A series of buttons and directional inputs scroll along two lines at the bottom of the screen while the ladies are chopping vegetables and slicing fish in the background. There are a few chuckles here and there and the goofy writing has heart, but there's no great narrative aspiration. Under the guise of a competitive cooking competition (think Iron Chef with way more cleavage) the cast of ninjas have a cook-off… And that's basically it.
While Shinovi Versus actually had a complex and surprisingly well-told visual novel aspect to it, Bon Appetit goes lite. So, getting down to what Bon Appetit actually is… Well, to be honest, it strikes me as repurposed assets laced with a pinch of rhythm game as an excuse to deliver cheesecake to those couldn't get enough of Asuka, Ikaruga, Katsuragi, and the rest of the Senran Kagura cast last time around. However, just like I wouldn't put my five-year-old in front of the latest Eli Roth flick, people who aren't in the market for massively-endowed anime ninja girls should probably stay far away from this. Quite the opposite, I'm open to games taking different forms and providing content to all types of tastes. To be clear, I don't say this as a judgment or condemnation. With that in mind, I think it's safe to file Bon Appetit under the "super-mega fanservice" category. Just as we have genres in films, books and movies, the same truth that "one size does not fit all" applies just as equally here. In my review of the previous Senran Kagura game, Shinovi Versus, I make the case that not every game is right for every player. WTF Half the characters are held back as DLC. HIGH Hanzo's reactions to perfect meals are way over the top.