Released in 1996 for the Sega Saturn, Sakura Taisen is the first game in the iconic Japanese game franchise. It combines strategy RPG elements with dating sim-style character interactions to make "A Storm of Romance amid Taishou Cherry Blossoms!"
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Sakura Taisen is a blend between Tactical RPG and Dating Sim.
The Dating Sim aspect is your typical visual novel, Ogami (the MC) got harem, he has to pick certain dialog options to win the heart of one of the girls.
Unlike your typical visual novel though, there are no elaborate routes for each girl. No matter who you romance, the ending (apart from 1 cutscene and the final battle) remains the same, each girl will get development and screen time, even one you don’t care about.
There’s one girl that I find annoying because the game shoves her to you, even going so far as making Ogami love her, even though I, as the player, don't want to.
The story is fine, it’s mostly fluff while also fighting an evil organization. There will be your usual sealed thing finally awakened again after being sealed for a certain amount of time, and you have to defeat it. The fluff is cute, if it’s with the girl you like, but meh if it’s not.
Now the worst part of this game is the combat. It is an insult to RPG to call it Tactical RPG (wiki says it). There’s almost no RPG element in the combat. No level up, no class/job, no elements. The only thing you can do to increase a character's stat (temporarily) is by picking the right option in the visual novel part before the combat.
Each character only has 2 attacks, a basic attack and a special attack. Each has different range and power, it is obvious who will be the front liner and who will be on the back.
Each special attack is also unique, Sakura attacks every enemy on a straight line, Kana attacks an enemy adjacent to her but with a very big damage, Iris heals everyone around her, etc.
Special attack consumes a special gauge which can be recharged by attacking, getting attacked, or using Rest command.
There is also Heal command (limited to 2x per character), Defend, and Cover (unique to Ogami).
The many options of the command does create a bit of a strategy, but the game is very easy and you will most likely end up with the same strategy over and over.
Not to mention that the movement and animation in combat is really slow. The attack and special animation, while fun to watch at first, gets old very quickly and you can’t skip them.
I hope that the rest of the series fixes this combat problem.
The Dating Sim aspect is your typical visual novel, Ogami (the MC) got harem, he has to pick certain dialog options to win the heart of one of the girls.
Unlike your typical visual novel though, there are no elaborate routes for each girl. No matter who you romance, the ending (apart from 1 cutscene and the final battle) remains the same, each girl will get development and screen time, even one you don’t care about.
There’s one girl that I find annoying because the game shoves her to you, even going so far as making Ogami love her, even though I, as the player, don't want to.
The story is fine, it’s mostly fluff while also fighting an evil organization. There will be your usual sealed thing finally awakened again after being sealed for a certain amount of time, and you have to defeat it. The fluff is cute, if it’s with the girl you like, but meh if it’s not.
Now the worst part of this game is the combat. It is an insult to RPG to call it Tactical RPG (wiki says it). There’s almost no RPG element in the combat. No level up, no class/job, no elements. The only thing you can do to increase a character's stat (temporarily) is by picking the right option in the visual novel part before the combat.
Each character only has 2 attacks, a basic attack and a special attack. Each has different range and power, it is obvious who will be the front liner and who will be on the back.
Each special attack is also unique, Sakura attacks every enemy on a straight line, Kana attacks an enemy adjacent to her but with a very big damage, Iris heals everyone around her, etc.
Special attack consumes a special gauge which can be recharged by attacking, getting attacked, or using Rest command.
There is also Heal command (limited to 2x per character), Defend, and Cover (unique to Ogami).
The many options of the command does create a bit of a strategy, but the game is very easy and you will most likely end up with the same strategy over and over.
Not to mention that the movement and animation in combat is really slow. The attack and special animation, while fun to watch at first, gets old very quickly and you can’t skip them.
I hope that the rest of the series fixes this combat problem.
お転婆と
恋愛や愛着
幸せだ
𝙉𝙊𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋 𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙀 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙍𝙀𝙂𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉
恋愛や愛着
幸せだ
𝙉𝙊𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋 𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙀 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝙍𝙀𝙂𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉
Sakura Wars is a great game. I love the whole concept of it, which is a mixture of a Visual Novel and a Strategy RPG. In addition to that, I also really loved the setting of the game, which is set in the 1920s.
Though the Strategy RPG segments are overall relatively simple, I think that they work really well for the game, and I honestly don't think it would've even necessarily needed a more deep and complex system for these segments. I at least still had decent fun with them, and in my opinion, they are quite enjoyable.
But what I really loved about the game were definitely all the Anime and Visual Novel parts. I totally like how the game is structured and divided into 10 episodes. With that, the opening and preview cutscenes, and the end of an Episode for the next Episode, it really feels like a playable Anime, which I again really like. Also, the pacing of the game is excellent.
Regarding the characters, I liked the whole cast, with Sakura and Sumire probably being my favorite characters.
So overall, I think Sakura Wars is a fantastic game, and I'm really glad that such a good English Fan Translation for it exists, with which I was able to play it in the first place.
Though the Strategy RPG segments are overall relatively simple, I think that they work really well for the game, and I honestly don't think it would've even necessarily needed a more deep and complex system for these segments. I at least still had decent fun with them, and in my opinion, they are quite enjoyable.
But what I really loved about the game were definitely all the Anime and Visual Novel parts. I totally like how the game is structured and divided into 10 episodes. With that, the opening and preview cutscenes, and the end of an Episode for the next Episode, it really feels like a playable Anime, which I again really like. Also, the pacing of the game is excellent.
Regarding the characters, I liked the whole cast, with Sakura and Sumire probably being my favorite characters.
So overall, I think Sakura Wars is a fantastic game, and I'm really glad that such a good English Fan Translation for it exists, with which I was able to play it in the first place.
Sometimes a game has a theme song or opening so cool you just HAVE to play it, and I'm glad I did!
Sakura Wars is definitely one of the better-paced strategy RPGs I've played, although that's because it's only half that. It doesn't waste your time with damage sponge enemies, fights don't take too long and there's not that many of them, and since XP isn't a factor you can just focus on strategy rather than "oh no I gotta hit this guy then let THIS guy finish him off, but I also gotta do the objective," etc.
The anime visual novel parts are a ton of fun, aside from all the Iris stuff, or worse, the REALLY bad chapter dedicated to her. Whoever decided a game based around picking a girl that you're into and going for her needed a literal child should not be allowed to participate in society. But the fact that most dialogue windows have a timer to force you to make a quick decision, or remain silent (which is sometimes the right call!) really adds a lot to the immersion. And don't get me started on how cool the LIPS system is, with mouthflaps matching the syllables, even for non-voiced scenes. Great 90s animated sequences here and there too!
Also, I won't spoil it, but the store goes COMPLETELY bonkers towards the end in a way I think I really liked?
Again, if not for the Iris stuff, this would probably be a solid 4 stars.
Sakura Wars is definitely one of the better-paced strategy RPGs I've played, although that's because it's only half that. It doesn't waste your time with damage sponge enemies, fights don't take too long and there's not that many of them, and since XP isn't a factor you can just focus on strategy rather than "oh no I gotta hit this guy then let THIS guy finish him off, but I also gotta do the objective," etc.
The anime visual novel parts are a ton of fun, aside from all the Iris stuff, or worse, the REALLY bad chapter dedicated to her. Whoever decided a game based around picking a girl that you're into and going for her needed a literal child should not be allowed to participate in society. But the fact that most dialogue windows have a timer to force you to make a quick decision, or remain silent (which is sometimes the right call!) really adds a lot to the immersion. And don't get me started on how cool the LIPS system is, with mouthflaps matching the syllables, even for non-voiced scenes. Great 90s animated sequences here and there too!
Also, I won't spoil it, but the store goes COMPLETELY bonkers towards the end in a way I think I really liked?
Again, if not for the Iris stuff, this would probably be a solid 4 stars.
8/10.
I've been wanting to get into the Sakura Wars series for a while now. When my friend told me that the fan translation for the first game dropped, I was excited to finally give it a shot. This was an amazing experience. I haven't played many titles that incorporate so many genres at once, yet do it so effectively. Tactical RPG, visual novel, and dating sim wrapped up into the melting pot of Taisen for a more than satisfying experience. Peak 90s anime cutscenes are the topping on the cake. It has something for everyone.