NoTears Action: Arne's Ninja Scroll – A Spicy Side-Scrolling Adventure

Posted: 2025-07-07

Circle: NoTears

Story Premise

Meet Arne, a kunoichi living peacefully in a small village with her beloved Kenji and best friend Sakura. These three have been living their quiet, happy lives until Sakura decides she’s had enough of watching Arne and Kenji dance around their obvious feelings for each other. What starts as a well-meaning attempt to play matchmaker quickly spirals into something that changes everyone’s fate forever.

The story kicks off with that classic setup we all know and love - but don’t worry, NoTears knows how to twist expectations. Arne works as the village’s resident ninja, keeping monsters at bay and gathering herbs. She’s completely smitten with Kenji and turns into an absolute sweetheart around him, though she doesn’t realize she’s actually the village’s most stunning beauty.

Core Gameplay

Skill Card Combat System

Here’s where things get interesting. NoTears ditched the typical button-mashing approach for something way more strategic. The skill card system lets you build custom attack combos by combining different cards with unique effects. Want to unleash a barrage of weak but rapid-fire attacks? Grab a low-damage rapid-fire card and pair it with a power-boosting card for devastating machine-gun mayhem.

The system rewards experimentation - you’ll find cards that heal, cards that hit multiple enemies, and cards that enhance other cards. It’s like deck-building meets beat-em-up, and honestly, it works better than it has any right to.

Side-Scrolling Action

This marks NoTears’ first foray into side-scrolling action, and they nailed it. The Unity engine powers smooth, responsive combat while Spine animation keeps everything buttery smooth. Arne moves with fluid grace whether she’s slashing through enemies or… well, doing other activities.

The action feels weighty without being sluggish, and the card system prevents combat from getting repetitive. Plus, watching Arne’s animations during both combat and intimate scenes is genuinely impressive from a technical standpoint.

Artwork & Voice Acting

• Fully animated H-scenes with smooth Spine animations that put many bigger productions to shame
• Complete voice acting throughout story, action, and intimate scenes featuring talented voice actresses
• Arne’s character design perfectly captures that “motherly big sister” vibe with her stunning looks and generous proportions
• Dynamic action animations that make combat feel impactful and satisfying
• Sakura’s contrasting “dangerous woman” design creates nice visual variety

Game Features

• Strategic skill card system that rewards creative deck building over mindless button mashing
• Fully animated intimate scenes with professional voice acting throughout
• Standalone story that welcomes newcomers while offering Easter eggs for series veterans
• Smooth Unity-powered gameplay with responsive controls and fluid animations
• Multiple character dynamics exploring themes of love, friendship, and consequences

Recommendations

• Perfect for players who want action gameplay with actual depth instead of mindless clicking
• Great entry point for newcomers to NoTears’ games thanks to the standalone story
• Animation quality rivals much bigger budget productions - seriously impressive stuff
• The voice acting adds genuine personality to characters beyond just the spicy scenes
• Card system provides surprising replay value as you experiment with different combinations

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