This game is awesome. Blends tactical RPG gameplay with VN affection growing in a wholistic way where your actions in one gameplay type affect the other. The story is a pretty standard sentai-style "group of color-coded heroes destroy the great evil" plot but the moments the story has are fantastic, mostly in part to the excellent writing of the characters. The Tokyo Kagekidan is composed of some of my favorite characters in video games, and each member brings their own unique personality both in conversation and in combat. I also love the double-life dynamic each member lives as both a performance actor as well as a military soldier, and the drama motifs are awesome. The setting is also a wonderful fantasy steampunk rendition of 1920s japan. This game sets the stage(hah) for one of the best series Sega has ever made.

This review's gonna be different, since I'm really just gonna recollect on this instead of getting into the nitty-gritty of the plot and mechanical workings of Sakura Wars 1. I do have a replay in-progress, but stopped around Chapter 5 since I was still focusing on other stuff at the time, so once I get off my ass and finish it, I'll make a(n actual) review talking about all that. Also there'll be some slight endgame spoilers, nothing major but I'll describe a few events that're isolated from context as much as possible.

Anyway, Sakura Wars. Originally one of my Gaming White Whales, I learned about it in 2016 when Sega revealed and got feedback on the large amount of people wanting a revival of the series, which it did 3 (4 for international release) years later in the form of a PS4 soft reboot. An adventure format? With VN and dating elements? Even containing SRPG combat sequences? Sounds like my thing! Only, there was one problem: Japan-only, no English translation available outside of guides. Hence why I referred to it as a white whale, there was no way I, someone still in their Junior year of high school, was gonna comfortably learn Japanese alongside other studies, and having to follow a guide for a text-heavy game is ludicrous to me. Granted, there was the anime OVAs of the games that had English subs, an alternate retelling of the first game via a Madhouse-produced TV series that aired overseas, as well as Sakura Wars 5 becoming available for PS2 and Wii versions thanks to NISA, but the OVAs are more or less continuations of the games so doing that would mean having little context, the TV series is a retelling like I said and I'd rather have gone through the original first, and the 5th game... I actually did pick up and put some amount of time into, but at the time of writing I've yet to finish it cause I keep getting distracted.

Then, in mid-December 2019, it happened. A group of people were able to finally translate the game, start to finish. Not even kidding when I say that was one of the biggest pieces of joy I've gotten in recent years. Sure, it meant having to figure out Saturn emulation, configuring Mednafen and (at the time, I don't use this anymore) Retroarch, all at once, but man I didn't care, as long as it meant I could finally play the first entry in a series I've had my eyes on for so long, going through it on-and-off for other games, as well as to avoid burnout.

As you can tell from the score, it lived up to my expectations pretty comfortably. There were some drawbacks and questionable decisions that bog it down that, again, I'll get into when I finish my replay, but for the most part I got exactly what I was hoping: Great adventure walk-arounds with a soothing and fantastic atmosphere, blending nicely with the VN and dating elements of talking to crew within the Imperial Combat Revue, and the SRPG element that, while very simple (it cannot be stressed that combat sequences are not the main focus, the stuff pertaining to the crew and adventure/VN format is), was still pretty fun and hilariously easy to break.

What really stood out to me - and really, the series in general - was how earnest and sincere it was in telling its tale. Amongst all the banter, fun, and the of-the-times anime tropes and such, laid a story about trust, forgiveness, and standing together despite the differences and difficulties that lay face as it goes along. We're talking about a story that doesn't shy away from the fact that the (initial) Big Bad is just a Conservative mad about the fact Japan has been taking influences from the Western side of the world, wanting to isolate it from those they deem unholy. We're talking about a story that contains two individual moments practically resembling a Goku Spirit Bomb attack, purely because they believe and have the heart to stand above the evil. We're talking about literal, actual angels and demons getting involved in order to loop these themings and threads back around in a full manner. I won't act like sincerity is lost or whatever, but in the recent years where creators and even normal individuals have taken the route of irony, cynicism, and just never taking things as what they are and judging them for what they aren't, coupled with the fact that, to reiterate, I was finally playing this within the timeframe of early 2020, seeing something like this unfold, was pretty refreshing and breathtaking. It may not be exactly for everyone, but you can't deny there's a ton of heart and soul that goes into each entry, even the spinoffs, as time went on.

The only other games available in English are the aforementioned PS4 game, which I already finished and also like (though not to the same degree as this), 5, which as I said I need to get back to, and some spinoffs like the sequel to a previous Columns game, and a Game Boy title, which I also played and rather enjoyed nicely, with another translation being done for the third game, which I should mention finally being that 1, 3, 5, and the SR are standalone and can be enjoyed without prior knowledge of either game. I dunno when I'll sign back on, but since I already waited three years to delve into the series' roots, I don't mind waiting that much, maybe even more, for the title everyone beholds as one of Sega's all-timers.

this game feels like hiring a master chef, but they have their budget limited to cook for less than 10 dollars: while the individual ingredients may not be the best by themselves, the craft and expertise used to prepare the final dish still give you a good ass meal.

i can't also help but think about actraiser, a game that has some reviews on this site praising its ability to mix genres with excellent results. while i do agree with these, sakura wars also acts as a good contender for that field, merging its srpg and dating sim bits without any issues, managing to provide an engaging experience that doesn't overstay its welcome. also, actraiser doesn't have sumire kanzaki.