Bullet Girls

Gameplay

Bullet Girls revolves around a group of high school girls whom are part of their school's Ranger Club, alternately known as the Ranger Corps, which trains them on using weapons and different types of military missions used on battlefields. There are a variety of missions within the game ranging from offensive to defensive, each with a variety of objectives, which include wiping out enemy forces, reaching a specific point on the map, collecting items and teaming up with other club members who will then engage in combat with the player. A wide range of weapons are usable, including handguns, rifles, recoil-less rifles, and shotguns, among others. Characters can hold up to four different weapons, which can be exchanged during missions. Military vehicles, such as tanks, armoured vehicles, and helicopters can be found in the game as well. Many game maps feature in Bullet Girls, ranging from the schoolyard to the desert.

A notable gameplay mechanic of Bullet Girls is clothes degradation. As the girls take hits and lose health points, their clothing gets torn up thus revealing what they are wearing underneath. Specific parts of the girls' clothing can be targeted to reveal that specific area; additionally, to help complement this feature, the game contains "a slew of cut-in images, as well as 39 unique bits of erotic acting meant to play up the sexual aspects of the game." The game also features "interrogation training scenes", used to "extract critical information from the opposing side", but is mostly just touching and groping the girls. There are over 1,600 patterns of undergarments for the girls; these can be customised by the player. Points acquired from the interrogation practices as well as the missions as can be exchanged for additional costumes and undergarments in the in-game shop. Settings within the game can also be customised, ranging from camera angle to the costume destruction scenes, as well as dirt that shows up on the characters. The game also features downloadable content, such as additional items, characters and extra voices, including special costumes from the OneeChanbara video game series.

Plot

Bullet Girls is set in Misakimori Academy, a girls-only private high school founded 149 years ago somewhere in Japan. Founded on the principles of duty and self-refinement, the academy features numerous school clubs which allow students to practice defensive military techniques, and every student is obliged to join. The game's story begins on the first day after students have officially become club members, thus starting the adventures of the Ranger Clubs and their activities.

Characters

Development

The game was announced by D3 Publisher in a May edition of Famitsu. Bullet Girls features a variety of voice talent, which include Aya Suzaki, Aya Uchida, Kaori Fukuhara, and Sachika Misawa, whom also provided voices for characters in Devil Survivor 2, Ace Attorney, and Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed. A rock theme song and accompanying music video, as well as a trailer for the game, were released to help promote Bullet Girls. Players who preorder the game receive a bonus character costume, with the costume depending on which retailer the player orders at. The game's release date was originally set at August 28, 2014; however, this has since been changed to one week earlier at August 21, 2014.

Reception

Four Famitsu reviewers gave Bullet Girls scores of 8, 8, 7 and 7, for a total score of 30/40. The game sold 29,690 physical retail copies within the debut release week in Japan, placing third place amongst all software sales in Japan for that week.