Sakura Wars

Sakura Wars is an easy title to recommend to anyone looking for a layered game world populated by a cast of memorable characters. However, those who prefer a more immediately rewarding adventure will likely get exhausted by its story-heavy setup.

Sakura Wars is a game for exactly one playthrough, a genre-melding experiment where dialogue, dating and combat are mixed in equal parts.

Those who already enjoy the series or this style of action-RPG meets dating simulator will still have a fun experience and find a good game to play here. Despite the faults with pacing or mechanics I may have discovered along the way, it won’t be enough to scare away this existing audience. But in a more general sense, unfortunately, Sakura Wars fills a need for a part of its player audience that, no matter how I look at it, isn’t something that feels right. Especially when you consider the decades of hard work the women of Takarazuka have put in, only to be attributed to this. It makes me hope that somewhere, someday, there can be a Sakura Wars without so much of those other moments. Maybe it could still be a dating simulator, just a more consensual-feeling one.

Sakura Wars may lack depth in combat but that’s ultimately secondary to its storytelling and lovable characters, which it delivers with a big dose of anime heart. [Issue#176, p.75]

Combat is fine and functional, offering enough of a distraction from the constant back and forth that makes up the “adventure” portion of the story. That is bound to be perfectly fine to those that have a passion and patience for the genre and I’m sure they’ll enjoy what Sakura Wars offers. I just wish there was more to see and do in what amounts to be a Jules Verne-inspired vision of Jazz-age Japan. I desperately wanted to break away from the confining linearity of it all. There’s a lot of artificiality here, from vendors who sell you items despite there being no currency, the reuse of still images in the story segments, and the lack of any meaningful upgrades or additional moves to use during fights with demons. For all its flash and flair, Sakura Wars doesn’t go far enough beyond its reach.

Sakura Wars is more an interactive anime than a proper computer game and could benefit from more gameplay choices, but in the end, it is, kind of miraculously, really fun to play.

Sakura Wars is not for everyone, but if you tune into its specific kind of weirdness, you'll definitely end up having a blast. If not for its superficial combat, this would've gotten a higher score.

I’ve had a soft place in my heart for Sakura Wars since I was first introduced to the series a decade ago. I personally lament the change to an action game, especially since it seems to make it feel a bit more dialogue-heavy without the lengthy strategy sections to balance out the gameplay. However, Sakura Wars has always been about the characters, interacting via L.I.P.S., and experiencing some insane, over-the-top anime antics. In that respect, the new Sakura Wars recaptures the spirit of the earlier entries and is a perfect bit of RPG comfort food to brighten your soul.

My time playing Sakura Wars mirrored the way the Combat Revue grew and changed through the game. Much like Seijuro seeing his team for the first time, I was skeptical that Sakura Wars could adequately pull off what it set out to do. But as I kept playing and the women grew into their roles, I began to warm to it. By the time the curtain fell, I was cheering for the team just as hard as everyone in-game was. The flaws of Sakura Wars are obvious, though a strong focus on melodrama and spectacle makes it a lot easier to gloss over the game's weak points. There's nothing out there quite like Sakura Wars, and if you stick with them, there's a good chance this cast of oddballs will worm their way into your heart too.

Sakura Wars isn’t the return fans were hoping for, but it’s still one worth seeing and playing. For all the flaws the new action hack and slash combat and scatter-brained storytelling entail, the character interactions, visual novel elements and sound design all show how much potential the new take on the series has.

This just isn’t the grand revival of the Sakura Wars franchise I was hoping for, and I’m sure that most other longtime fans will feel the same. As for newbies, there’s some enjoyment here, but it just doesn’t measure up to other major releases on the market right now.

The cocktail of genres proposed by SEGA can be considered an experiment that was only half successful, also because of an overly repetitive narrative and excessively stereotyped characters.

When it wants, the Sakura Wars reboot can deliver excellent combat and a story that's both compelling and emotionally sound. Unfortunately, the game spends way too much time wallowing in cheap sophomoric humor to truly make the most of its strengths.

Sakura Wars features a loveable cast of characters and pleasantly easy mech hack-and-slash combat. However creepy and decidedly overbearing the romantic sections of Sakura Wars are, the cutesy characters make this game what it is: a simplistic but enjoyably stylish romp around Tokyo. It's not going to be a memorable tale, but this Sakura Wars is an enjoyable adventure while it lasts.

Sakura Wars is an enjoyable revival of the iconic series, presenting a fascinating blend of genres. Unfortunately, it far too often falls victim to tired tropes and writing which treats its excellent female cast as little more than objects. Still, if you're a sucker for engaging stories, wacky combat and a strange, unusual world I recommend giving Sakura Wars a try.

Sakura Wars represents an ambitious new start for the franchise, one that might not be to everyone's tastes. While its mediocre combat and dialogue-heavy design may leave some players disengaged, its fabulous presentation, pleasing visuals, delightful characters, and histrionic melodrama will delight others. Perhaps most importantly, it offers the franchise a bright future bursting with potential. Encore!

Sakura Wars (2019) is a fresh start for the long-dormant series and understands what made them great for the most part. It has its fair share of downfalls and still very much feels like a work-in-progress in de-rusting what aspects of the Sakura Wars franchise it wants to keep and let go. Despite my gripes with its leap to an action RPG for its small battle sections and how the overall story leaves off on an incomplete note, it manages to revitalize the incredible, comfortable atmosphere Sakura Wars games bring in their wake. There are refinements to be made around the edges, for sure, should a follow-up game ever come and I believe the foundation laid out in Sakura Wars (2019) is solid enough to pave the way for something truly special.

Sakura Wars is far from being perfect. It does, however, have charm, and that goes far. With its amusing character interactions and dramatic scenes, it keeps you eager to discover what’s going to happen next.

Sakura Wars is a blend of adventure, visual novel, dating sim and action game. Trying to blend all these different types of gameplay together to create a dramatic adventure is a tricky tightrope to balance, but the game succeeds more than it doesn’t.

Made with care and potentially interesting even for those who do not know the mechanics that distinguish it, Sakura Wars has a charm all its own, not without undeniable limits. The important thing, if you want to get closer, is to understand the thematic and gameplay elements that give substance to the whole experience.

The soft reboot of Sakura Wars leaves much to be desired but it is an adequate experience that accomplishes what it ultimately set out to do. It's a decent blend of multiple genres but does not particularly excel at any of them. The setting and backstory are interesting, but unfortunately, Sakura Wars did not fully utilize them to their advantage.

From a certain point of view Sakura Wars is an anachronistic game, made for a specific audience that has evolved over time. The ease and repetitiveness of the title's gameplay overwhelms the overall quality, despite good art direction.

Quotation forthcoming.

Sakura Wars doesn't completely fulfill what was expected. Without being a disaster, its story is slow and its battles are too simple. It builds on the popular LIPS system to deliver conversations that are the backbone of a game that can delight anime fans and not many others.

Sakura Wars is a visually appealing and fun game to play overall. While the gameplay leaves much to be desired, it's still a great entry for newcomers to the franchise.

Sakura Wars is an entertaining fusion of dating sim elements and button mashing action, but it's held back by tired anime tropes and some disappointingly underdeveloped characters. The overarching story may be painfully predictable, but there's still waifu-chasing fun to be had here, and the combat is enough to keep the otherwise relaxed pacing in check.

SEGA clearly didn't want to go all out with Sakura Wars. And it's a shame as the game will probably be most of Western gamers' first introduction to the series. The game has an interesting main story, fun main characters and and its steampunk backgrounds are beautiful. But the dating sim parts are a chore, there aren't enough action scenes and the game as a whole looks like a PS3 game. As things stand, Sakura Wars is probably destined to stay a niche franchise in the West. And that's too bad.

Sakura Wars’ characters and delightfully camp stylings make for a mostly entertaining anime revue, but its dull mech sections and occasional forays into creepiness diminish an otherwise slick presentation.