Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first few minutes tell you exactly what Ane-san wants from you: choose a fighter, enter a side-scrolling stretch of city trouble, and clear every enemy before you can move on. That familiar rhythm has an immediate arcade pull, especially because the starting trio are not interchangeable. Ai is the comfortable all-rounder, Chika trades toughness for speed, and Makoto makes you accept slower movement in exchange for strength. If you are unsure where to begin, take Ai; the other two are better once you know what kind of pace you enjoy.

The combat basics are as direct as they come—punches, kicks, jumps, and one special move for each fighter—but the character differences give repeat runs a reason to feel distinct. Chika sounds tempting if you like darting around opponents, though her fragility makes careless play costly. Makoto should suit anyone who would rather hit hard than zip around. Health-restoring items scattered through stages soften the punishment, and losing one woman does not necessarily end the run, since you can continue with another available fighter.

Its structure is pure brawler attrition: advance, empty a screen of enemies, then earn the right to keep heading right. Boss battles cap the stages, usually two at a time, so patience matters as much as aggression. That can become frustrating if you want a constantly changing objective, because Ane-san is committed to repetition. Still, the gradual arrival of additional playable characters gives you a worthwhile reason to push forward rather than treating the opening roster as the whole game.

The between-stage shop is the odd little detour that helps Ane-san stick in the mind. Some purchases improve the women, while many more alter the look of the room seen between levels. Then there is the versus-mode grimace contest, a rapid button-mashing duel to produce the ugliest face faster than your opponent. It is gloriously juvenile and has nothing to do with rescuing Yuuko, which is precisely why it gives this otherwise straightforward brawler some welcome nonsense.

Graphics

Ane-san frames its action in a side view and leans into its anime/manga cast of female fighters facing biker gangs, workers, and other criminals. The character-based approach matters here: Ai, Chika, and Makoto are built around clearly different fighting roles, so choosing a new woman carries more flavor than merely swapping a name.

Story

The story begins with a useful personal hook rather than a grand mystery: Yuuko has been taken by a gang, and her sister Ai goes after her. You are not asked to untangle a complicated premise before the fighting starts. Ai’s goal is immediate, and that directness fits a game built around moving from one hostile screen to the next.

The setting is enjoyably unhinged. An apparently all-female city has tipped into chaos under insane workers, biker gangs, and assorted criminals, while Ai recruits Chika and Makoto to help set things right. It is a pulpy excuse for a parade of opponents, but it has more character than a generic “save the world” setup.

Do not come expecting the plot to carry the same weight as the fights. Ane-san uses Yuuko’s kidnapping and the broken city as momentum, then lets the roster and the strange side activities do much of the personality work. The rescue mission is enough to point you forward; the real question is whether its particular brand of rowdy absurdity lands for you.

Overall Experience

Ane-san is most enjoyable when you meet it on its own scrappy terms: a simple 2D brawler with a female roster, distinct starting stat profiles, bosses, healing pickups, and detours that are much stranger than the core mission. The fundamental action is not dressed up as something deeper, but the shop and grimace duel stop it from feeling entirely anonymous.

There are real limits to that charm. Repeatedly clearing screens before progressing is a familiar beat-’em-up demand, and the two-boss stage finales can make the journey feel like a test of endurance. If you need elaborate combat systems or a plot full of turns, this is likely too spare. If you enjoy learning which character matches your habits, however, the gradual roster expansion gives the straightforward format a little extra life.

For the right mood, Ane-san is an easy recommendation: start with balanced Ai, experiment with the quick but vulnerable Chika or the powerful, slow Makoto, and embrace the fact that a rescue brawler can pause for ugly-face button mashing. Its payoff is not sophistication. It is the stubborn, goofy satisfaction of seeing a modest arcade formula commit to its own weird personality.

Retro Replay Score

6.8/10