cases and body pillows. You fight until you damage their clothes enough to tear them off or strip them. You can also die from being stripped so you must learn how to block and interrupted your opponent’s attacks. As you get higher level, you can learn to remove clothing without damaging them, allowing you to used them yourself or sell them at at shop.
The graphics are pretty good for an update of a 10 year old PSP game. The characters and backgrounds are nicely done and the character art when they are speaking is well done. The title is fully voice acted in English and XSeed once again did an amazing job translating the title. You can play the game in Japanese if you wish. Since it is the Tenth anniversary of the game, the load screens sometimes feature recent pictures of the actual location the game areas are based on, usually with some information provided by one of the game’s characters.
The original Akiba’s Trip was a PlayStation Portable title, and, while much was updated and improved, you can tell it was made for an older system. Unlike Akiba’s Trip: Undead and Undressed, you go to the Map wherever you leave an area instead of loading right into the new area. The areas are noticeably smaller, especially the Main Street areas. The streets are not as crowed as well and don’t seen as lively as in the sequel. Another thing missing are the real shop names that Undead had, such as Go!Go! Curry and the maid café, Maidreamin. Even the landmark SEGA arcade is changed to “SECA.” That is pretty minor, but it shows the original game was popular enough for them to get permission to use those places in the second game.
The game is pretty good. I like the second one and all of the games (and the anime), while having similar plots and the Akiba location, are each separate stories. While being a remake, the game does show the age of the source material with small areas and frequent trips to the map. Even though there is the ability to move the camera around, there are still times your view is blocked by the scenery. This does not change that it is still a fun game. The more you get into it, the more you want to play on. It did make me want to go back and play Undead and Undressed, though.
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed is available in a physical 10th Anniversary addition with an art book and soundtrack. It is also available digitally with the PC version also releasing the artbook and soundtrack digitally. Check in stores/online for details.
This Review is for entertainment purposes only. I have not received anything in exchange for this review. The item was purchased (or won in an unrelated giveaway) by myself with my own money. All opinions are mine and any pictures were taken by me and are for review purposes only.
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