We’ve recently taken a look at regency-era roleplay with a Good Society bundle. The problem with that game is that you’re forced (forced!) to choose between playing in the Regency-era and playing a Power Rangers-themed game. How is that fair?
It’s not.
Now, 9th Level Games is giving us a product that should have existed long ago, bringing Power Rangers into the works of Jane Austen.
It’s about damn time, innit?
Meet Sentai & Sensibility:
Let’s allow the publisher to describe the game. They do so thusly:
You play Gentlefolk – gentry in a British Regency That Never Was. Your life is country parties, social dances, and strolls on the promenade in a new dress – until a Kaiju appears and ruins the afternoon. You and your Sentai of Rangers will transform (aka Henshin) into a unit of suited heroes. Each week you will defend society from the monstrous organisation known as The Syndicate; who never seem to take your social engagements into account before attacking! It’s hard to find a suitable spouse when you are always punching things from inside your Giant Mecha.
You will kick, punch, and English country dance your way through every Rendezvous. Combat against monsters from another realm may be hard to navigate but not as hard as guaranteeing an invite in polite society.
Whether this is your first ball or you know all the moves, Sentai & Sensibility is powered by polymorph™, making it easier than falling in love across the dance floor.
Amazing.
It’s funny, I’ve never been super into novels like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, but RPGs in the same vein really intrigue me. I think there’s a lot of fertile ground for some fun, strange adventures. I like fun and strange adventures.
I do have a good founding in Austen. Finally, my degree is useful! I don’t have a great foundation in Super Sentai. I watched Power Rangers as a kid, including the first movie, but I never got into all of the many different variations that followed. As a concept though, I can appreciate it. It’s a definitive style.
The game uses the Polymorph system. It’s not one that I’d heard of before. Reading up on it, it seemed interesting, with each class using a single polyhedral dice with a range of results defined by a chart. I had some little niggles about the math of it all, so I went to see if others shared my worries that perhaps the system wasn’t quite as thought through as it could be, and I found this article. It’s a really excellent rundown of Polymorph. You should take a look.
Now, having a slightly iffy system does not necessarily a bad game make. I’m not fully enamoured with all aspects of Cyberpunk, but I enjoy that. I have some issues with some elements of Soulbound, but I love that. The theme counts for a lot. The feel counts for a lot. The actual play video that 9th Level games put out does really help to reassure:
My criticism of the video is that it’s by the creator. The other actual play video that features in the campaign again involves the creator. I really like it when the game is given to outside, independent people to use. A creator should always be able to run their game, but the real test of a good system is that it can stand on its own without needing the person who wrote it to be in the room. That said, it’s a good video and the creator is really endearing and likeable.
So, what about value? $12 will get you a digital copy of the rulebook, which takes the form of a short Zine, and a print-and-play copy of the cards. Chuck on an extra $3 to upgrade to a physical copy of the book. To me, the ‘core’ pledge is the Deluxe Sentai. For $30, you get physical copies of both the book and the card set, along with some standees:
There’s also an interesting pack available at $75. Not only do you get the contents of the Deluxe Sentai pledge, but you also get a bunch of other games from the same publisher in both physical and digital formats. These games are Pigeon’s Eleven, Rebel Scum, and Good Dogs of Chernobyl:
This is a potentially really interesting pack, and you get a nice range of very differently-themed games for a very reasonable price. I might be leaning towards this one, myself…
Postage isn’t the best. Let’s take a look:
For what are small, light zines, this seems steep. As a UK resident, I don’t really like the idea of adding more than 50% to the cost of the Deluxe pledge. I do understand that postage is something that is increasing across the board, and which will likely be an issue for many campaigns.
All in all, I’m not totally sure on this one. I love the theme. I like the art. I’m not sold on the game system. I like the overall tone. It’s a cool game. The price is slightly less attractive when you factor in the postage, and the lack of independent reviews/actual plays at this point doesn’t really help to reassure like it has for other campaigns we’ve covered. I might yet find myself backing it, but I’m just not sure yet.
You can click here to visit the project page at Kickstarter.
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