Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed Director’s Cut review

When fists fly, clothes will vanish. Whether it’s a metaphor for vulnerability or just old-fashioned fan service, Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed Director’s Cut lets Switch owners enjoy an expanded version of Acquire’s puckish brawler.

When visitors come to Los Angeles for the first time, their expectations of the city are often influenced by the media. Quite often, they’re surprised that the town doesn’t offer a non-stop cavalcade of exotic sports cars and celebrities, mixed in with the occasional outburst of gang warfare. Similarly, the recent director’s Cut of Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed paints an embellished portrait of Tokyo’s Akihabara district. Coming into prominence as the capital’s post-war hub for consumer electronics, “Electric Town” transformed into a must-visit mecca for otaku, offering a labyrinthine network of game, manga, and anime stores.

Much like the games that depict the City of Angels, Akiba’s Trip nails both the architecture and overall layout of Akihabara. Anyone familiar with the district likely won’t have to open the in-game map to navigate their way around. Certainly, the title conveys verisimilitude, with a roster of over 130 actual stores allowing their likeness and location to be used in the title.

Fittingly, ads for SEGA, Taito, and Sofmap abound, while those unwilling to license their logos are targets for parody. But more than a mere façade, players can enter many of the storefronts, where they’ll find authentic J-pop melodies, popular sundries, as well as ladies in a variety of cosplay motifs. Except for the emaciated crowds and lack of car traffic, Undead & Undressed offers an unrivaled depiction of the legendary district.

Fighting for Freedom and Figurines!

Of course, the game also exhibits a pugnaciousness and sense of peril that’s all but absent from the real-life Akiba. The game’s introductory cinematic finds the game’s protagonist strapped to a table, awakened after an illicit medical procedure has been performed. After responding to a help wanted ad that promised to pay in rare figurines, the character unintentionally signed a Faustian contract, transforming him into a Synthister. Much like vampires, these beings appear to be normal humans and trade superhuman strength for a vulnerability to sunlight. But before any orders are issued, a woman named Shizuku Tokikaze liberates the lead, while hinting at the malicious motives of your captors.

Soon the story moves to the headquarters of the Freedom Fighters, a rag-tag group of volunteers committed to upholding the well-being of Akihabara’s patrons. It’s here where you’ll meet Undead & Undressed’s cast of supporting characters. Although many of Freedom Fighters converge on trope, offering personalities that range from an air-headed exchange student to a protective father figure, the game’s dialog is astoundingly witty.

Flinging Insults and Swinging Motherboards

Pleasingly, players are given a bit of leeway in the direction of conversations, often choosing a response from three selections. Although your replies don’t have much of an effect on Akiba’s Trip’s middle hours, they do impact the beginning and middle of the game. Be a bit too thoughtless in your initial response and you’ll be ushered back to the title screen. Later, dialog decisions as well as rapport with your AI partner determine which of the nine endings you’ll see (as well as affecting your path in the branching plotline), extending the potential for repeat playthroughs through a New Game+ option.

Much like the Yakuza franchise, the highlight of Undead & Undressed’s campaign can be found in its fisticuffs. But using the face buttons, the protagonist can target the head, torso, and lower body of foes. Dish out enough damage to one of these regions, and the region will flash red, indicating the possibility of a finisher. By holding down one of the corresponding buttons, players can then remove an article of clothing. If you’ve pummeled other adjacent foes, then additional prompts may appear on screen, allowing players to string together satisfying wardrobe-wrenching combos.

Much like the Yakuza series, one of the highlights is the myriad of everyday items players can use as weapons. Whether your preference is a dakimakura, motherboard, or just a plush, there are a multitude of humorous ways to humiliate foes. Expanding on that is an array of comical attack animations that range from crotch kicks to spankings. Cleverly, the gestures aren’t overly lewd and are just cheeky enough to draw smiles from Akiba’s Trip target audience.

Pants-free Pugilism

Although the foundations of fighting are well implemented, some of the Akiba’s Trip nuances aren’t as well realized. Although Undead & Undressed offers possibilities like Counters and Indefensible attacks, these optional strikes aren’t easy to pull off, with fussy timing leading to missed strikes and damage from foes. Likewise, blocking isn’t quite instantaneous, making it easier to temporarily retreat from combat and hold a button to adjust your clothes. This way, it becomes harder for enemies to strip the player of his attire. Fortunately, you’re not alone in your efforts, with Akiba’s Trip offering a choice of functional companions who can be given general orders via the directional pad.

While combat does reinforce button-mashing, the payoff of removing articles of clothing helps to detract from most of the game’s mechanical deficiencies. Interestingly, Undead & Undressed’s stripping isn’t regulated to the female Synthisters, males get an equal opportunity to become disrobed during the game’s core campaign missions and side quests. It also helps that the game offers a myriad of offensive tools and outfits for the protagonist to wear, which each selection ushering in statistical as well as cosmetic changes.

Best Girl Justice

The original release of Undead & Undressed didn’t offer an ending route for Kati Räikkönen, creating a glaring omission. A Finnish exchange student who works part-time as a maid, her presence contributed an infectious enthusiasm, while her occasional linguistic blunder (she’s a Japanese language learner) provided some wholesome laughs. With the Director’s Cut, that’s been remedied, with the inclusion of a canonical, fully voiced route. Without venturing into spoiler territory, what follows is an energetic romp that matches and occasionally surpasses the energy of the original storyline. Given the rarity of decade-old games receiving an update, Kati’s storyline is an unexpected success.

‘Strip’ away Undead & Undressed’s fan-service element, and you’re still left with a madcap, engaging storyline as well as a competent combat system. As such, it’s an enjoyable game elevated by an outrageous concept and a fastidious recreation of one of Tokyo’s celebrated districts. Stateside otaku will likely find the prospect irresistible, while more mainstream gamers might be irked by a handful of niggling design issues. If none of your acquaintances own a dakimakura, you’ll probably want to deduct ten points from the review score.

Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed Director’s Cut was played
on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.