One of the better 3ds eshop games. Kappa bro looks like a pedo tho, ngl.
The best thing about Sakura Samurai is its budget. In the tradition of other 3DS eShop titles, Sakura Samurai was clearly developed affordably by a small team, this time at Grounding Inc. Counting the various NOA support roles and "thanks" credits, the game is attributed to 61 people.
While playing, you can feel this small footprint. The game is built upon a very simple Punch Out-adjacent combat style with no fat on the bone. You play only as long as Grounding felt was necessary to see its single concept through. My full journey was 3:09 in total and that felt just about perfect. In that time, I fought the same few enemy types in the same few locations, visiting the same town archetype as I wandered the small overworld map.
If that sounds like a negative assessment that's because you've not framed this game properly for yourself. To me that's all dynamite. I appreciate having small games like this. Sakura Samurai has one great gameplay idea, a few enemy designs, a few environments, and a simple story. Where one person might see the financial constraint or oppressive repetition, I see a small group of game developers with a great concept which doesn't warrant overelaboration.
Every time I encountered a new stage which reused all its component elements, I appreciated the pragmatism involved. This is a game about the naturally rewarding process of patience, persistence, and pattern recognition. I don't need that dressed up. The combat is great as-is. And even still, there is some fantastic window-dressing on Sakura Samurai. The small cast of characters is great; I get Skip Ltd. vibes from them (and those are the best vibes you can get).
I wish Nintendo would bankroll more games like this these days. One that are cheaply made and cheaply sold; "cheap" as a statement of fact, not as a value judgement. Sakura Samurai probably gets tiresome as a 10-hour $40 retail game on 3DS. That proposition doesn't make creative or commercial sense. For example: Sushi Striker certainly got tiresome as a many-hour $50 Switch game!
I love how Sakura Samurai looks, I love how Sakura Samurai plays, and I love what Sakura Samurai represents. I'm certainly glad that I bought many games like this before the eShop closed down.
While playing, you can feel this small footprint. The game is built upon a very simple Punch Out-adjacent combat style with no fat on the bone. You play only as long as Grounding felt was necessary to see its single concept through. My full journey was 3:09 in total and that felt just about perfect. In that time, I fought the same few enemy types in the same few locations, visiting the same town archetype as I wandered the small overworld map.
If that sounds like a negative assessment that's because you've not framed this game properly for yourself. To me that's all dynamite. I appreciate having small games like this. Sakura Samurai has one great gameplay idea, a few enemy designs, a few environments, and a simple story. Where one person might see the financial constraint or oppressive repetition, I see a small group of game developers with a great concept which doesn't warrant overelaboration.
Every time I encountered a new stage which reused all its component elements, I appreciated the pragmatism involved. This is a game about the naturally rewarding process of patience, persistence, and pattern recognition. I don't need that dressed up. The combat is great as-is. And even still, there is some fantastic window-dressing on Sakura Samurai. The small cast of characters is great; I get Skip Ltd. vibes from them (and those are the best vibes you can get).
I wish Nintendo would bankroll more games like this these days. One that are cheaply made and cheaply sold; "cheap" as a statement of fact, not as a value judgement. Sakura Samurai probably gets tiresome as a 10-hour $40 retail game on 3DS. That proposition doesn't make creative or commercial sense. For example: Sushi Striker certainly got tiresome as a many-hour $50 Switch game!
I love how Sakura Samurai looks, I love how Sakura Samurai plays, and I love what Sakura Samurai represents. I'm certainly glad that I bought many games like this before the eShop closed down.