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Sakura Wars |OT| The Mecha Action Game Anime Samurai Girls Are Made Of

Komatsu

Member
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Developer: SEGA CS2 R&D
Publisher: SEGA
Engine: Hedgehog Engine 2
Platform: PlayStation 4
Release: April 28, 2020
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Sakura Wars is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by veteran designer Oji Hiroi and owned by Sega. The original Sakura Wars was an ambitious title for the then-in-production Sega Saturn. The first game's overlap of the tactical role-playing, dating sim and visual novel genres prompted Sega to classify it as a "dramatic adventure", a moniker which has endured during the series' lifetime. Both Red Entertainment and Sega co-developed most of the games until 2008, when the series went on hiatus. Sega rebooted the series as sole developer because of fan demand. Recurring elements include anime cutscenes created by notable studios including Production I.G, and music by composer Kohei Tanaka.

The series has sold over 4.5 million copies as of 2010, and garnered both critical and popular acclaim. The original Sega console games have been voted among the most popular for the Saturn and Dreamcast. The Sakura Wars franchise includes numerous anime productions, manga, and other media projects such as stage shows. With the exception of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love and the 2019 soft reboot, the video game series has not been released in English. Several of the anime series have been localized for English territories. [SUMMARIZED FROM THE WIKI]

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The first game, "Sakura Taisen", came out in 1996 for the Saturn. As noted above, it was a then-novel mixture of SRPG, Visual Novel and Dating Sim, relying heavily on the mid-1990s aesthetics then prevalent in Anime shows such as Magic Knights Rayearth and Gundam Wing.

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The game eventually had a direct sequel, released on the Saturn, and two follow-ups released for the Dreamcast. Additionally, SEGA ported and re-released all of the games in the franchise for the DC prior to exiting the console business in 2002. The last entry in the franchise was Sakura Wars: So Long My Love, for the PS2, the only title officially released in the West, as it was brought over by NIS America in 2010, with a US-only Wii port released as well.

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Sakura Wars is set in an alternate reality where the "Taisho Era" of Japan had not ended in 1926, and democracy had never been supplanted by militarism. The Imperial Government, willing to protect the subjects of the Empire, created a secret military group to fight supernatural forces that would periodically threaten the capital - this group would masquerade as a dance troupe by day and fight Evil while undercover. In 1930, two years after the events of So Long, My Love, a Great Demon War against a host of supernatural forces results in the annihilation of the Imperial and Paris Combat Revue's Flower Divisions and the New York Combat Revue's Star Division. With Earth at peace and the revues' actions becoming public, the World Luxuriant Opera Federation is formed with several international divisions; a biennial Combat Revue World Games tournament has been organized.

Ten years later in 1940, the Combat Revue's commander Sumire Kanzaki (Michie Tomizawa) recruits Imperial Japanese Navy ensign Seijuro Kamiyama (Yohei Azakami) to become the captain of the new Imperial Combat Revue's Flower Division in Tokyo, which consists of: Sakura Amamiya (Ayane Sakura), a swordswoman; Hatsuho Shinonome (Maaya Uchida), a shrine maiden; Anastasia Palma (Ayaka Fukuhara), a newly-transferred Greek actress; Azami Mochizuki (Hibiku Yamamura), a ninja prodigy from the Mochizuki clan; and Clarissa "Claris" Snowflake (Saori Hayami), a Luxembourger noblewoman. The division once again faces a new demon invasion and participates in the upcoming tournament with Xiaolong Yang (Yuichiro Umehara) and Yui Huang (Sumire Uesaka) of the Shanghai Combat Revue, Arthur (Nobunaga Shimazaki) and Lancelot (Manami Numakura) of the London Combat Revue, and Elise (Nana Mizuki) and Margarete (Rie Kugimiya) of the Berlin Combat Revue–while trying to keep their home at the Imperial Theater open. [SUMMARIZED FROM THE WIKI]

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Franchise owner Sega had decided to end the series in 2008, following the release of the spin-off title Dramatic Dungeon: Sakura War. Scenario director Takaharu Terada would make yearly pitches to Sega, but these were repeatedly declined. At the 2016 Sega Fes in Tokyo, in response to a fan poll about dormant series, Sakura Wars was voted the most requested revival. While actual development had begun shortly before Sega Fes, the positive fan feedback gave the developers the boost they needed to begin full production. The staff included producer Tetsu Katano of Sonic the Hedgehog series fame and director Tetsuya Ootsubo. Katano was a newcomer to the series, but Ootsubo had previously worked with the series on Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning?. Because much time had passed between So Long, My Love and the production of this new game, and both the platform and most of the team were different, it was decided that Sakura Wars would be a soft reboot.

The game was developed by a team within Sega's CS Research & Development No. 2 division, which also includes Sonic Team.The basic gameplay was carried over, but extensively reworked and the world built entirely in 3D due to the greater hardware specs of the PlayStation 4. The game's engine was based on Hedgehog Engine 2, a proprietary first-party engine created by Sega for the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The cutscenes were crafted using techniques perfected for Sega's Yakuza series. Alongside the 3D conversion, the team worked to make transitions between different areas and between gameplay and cutscenes as seamless as possible. During production, internal staff who were fans of classic Sakura Wars would often be critical of the current team's work, putting pressure on them to create a product worthy of the series. The game features over 40 minutes of CGI cinematics produced by Sanzigen. All other cutscenes were created in real-time using the game's engine.

While there were a new cast and development team, the series romanticized steampunk setting remained intact. The narrative was described as a "Sakura Wars-esque fantasy".Terada created the basic setting and scenario concept, the scenario draft was written by Jiro Ishii, while the main script was handled by Takaaki Suzuki. Ishii was contacted in 2016 by Sega. Ishii was initially sceptical about his skill to manage the project due to the Sakura Wars franchise's prestige. He accepted as the one who approached him was 428: Shibuya Scramble producer Koichi Nakamura; Ishii recognized that the challenge of Sakura Wars was equivalent to the relationship between 428: Shibuya Scramble and its predecessor Machi. During his work on the scenario, Suzuki offered suggestions to keep the game as historically accurate as possible.

Regular series composer Kohei Tanaka wrote the music. Because of his long association, Tanaka was happy to return and write for a new Sakura Wars game. When conceiving the project, the team decided firmly that the music was something that should not be changed, as it had helped maintain the series' popularity through stage shows and concerts in Japan during its dormancy. The developers aimed to have the largest number of vocal themes of any Sakura Wars game, ranging between 70 and 80. These included ensemble pieces and solo songs. A vocal collection album, containing 14 tracks, is scheduled to be released by Wave Master in Japan on April 29, 2020. [SUMMARIZED FROM THE WIKI]

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YukiOnna

Member
It appears to have started to show up on the EU/UK PS Stores + DLC. Still not up on US/Canada one though. I hope it is by morning 'cause I really wanted to preload it.
 
English translation of the first game came out 6 months ago. I've always wanted to try the series because of the character artist.
 
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Kazza

Member
Great OT. I might buy this if/when it comes to PC. Being story heavy, it looks like a good one to practice a foreign language with. The graphics look super pretty too.

And we need the opening for a Sakura Wars:


That opening video is pretty amazing!
 
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Waiting for a price cut unfortunately due to limited funds (would be all over this otherwise).

Looks great though and the Hedgehog Engine finally gets some use other than Sonic.

Is the Battle System similar to a Musou or like Bayonetta?

OP, if or when you do Yakuza 7, are you going to subtitle it "Like a Dragon (Quest)"?
 
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McCheese

Member
Simplygames posted it out early on the Friday, but haven't had the postman come round since then.

Tempted to just buy digital and keep the sealed physical copy as a collectable incase this is a historic flop, as given the RRP I suspect this will be the first and last localisation we get.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Unfortunately, Amazon will deliver my copy on 30th instead on release date.

 
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I’m reading the PushSquare review and it says you don’t level up characters or upgrade abilities. Is there combat related progression? I’m definitely interested in the game. A 15-ishhour game that encourages multiple playthroughs for different endings could be a nice change of pace from the 100 hour epics I’ve been binge playing the last month.

Never played one of these games before but in the last couple years have been opening my eyes to more JRPGs
 
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Valonquar

Member
If it is like the other games, you give bonus stats to the girls by answering the best answer during the LISPs questions. Also the more they like you, you unlock special team up attacks with them.
 
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I’m reading the PushSquare review and it says you don’t level up characters or upgrade abilities. Is there combat related progression? I’m definitely interested in the game. A 15-ishhour game that encourages multiple playthroughs for different endings could be a nice change of pace from the 100 hour epics I’ve been binge playing the last month.

Never played one of these games before but in the last couple years have been opening my eyes to more JRPGs

You basically date or have relationships with the female characters and they get bonus buffs/abilities when they engage in battle with your Main Character.

It's as basic as that, you actually play the games for the relationships with the Battle Mechanics based on how you reacted with them. In the fifth game it is very possible to soft lock yourself out of the game if you treat every character terribly!
 
Sakura Wars had always been a very... strange game for me. back in the days I've watched my friend played it from time to time and never really had any interest to it. but the theme song really stuck with me and I do like that setting of Taisho/Meiji style mix with steampunk. never played a single game in the series but the song still brings back a serious case of nostalgia in me for some odd reason.
 

Isa

Gold Member
Got my Digital Deluxe version, along with a few other games, and am waiting for another figure to arrive today. Now I'm torn between starting Trials of Mana or Sakura Wars first. I'm leaning towards the later since I still love Sega and from what I've seen of the Lips system some outcomes from goofy choices were hilarious. Plus some quality waifus never hurts. Man what I wouldn't give to see Sega honor its past with Shining Force in the same way, I need some Shining turn-based greatness and Centaurs damn it!
 

McCheese

Member
Just started playing.

I thought this was a budget title? the visuals are so nice and clean and this texture work puts FF7 remake to shame! The music is also amazing.

So some very strong first impressions from someone with zero expectations.
 

YukiOnna

Member
Now to come face with the painfully slow download due to my pleb internets. As expected of an internet provider called Virgin Mobile.

Just started playing.

I thought this was a budget title? the visuals are so nice and clean and this texture work puts FF7 remake to shame! The music is also amazing.

So some very strong first impressions from someone with zero expectations.

They have some pretty big SEGA names behind this and I believe Nagoshi of Yakuza is even Producer on it.
 
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cireza

Banned
Just started playing.

I thought this was a budget title? the visuals are so nice and clean and this texture work puts FF7 remake to shame! The music is also amazing.

So some very strong first impressions from someone with zero expectations.
That's a game made in-house at Sega Japan, by Sega's internal team. Of course it is going to be awesome, just like Valkyria Chronicles 4.
 

Komatsu

Member
Is the Battle System similar to a Musou or like Bayonetta?

OP, if or when you do Yakuza 7, are you going to subtitle it "Like a Dragon (Quest)"?

The Battle System is nothing like the vanilla SRPG of the original or the isometric tactical gameplay of So Long, My Love. It's definitely Musou-like.

Tempted to just buy digital and keep the sealed physical copy as a collectable incase this is a historic flop, as given the RRP I suspect this will be the first and last localisation we get.

Sakura 5 was localized and released for the PS2 and Wii. As in regards to this game, we'll see. It did very well in Japan - selling in 3 days more than the lifetime sales of Sakura 5. I suspect it will be bring in a nice but niche) revenue stream to SEGA West, especially if it does end up on Steam, where ara ara animu games tend to punch above their weight.

That's a game made in-house at Sega Japan, by Sega's internal team. Of course it is going to be awesome, just like Valkyria Chronicles 4.

Indeed! SEGA CS2, one of the Big Blue's crown jewels. It's the result of the merger of Sega R&D, Sonic Team and Sega Sports. It handles the Valkyria Chronicles franchise as well. It's where a lot of the old Overworks folks ended up as well, including I believe Rieko Kodama of Skies of Arcadia fame.
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Folks, we're updating the OT and adding the Reception section now that the reviews are rolling in.

For the running prize of worst review penned about this little gem, this one seems poised to take the trophy home:

Screen Rant said:
The largest issue that a western audience will have with Sakura Wars is the implications of entering a relationship with the women on the team. First and foremost, Kamiyama is technically the boss and superior officer to the romance options. This makes any relationship with them feel inappropriate as there will be a clear power imbalance.

This is me, whenever some English major decides to measure the conformity of a game about fictional women who are dancers, samurai warriors and secret agents to our standards of workplace probity.

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Komatsu

Member
This guy definitely got fired for fucking his boss.

LOL. Maybe I'm just old, but I can't take it seriously when people equate VN-like japanese game romances with entirely fictional characters with, like, sleeping with your intern at the law firm.

It's particularly egregious when it comes to Sakura Taisen, which is on the whole a pretty wholesome franchise, all things considered.
 
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YukiOnna

Member
LOL. Maybe I'm just old, but I can't take seriously when people equate VN-like japanese game romances with entirely fictional characters with, like, sleeping with your intern at the law firm.

It's particularly egregious when it comes to Sakura Taisen, which is on the whole a pretty wholesome franchise, all things considered.
Nah, I'm of the same view. It feels like no matter how far from reality designs, story and even this idea of an alternate history setting is, people still try to connect it to a real world issue and serve it as criticism. It's just weird.

Not to mention, different nations have different views on such work culture and whatnot.
 
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kingbean

Member
This seems like a decent time waster if the actual gameplay doesn't become boring after a mission or two.

nvm it seems to only have like 3 hours of actual gameplay the rest is just VN.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
This seems like a decent time waster if the actual gameplay doesn't become boring after a mission or two.

nvm it seems to only have like 3 hours of actual gameplay the rest is just VN.
This my first Sakura War game but based on past games, this always been case with the series, VN (LIPS) system is meat of these games, so I know What I'm getting in to.
 

Komatsu

Member
This seems like a decent time waster if the actual gameplay doesn't become boring after a mission or two.

nvm it seems to only have like 3 hours of actual gameplay the rest is just VN.

There's plenty of musou-like action in the game, man. But it is on the shorter side which frankly I don't see as a disadvantage. Not every JRPG or JARPG needs to be 160h long.
 
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kingbean

Member
There's plenty of musou-like action in the game, man. But it is on the shorter side which frankly I don't see as a disadvantage. Not every JRPG or JARPG needs to be 160h long.

I rarely play games for things other than gameplay. I don't need it to be 160 hours, but I would like more gameplay than story. So this game just isnt for me.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Oh, cool - finally listed on PSN. It wasn't up last week so I wasn't sure if the game got delayed or what.

I'm definitely curious how this turned out. I'll probably just go ahead and pick it up.
 
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