Pretty Girls Breakers is the latest title in EastAsiaSoft’s series of anime babe titles only this time it takes the Breakout/Brickels/Arkanoid approach.  Like the other Girls titles, gameplay is simple, a bit repetitive, and is nowhere as lewd as the title might suggest. 

Like Arkanoid, the player controls a paddle at the bottom of the screen, moves laterally, and must reflect the bouncing balls northward with the goal of clearing each block. Breakers has a unique gimmick as the player doesn’t simply move the barrier back and forth. Instead, the player must tap the face button to swing the paddle just like a batter in a game of baseball.  Actually, this wide, full-bodied swing actually feels a lot like Link’s sword swipe in Link To The Past. Striking the ball at its peak results in a more powerful attack that can clear multiple bricks with one shot if timed correctly.

Without the power-ups, such as multi-ball and laser blasts, this would be a boring single-player Pong clone. These power-ups, in combination with the paddle swings, actually makes this game a button masher as the screen can be hectic at times. Skill is still needed, as clearing that last brick or two is still an annoying challenge, but luck is also a factor. The player can even deflect incoming laser fire from gun turrets which helps clear the board. In fact, it is possible to finish some stages in just a few seconds if enough power-ups are collect in the opening moments. The button mashing creates a buzzing electronic sound effect which makes the audio department suffer. The music isn’t great and loops quickly too. 

As the player clears the bricks, more and more of the female anime characters will reveal new outfits.  But there is nothing raunchy here. Most outfits do not show any skin and a bikini is as far as it will go. These outfits can be admired in the Dressing Room option found on the main menu where the player can zoom in/out at will.  Honestly, this mode serves no purpose, making me wish the online leaderboard function was more detailed. As it stands, you can only see the top 10 players for each stage and nothing more.

Pretty Girls Breakers only costs a few bucks and the new way to deflect each incoming ball is much appreciated. The later stages do not necessarily get more fun though – they get more tedious as blocks are often placed in tricky spots requiring a high amount of accuracy.  Trophy hunters will want to take note as earning that Platinum doesn’t take much time and barely requires any effort (I unlocked mine in about 30 minutes).  Best played in short bursts with non-lewd expectations in mind, Breakers is definitely a Pretty Girls game – a very short lived mediocre thrill.

Not As Good As: playing Arknoid on a DS Lite with the awesome Taito paddle controller

Don’t Forget About: Arkan: The Dog Adventurer

Wait For It: a new Ping Redux

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

Twitter: @ZackGaz

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