Review

Sakura Wars (English) · Test

Veröffentlicht am 30.04.2020 von Soul-1

Titelbild von Sakura Wars (English) (PS4)

The return of a legendary Sega IP

A short look at the history of Sakura Wars

In terms of localization, Sakura Wars might be one of the greatest tragedies of Sega. In a mix of VN, Romance, and turn-based SRPG it brought a unique mix of genre and never got a localization until the final game made it to the PS2 in 2010. Unfortunately, it seemed to be the least liked one, and with it came the great hibernation when it released 2008 in Japan.

But what is Sakura Wars about? It’s about a fictional steam-powered Taisho-Era (1912-1926) world that has been in a constant battle against the Demons. To fight back against these dangerous invaders, special combat forces have been created. The Combat Revues piloting mechs called Spiricle Strikers. Powered by individuals with high spirit power they the only force to stand against them. Though not everybody can pilot them. As mentioned before, the pilots require high spirit power and incidentally, those are predominantly female with very rare cases of male ones.

But fighting isn’t the only thing that they have to do. Another one of their duties is acting and theatre to lift the spirit of the people in these dangerous times. These Revues weren’t only highly skilled fighters but have also become world-famous stars.

Tokyo, Paris, and New York where your journey brought you throughout the Sakura Wars Series and it was always up the main character to lead them as the captain through good and bad times. While leading them the hardships you could also always romance them as well.

The origin of the Sakura Wars Series started on the Sega Saturn in 1996 and was at the time the most successful Sega game ever. Be it Manga or Anime fans, most will instantly recognize the unique character designs as they are from the famous artist Kosuke Fujishima. The one and only creator of “You’re Under Arrest” and “Oh! My Goddess”.

In the year 2010 came the first localization of Sakura Wars with the 5th and the newest game in the series that was released in 2005: “Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love”. Supposedly, the localization was a massive project as it even got an English dub which came at a cost. The game was simply too big for a single DVD and therefore the PS2 version got a 2-Disc premium edition that included the Japanese voice acting which also required changes in the text due to differences between English and Japanese. The whole process took 2 years and took supposedly even longer than the development of the game itself!

Sakura Wars made its final appearance with a Spino-off on the Nintendo DS with a dungeon crawler in 2008 only to be seen again in the crossover game Project X Zone 1 and 2 for the 3DS…

新/Shin

Fast-forwarding to 10 years later, a new Sakura Wars came out in Japan in 2019 under the title Shin Sakura Wars. What does “Shin” mean? The translation would mean “New” and in video game history those usually show significant changes. Like Sega’s very own Yakuza 7, also known as Shin Yakuza switched from brawling to RPG battles. Dynasty Warriors was originally a fighting game and known as Sangoku Musou, this abruptly changed with Shin Sangoku Musou which eventually became the well known Dynasty Warriors genre. But what does it mean for Sakura Wars?

Shin Sakura Wars

Shin Sakura Wars is meant to be a soft reboot that entices both old and new players into the Sakura Wars universe but it didn’t come without significant changes. For one, it’s no longer just a Visual Novel but something more akin to a 3D Visual Novel that includes roaming the world. You can walk around the halls of the Imperial Theatre in its full glory and visit special places in Tokyo.

Compact, dense and detailed is probably the best word to describe it as it Shin Sakura Wars is fully focused on letting us get to know each of the new main cast. Understanding where they come from, what they’re wrestling with, and who they are as a major part of this new endeavor. All of the major conversations are fully animated with gestures and expressions fitting into the theme of a stage play.

The turn-based SRPG was exchanged for a Dynasty Warriors-style action where you fight multiple enemies at once in a flash.

The character design is also done by somebody different and it’s no other than Tite Kubo who’s known for the famous Anime/Manga Bleach.

As of 28. April 2020 everybody can finally get their hands on it with English subtitles and a few other languages.

While it took some time to get released it wasn’t for naught because there’s also a day one patch that improves the game based on the feedback from Japan. Balance changes, log system, and a manual lock-on system are just part of the patch that leads to an overall to a better experience.

There’s one important thing to note. For those who aren’t fans of the action parts of the game, it only represents a rather small part of the campaign, which is about 20%.

Did Sega successfully manage to bring Sakura Wars to a new age? What happened to the original characters? There’s a lot to unpack so let’s dive right in!

Screenshot von Sakura Wars (English)

A New Beginning?

The Battle of Tokyo 10 years ago…

Sakura Wars immediately sets up the expectations for longtime fans as the game starts to reminisce about the Battle of Tokyo. It was a devastating battle that brought ruin to the once brilliant capital. The famous Combat Revues from Paris, New York and Tokyo (also known as the Flower Division) were involved. Unfortunately, this battle didn’t end in a happy end despite humanity came out victorious because all three Combat Revues vanished with it…

Meanwhile, the demons are still lurking in the shadows, posing a danger to humanity. Thus a new story begins.

Captain Seijuro and the new Flower Division

Seijuro Kamiyama is the new main character. A marine captain now transferred over to Tokyo which is finally rebuilt matching and maybe even surpassing the brilliance before the devastating battle. His new destination? The Imperial Theatre, the once world-famous home of Japans Flower Division that saved the world more than once and captured the hearts of the people with their incredible performance in the theatre.

Unfortunately, the Flower Division is gone and not much of its former glory is left. Tokyo is currently protected by the Shanghai Combat Revue as the current Flower Division isn’t up to the task.

Arriving at the theatre Seijuro incidentally finds his childhood friend Sakura Amamiya and as it turns out she’s part of the new Flower Division Combat Revue. But the happiness doesn’t last long because a grim reality is presented to him by none other than the legendary veteran Sumire Kanzaki (Sakura Wars 1-4) the current director of the Imperial Theatre.

According to Sumire, the Flower Division is in dire straits as they’ve lost their reputation and are at wit's end which is where Seijuro Kamiyama comes in. Handpicked by Sumire, his new mission is to lead the Flower Division into a brighter future. Unfortunately, unexpected news is coming soon after! If they don’t show any results soon, the Combat Revue will get disbanded. The only chance to prove themselves is the…

World Combat Revue Tournament

A prestigious event runs every 2 years and involves the Combat Revues all over the world. All of them come together in this festival to bring hope to the people by showing their showmanship and fighting prowess.

And this time there’s an unsurmountable goal for the Flower Division: Victory.

Mysterious Yasha

Hidden within the shadows, a mysterious demon is lurking to strike at any time. Series veterans will immediately notice the familiar look that reminds you of Sakura Shinguji. The most famous heroine of the original Flower Division. Together with another demon called Oboro both are wreaking havoc in Tokyo seemingly with an unknown goal.

Equipped with the spiricle strikers the Flower Division has to face them head-on.

Can they save the day against all odds? What is the purpose of these demons' sudden appearance? What happened in the Battle of Tokyo 10 years ago?

A lot of answers are awaiting you.

The entire story is split into multiple episodes just like an anime which even includes the traditional preview of the next episode, giving it a real anime feel.

Story Impression

Sakura Wars is a brand new entry into the series and its intention is a soft reboot. Therefore it’s about the new cast. It will spend a lot of time in bringing them closer to you. All of them will go through their trials and tribulations to grow. None of them will stay the same as it started.

The presentation gives it an immense edge over conventional VNs due to a huge amount of conversations being fully animated with a lot of gestures and emotions.

The side characters are also very well done. By offering optional dialogue and events you get to know them more leading to an easier time in getting to know them.

For example, Shanghai’s Combat Revues captain Xiaolong's first appearance wasn’t anywhere close to being a good fellow. But as the story goes on and you learn more about him, your impression will take 180° turn.

The main story and enemies are the weakest links in the chain. The main story is very simplistic and carried by Yasha for most of the time. There’s at least a moment where the ending of an episode lacked a proper resolution.

The enemies are rather shallow and represent a rather typical villain simpleton archetype. It’s difficult to go in-depth but there’s also a situation where it lacked a proper buildup like a certain organization.

Granted, it’s most likely that these weaknesses are the result to keep the focus on the main characters in order not to overshadow them.

Sakura Wars veterans, on the other hand, will have to go in with an open mind. There are certainly some nice callbacks and the Bromides show them off as a remembrance but keep your expectations in check. Just see it as a small bonus for longtime fans.

Screenshot von Sakura Wars (English)

Gameplay & Controls

The game is split into 2 gameplay parts: Adventure and Action. You’ll spend a lot more time in Adventure in comparison to Action if you’re only interested in the story. In terms of the time, it’s about an 80/20.

Adventure

This is where you’ll spend most of your time. It forfeits the typical open-world for a more focused environment with increased small details (not technical!).

Every single area is very distinct and thus very easy to remember. A park, bus station, Ferris wheel, etc. all of them have a specific purpose and act as landmarks. The advantage of this compact design is the reduction of too much travel time. It’s very unlikely for frustration to set in, especially there are a few systems in place to reduce unnecessary travel if you’re only looking for special events.

The main purpose of Adventure is to improve your friendship with all characters, especially the 5 main heroines as they are not only romance options but also alternate endings.

There is 3 type of events that can be found but before we get to them, we’re going to take a short look at the Sakura Wars traditional…

LIPS System

What is it about? It’s a conversation selection system that lets you decide from up to 3 different answers, the 4th one would just be simple silence and waiting for the timer to run out. Each of the answers will lead to different reactions. The most important ones would be those that increase your relationship points.

Then there’s an intensity-based choice that lets you decide on the intensity of your answer. There are frequently some funny answers mixed in that lead to equally funny situations and reactions.

Main Events

These are marked with a green exclamation mark. Finish them all and you’ll continue with the story. It’s not recommended to go for them immediately.

Sub Events

Blue/White exclamation marks show you all the optional events. It’s recommended to go for all of them as successful attempts will boost the relationships. Most importantly, it’s your only way to get friendly with sub-characters too.

Trust Events

Very special events marked by a cherry blossom petal that requires a good relationship with the specific characters. Most of the time it’s the main heroines that are involved in this. Some of them even special events in the first-person view.

Keep your eyes in check though, ladies usually don’t like you ogling at them.

Bromides

These are found everywhere across all kinds of places, a lot of them are in the Imperial Theatre. Special ones can be found in the Imperial Theatre shop and the Combot. Nothing too important but a nice nod to the fans as these star all the Combat Revue characters of the past games.

Koi-Koi Wars

A Sakura Wars tradition that involves the Japanese Hanafuda cards. In general, you can think of it something like Japanese Poker. You can play against a lot of characters and unlock some music for this specific mini-game.

The Teletron

Using the triangle will calls up your Teletron, your best friend to find all the events in a flash. It has a complete map that shows you the locations of all the events. You can also go into Koi-Koi Wars through it or look at your Bromides. It’s a very handy thing and makes your life a lot easier.

Adventure Impression

The adventure part is traveling in VNs, the only difference is that you move around like in an RPG in a fully-fledged environment. There’s a big difference between moving through menus and moving around in 3D space. Besides, the conversations are also a real highlight that stands out. Not only are there animated but it also has extra camera work to give them even more nuance.

All locations are interesting, the conversations are lively as well as interesting and there’s a lot of extra information to find offering you a novel experience.

If there’s one thing to dislike about it, it’s the load times. There are relatively short most of the time but it would help a lot of there were fast travel to cut some of the travel that requires you to move from place A to C while skipping B.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is the ability to skip lines of the conversations. You don’t have to wait for the voice to finish at all. So if you’re a fast reader and prefer to keep things going then feel free to skip them. You can even skip all of the scenes and it’s really fast. Most of the time you won’t even see a loading screen! It’s the small things like these that make the User Experience great.

Screenshot von Sakura Wars (English)

Action/Spiricle Strikers

All battles will be done within the Spiricle Strikers and are most of the time are at the end of the Episode to round things off. The decision to move onto a Dynasty Warriors like action gameplay is rather interesting but easy to pick up and play. In very rare cases you will play in a team of 3 but usually, it’s only a duette.

5+1 different characters

Aside from the main character Seijuro, there are 5 heroines to team up with. All of them have their attack styles. Sakura, Azami is relatively akin to Seijuro’s with their kinks. Anastasia and Claris are the easiest ones to use as they are ranged characters who blast their enemies from afar with a lot of oomph.

Controls

Sakura Wars moves a little bit away from the norm. The Circle-Button is used for light attacks while the Triangle-Button does the traditional strong attacks. Dynasty Warriors veterans will know that the light attacks have an attack string that can be ended with a strong attack. Depending on where you use the strong attack, a different attack will come out.

The X-Button lets you jump and there’s even a double jump. R2 lets you glide/dash making it easier to move around fast. L1 changes the active character and L2 re-centers the camera. The 1.01 patch adds a manual lock-on with L3 which is very useful against bosses.

Dodging (R1)

One of the most important tools in your box of tricks. It’s like a short dash with invincibility and it can be used without limits except for the small recovery after the dash. As most of the time in other games, there’s a Perfect Dodge which slows down everything except you and even gives you invincibility during the full duration of the slowdown.

A very strong technique that can lead to massive damage in a short time. Seijuro Kamiyama even has a special move to it. When the stronger enemies are low on health he can do a finishing move for a short cinematic instant kill.

To make the usage of a Perfect Dodge easier, the enemies will flash a little bit of red to show an imminent attack.

Special attack (Square)

Every character in your team has a special bar that fills up most of the time by items found plentiful on the battlefield. Each of them is extremely strong and has a different use. For example, Seijuro’s is a combo attack that does massive amounts of damage that can even end a boss fight in a flash a lot of times. Filling up the special bar and choosing the right time to use them will be very useful in finishing levels fast. Time is part of the ranking at the end of a mission.

Super State (Touchpad)

Later on, you can activate this for a significant buff in offense and defense but only a single time for each mission. Depending on which character you’ve teamed up with there’s a specific special cutscene playing as a little bonus. Technically you don’t even have to use it but if you want to whittle down a lot of life in no time? This is it. Even the end boss didn’t know what hit it.

Items

Defeated enemies and violet crystals always release items that increase your special gauge. The green items that recover your life are more seldom but not rare enough to starve. Very strong enemies like bosses drop items when they get enough damage and are stunned.

Platforming

While platforming is part of the action, it’s nothing too complicated or difficult. Certainly, nothing that keeps you from advancing.

Morale

The morale rewards effective combat and destroying crystals. The higher your morale is the more your offense and defense increase. Be careful not to get hit by your enemies as they reduce it. Keep the morale high and you will dish out some extra high damage. Morale is another part of the ranking.

Enemies

The enemy variety is rather limited but putting everything into perspective it’s fine because the time you spend in fighting doesn’t require it to have a boatload of different enemies. The small enemies don’t have life bars and die in one or two hits, middle-sized ones are a little bit trickier and are good targets for a perfect dodge. Oversized enemies are prime targets for special moves.

Bosses are the highlights and present a little bit more challenge but there’s nothing that can be chalked up as impossible or difficult. If you get a handle of the different mechanics, it’ll be smooth sailing.

Rankings

Want to get more Bromides or challenge? Then you’re in the right place. The rankings assess your performance and give each part a rank that results in an overall one. The best one you can get is S. Also, you can also increase your relationship with your partner with a high rank.

ComBot (Optional)

All of the battle missions can be replayed in case you’re hunting for the S rank or Bromides. The special thing about this one is the fact that story missions automatically fixes you with a specific partner. With Combot every single mission will have 5 variants each of them is a different partner.

Action Gameplay Impression

The Action part is the weakest part of the package but putting in the ratio the whole game consists of it’s nowhere close to heavily affect the overall impression. Frankly speaking, it’s not even bad. It’s just solid. It doesn’t stand out and there weren’t even any frustrating parts.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any issues. The targeting of the attacks is wonky. You have to let go of the direction to have auto-targeting work its magic. The moment you hit the wrong target or try to correct it, it becomes a mess because you’ll be fighting to correct it manually. This is a problem when you try to target the medium-sized enemies upwards.

The newly added targeting helps against bosses but has it’s own share of issues as I couldn’t find out how the target switching exactly works.

Another glaring issue is the fact that enemies glow red when you hit them. Remember the dodging part and the red flash before the enemy attack? Yes, that’s a big issue because the effects overlap with each other and it becomes difficult to discern the effects.

Some might lament the lack of levels or customization and look at it as a whole package, there isn’t a need for that as there isn’t enough to warrant these kinds of elaborate systems. It’s tightly balanced around the 6 characters and works as a simple action game.

Screenshot von Sakura Wars (English)

Graphics & Sound

Sakura Wars is a rare mix of realtime graphics and drawn anime cutscenes that complement each other well. In terms of tech, it’s not jaw-dropping or anything but the attention to detail is what makes it shine. The detailed conversations are a perfect fit for the theatre theme. Yes, sometimes it looks overacted but it has its charm.

The environment brings the fantasy Taisho Tokyo distinctly to life. Experiencing the halls of the Imperial Theatre is a very special experience for every Sakura Wars fan.

The music is without a doubt another one of the highlights of the game. All of the main characters have their theme, even the other Combat Revues have a theme with lyrics. The classic Sakura Wars theme was updated with respect to the original and is another fantastic version.

Big parts of the conversations are voiced in Japanese and they hit the tones of each scene perfectly, elevating them another notch on top of the text and animation.

Screenshot von Sakura Wars (English)

Verdict

Sakura Wars is a phenomenally unique game of this generation. Sega managed to successfully bring back a classic in a modern way that keeps the feeling of the classics. Personally, it's an experience that I haven't had since the end of PS2/DC.

The presentation of the characters is fantastic, full of emotion in voice and the animation. The weaknesses within the Story are nowhere close to being a big flaw considering this is focused on the characters themselves.

At no point, I was missing the old-school VN style of gameplay as the current adventure style acts as a fully-fledged substitution with much more fidelity.

While the Dynasty Warriors like action doesn’t do anything special, there isn’t much to be lamented either. It’s a small part of the whole package and it does a solid job in adding some variety.

Sakura Wars is a top title of the year and recommended to VN Fans who like additional Visual Drama.

Pro

  • Detailed presentation in terms of conversations and animation
  • Good character development across the cast
  • Very good UX

Contra

  • Slight weaknesses in the story
  • Battle gameplay is only solid

Wertung

Testergebnis: 90%

9.0 Sehr gut

Kaufempfehlung

100% Kaufempfehlung

100%Absoluter Pflichtkauf

Getestet wurde Sakura Wars (English) auf PS4 von Soul-1. Das Spiel lag uns zum Zeitpunkt von unserem Test in Version 1.01 vor. Das Test Exemplar / der Review Code für Sakura Wars (English) wurde uns von Plaion (Koch Media) kostenlos zur Verfügung gestellt. Vielen Dank!