Sakura Wars provides insight to a question posed by Metal Gear Solid in 1998: Can love bloom, even on a battlefield?

It's funny to think that many of the tropes that Sakura Wars leans so hard on are the ones that I usually don't care for at all, including (but not limited to) romantic comedies, dating simulators, and harems. However, when Sega brings a franchise back from the dead, one from the Sega Saturn era no less, I figure that it's at least worth a shot. (Gotta support those oddball niche IPs, lest we get the same AAA drivel until the end of time.)

Sakura Wars' gameplay is a lopsided balancing act between two different styles. On the lighter end, we have the more climactic hack-n-slash action with steampunk mechs. On the heavier end, we have the slow burn of exploring locales, collecting bromides, moving the plot along, experiencing side-stories, and building up relationships with all the girls in a hybrid of adventure/dating sim gameplay. Odd as it may sound, this dichotomy between genres and its imbalance works in Sakura Wars' favor, albeit not in the way I think the devs intended.

The adventure segments quickly became the selling point of the game for me. Kamiyama is the captain of the Imperial Combat Revue's "Flower Division". The Flower Division puts on theatre performances in order to soothe the hearts and minds of Tokyo's citizens, and dons mech armor to fight off demons and protect said citizens. It's your job to build trust with all the lovely ladies, support their theatrical endeavors, and lead them to victory. There's an inherent charm to the setting of "1940's steampunk Japan". Art direction aside, I think what really brings it all together is a phenomenal soundtrack done by Kohei Tanaka, known for composing the music for the likes of Gravity Rush and One Piece. Whether it be talking to your childhood sweetheart, taking a peaceful stroll through downtown Tokyo, or triumphing in battle, Kohei Tanaka's compositions fuse a sense of grandeur with melodies that refuse to leave my head. The game may be a bit addicted to its own theme song, but to a degree, I think it's earned that right.

Choosing specific answers in response to certain prompts under a time limit is certainly nothing new for video games, and definitely not new for Sakura Wars either. However (and this is probably just me), the fact that you're also running a theatre troupe recontextualizes these choices in my mind. It's almost like an improv production, where I'm constantly attempting to stay in character and choose what I feel is the "correct" thing to say in a given situation. I'm sure this isn't the intended mindset for the game; after all, there's an option in the menu to disable the protagonist's voice, leaning towards that "self-insert" role that the main character usually takes in plots like these. On that note though, I'm glad that the game lets you deliberately avoid/engage with the more "pervy" events. It's a relief to have control over a more undesirable aspect like that.

The mech-action gameplay that takes place (usually) at the end of each chapter is simply good. I wish they were better, but they're enjoyable as a vehicle for the story, and a nice burst of dopamine to break up the slow burn of reading text. The major flaw these stages hold lies in having no real gameplay progression. Aside from a couple story-related upgrades to a certain character, everyone's movesets will remain exactly the same for the whole game. Those movesets aren't the most in-depth either. Just your basic light attacks, heavy attacks, and dodge. There is a "morale" meter in each stage that will increase/decrease depending on what's happening, giving an attack/defense boost for every bar filled, up to 10 bars. Again though, it feels mostly negligible. If I could change the battle system in any one way, it would be to tie character movesets to their level of trust with Kamiyama. In this case, I'd also tie Kamiyama's moveset to his "captain rank" you get on the party status screen.

Characters can perform a unique special attack once they've picked up enough blue crystals. If you've built enough trust outside of battle with a character, you can also use a unique team attack with them, providing a temporary invincibility/attack bonus (you can also use your special attack during this for massive damage). Doing shit like this makes it pathetically easy to obliterate any boss fights, including the final one. There's no difficulty select, which is an extremely jarring absence for any kind of action game. Mix it all up with point-A-to-B level structure, and you get action gameplay that leaves next to no impression on me. This is exacerbated by the "battle bot" simulator you unlock mid-episode 3. It lets you replay story missions with any character you desire, and get ranked for each individual character+stage combo. I truly pity you if you wish to 100% this game.

The story is, for lack of a better phrase, "anime as fuck". It partakes in a lot of typical shounen tropes. There are moments where, for example, the villain comes onscreen, and you can tell he's the fucking villain 10 hours before you actually reach the point where it's formally revealed that he's the villain. It uses a lot of these tropes for the sake of comedy or building excitement though, so it didn't particularly bother me in the long run. It's doled out in an episodic format, with "intermissions" that let you check your team status and save your game before continuing, making for good stopping points so you can pace yourself. Episode 4 is probably the most contrived of the bunch, but it reels between both sides of absolute stupidity. On one end, I can't stand how stupid some aspects of it are, and on the other, I'm laughing along with the raw absurdity that the plot throws at you.

Flaws aside, I'm glad to say that Sakura Wars on PS4 provides an unforgettable experience, at the very least. I'll definitely look into playing the originals as soon as I acquire a Sega Saturn. For now, I await the Flower Division's next big performance with bated breath. Flower Division...TO VICTORY!

Also, Hatsuho best girl. I will not elaborate further or argue on this point.

A banal 2.5D action-RPG with a heavy "disappointing Kickstarter game circa 2014" aura to it which isn't even that far from the truth considering its origins. Tries to evoke some Muramasa: The Demon Blade (and Suikoden, I'd imagine) vibes but feels way more like something akin to Indivisible which is most definitely not a compliment. Tiresome fetch quests and backtracking galore, the game opens up at such a glacial pace that even if you were into the throwback style and narrative you'd still be mashing through most of the pop-ups to get to the "good stuff." I did catch a glimmer of nostalgic charm in the characters' dialogue at first, sure, but like everything else in the game it wore out its welcome sooner than later and there's way too much of it. So much so that two-thirds of the way through I just started skipping every bit of text on-screen.

The visuals aren't as repugnant as Square Enix's HD-2D output but the art style still looks quite cheap and inconsistent. Combat is okay and there is some depth and variety to it in the form of character-specific attacks, linked combos and elemental damage but the enemies are such dull sponges that your battle tactics barely come into play. The moment you do get hit, however, the combat instantly feels off and floaty; it's like they forgot to implement a short period of invulnerability - or lessen the knockback - for the characters. The primary protagonist's movement controls felt decent, couldn't say the same for the other two.

Overall just an unfocused mess designwise, the game really can't decide whether it wants to be a colorful take on an Igavania or a nostalgia bait RPG with town-building elements tacked on. The light, fun premise tricked me into playing this and by the time I realized I'd been duped I just put on some podcast (no, no noteworthy music either in the game) and powered through. Very lackluster but not truly terrible. I wouldn't recommend this even though it's on Game Pass but I don't know, your mileage may vary.

I ran through Forever With You earlier in the year with an auto translator pointed at my TV screen and still adored it. This version is definitely not as good, and I was slightly worried that it was the one being translated. The missing voice acting is a bummer, but the power of this game still shines through and I could not stop playing all day. Highly recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in Japanese games as its influence is nearly incalculable. So glad this is available in English now.

A wonderful experience, Kirby translated to 3D game play smoothly! The levels are fairly linear but encourage exploration and have a lot of different gimmicks and set pieces to set them apart. The level themes were great too; even if you have "beach world, desert world, water world" each level had a distinct setting that made no two levels feel similar. Excellent music to accompany them too!

Surprisingly a lot of content for a Kirby game, besides the minigames and the arena there's a bunch of mini stages built around a single ability or move; they're a lot of fun and teach you the utility of each copy ability.

Only real issue with the game is that it feels slower than normal for a Kirby game (along with a few quality of life issues that'd make getting 100% more tedious than it should be such as a lack of quick restart).

Very minor complaints though, this is a great game and pretty high up on my Kirby ranking!

This game lived up to every hope and expectation I had of it when I first heard the rumor that Team Ninja was making an action game based on the original Final Fantasy.

The action is top-notch, the RPG elements incorporated make it feel truly in line with the franchise, and the story is cheeky, self-aware, and more ambitious than it may initially seem. It perfectly marries the old storytelling of "Ah, you have a crystal? So do I! Let us quest!" with the more modern Final Fantasy narratives, full of twists, turns, and intrigue.

While it definitely offers more than enough meat to go absolutely ham on numberwang and grinding, the main story doesn't overstay its welcome, wrapping up about when you want it to, and even offering some fairly relaxed off-ramps in terms of engagement for the final couple missions, where you can take things kinda easy until the final boss if you want to.

It's a really splendid anniversary title that captures what makes so many of the Final Fantasy spinoffs so captivating, compelling, and unique, and each mission being based on a location from a previous game makes it such a wonderful celebration of the franchise.

I was a big fan of XIV so I'm very glad to see that not only has this improved on that game but that other people are digging it as well. Its been awhile since I've really felt excited for a fighting game. Netcode is good; I am getting ripped apart in Ranked (and Casual even!) but it never feels like there's gonna be a drop. Roster is good and it feels great to play. My only gripes are I would have loved some more XIV originals to come back (Mian :() and the story feels somewhat rushed. I know this is an insane thing to say, but I am a weirdo who really loves the backstory and lore of the series. Closing the saga in two doesn't give quite as much room for stuff to happen and plots like "dead characters are back" don't feel as impactful as it should. Otherwise, a stellar fighter, easily the best fighter in awhile, and a top tier KoF. Can't wait for Geese to drop.

My initial thoughts based on about 20 hours with the game I originally posted here will be quoted at the end of this but I'm now done so I can actually talk about it. Purely on a mechanical level, this is absolutely one of the better games in the series, but that's the one level I can say that. It's just so vacuous and inconsequential on every other front that by the end what I felt playing it was an obligation to finish it more than anything. When this game was announced, I wanted it to be set after Lydie and Suelle. A more mature Atelier protagonist would have been a fun spin on the series, especially for an anniversary game. But instead we get a weird interquel between Sophie and Firis, and that leaves Sophie's character so flaccid and uninteresting. She cannot be allowed to develop because that would ruin the mystique of her maturation in Firis and LySue. She can't entirely go back to the clumsy and airheaded self from the original game either! She developed from that. So we're left with a strange flanderisation. Ramizel is the heart of the game and she's great. Partly I believe this game exists for Ramizel, someone really wanted to make a young hot cool version of Sophie's grandma, hats off to them. Plachta from the past is enjoyable, but she too is mostly static or slightly transforming into the Plachta we already know. It's limiting and dull. That's what the construction of this game is on the conceptual level, limited and existentially dull. And too long. Almost as long as LySue which is also too long but with imaginative locales and interesting scenarios and a genuinely affecting core narrative. All of which this game lacks. Ugh. The biggest backhanded compliment I can give it is that it's the least worst version of a game I didn't want to exist. If this is what I was missing from not playing the Ryza games I'm thankful.

Initial observations:
"I'll save my full thoughts for after having finished this but this is a solid enough game but retains all the thematic uninterestingness of the Mysterious subseries. I got into Atelier with the Dusk series, and what I found really compelling about Dusk was how empathetic and understanding it was of young people. How sensitively it treated depression and loss without even explicitly pointing it out as lesser games aimed at audiences these games are aimed at might do. Dusk was a world dying its second death, but within it, it had a place for people who were torn apart like Ayesha, people who were failed like Logy and people who were broken like Miruca. It expected you to see these people for who they were and accept them as people worth life and love. The world of the 'Mysterious' series has no place for people like that - only 'good' people who want to 'become better'. And nowhere is this more obvious than in the setting of this game, a dream utopia where 'good people' with 'good dreams' can take forever to achieve them. And this is arguably fine. It's comfy and chill and ふわふわ and all that. I also recognise that Dusk was born during and out of the 2011 disasters and it's unfair and impossible to expect them to consistently revisit that trauma just because I find it more compelling. oh well, I suppose. Play Blue Reflection Second Light."

I never played this game as a youth; I was to terrified of anything even remotely hellish because I was a dumb coward child. I've beaten it multiple times since on both PC and PS1. III may be more replayable and fun and II may be more challenging and vast but no game has come close to matching the tone of this. Its just you (and some friends if you play online, I have not), a dying village of weirdos and 16 floors of nightmares and hell. The character creation and equipment being entirely up to your choices reminds me of Dark Souls in a sense. Very possibly my favorite in the series, its a shame the name is tainted by way of Activision Blizzard's horrendous workplace abuses to the point that its impossible to recommend.