Sakura Wars

 PlayStation 4
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Apr 28, 2020
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 174 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 118 out of 174
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 174
  3. Negative: 30 out of 174
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Zeydlitz
    Jun 30, 2020
    4
    Badly designed combat of this game made it only half-good. Social part is ok, sometimes even good. but combat is as bad as 0/10. Its repetitive, unintuitive, and no fun (and you must get S rating with all girls on all missions).
  2. Steyraus
    Mar 13, 2021
    4
    Wanted to love it, cute girls and mechs should be awsomr. But it long winded, pretentios and frankly boring.
  3. Mossyrocks
    Apr 29, 2020
    4
    This game really just wants to be a harem anime instead of a game. While the action parts of the game are fun, even if they are simple and repetitive, the character interactions range from weird to creepy with the grown man protagonist having to reassure (and often flirt with) a bunch of self conscious teenage girls and melodrama bogs the story down.
  4. klkevinkl
    May 8, 2020
    3
    This is a disappointing reimagining of a series that no one asked for. While the dating/social elements are back, they are far more superficial with less choices and options, so they no longer feel like you are taking part in an actual conversation. The open roaming areas are a nice touch compared to the menus, but the actual combat aspects of the game are spread out way too far apart. InThis is a disappointing reimagining of a series that no one asked for. While the dating/social elements are back, they are far more superficial with less choices and options, so they no longer feel like you are taking part in an actual conversation. The open roaming areas are a nice touch compared to the menus, but the actual combat aspects of the game are spread out way too far apart. In lack of allies in combat essentially turns the game into a beat em up much like Dynasty Warriors, but with only one ally with you on the map. The mecha aspects of the game also feel very forced. If you are looking for a good beat em up game, I suggest you drop this and just get Warriors Orochi instead.… Expand
  5. laky
    May 6, 2020
    2
    the game has graphics unacceptable for a ps4 game. at this price point i think the developer should be ashamed of not striving to provide a game at ps4 visual level. shocking!
  6. mokinono45
    Oct 24, 2021
    3
    To be honest, I don't know if the game directly out of the disc is considered finished, as it's so badly done I don't think it's complete. The battle system isn't as good as Ocarina of time, a game made 20 years prior. It's monsters needed a lot more work, and seemed to have been rushed without much thought.

    Your choices don't really matter to the story, for example, you have the option    To be honest, I don't know if the game directly out of the disc is considered finished, as it's so badly done I don't think it's complete. The battle system isn't as good as Ocarina of time, a game made 20 years prior. It's monsters needed a lot more work, and seemed to have been rushed without much thought.

    Your choices don't really matter to the story, for example, you have the option to tell Anastasia she can't rejoin the team, only to have your members (who take orders from you) override you. But this game's selling point is character interaction...but it's so heavily forced it feels awkward to play.

    There are no meaningful RPG elements in this game, such as upgrades or progression. Every level starts you from zero which makes your choices outside of battle pointless from a progression standpoint. Again...you're not rewarded for doing the right things, but just forced to play a certain way.

    There are several moral standards such as traitors and black magic which are played for laughs I guess? This makes the game seem tone deaf and as if the script was not proof read or was written by a clueless intern. Something which has cultural and moral dimensions should not be ignored when a competent writer could easily present these topics without assuming his audience are mindless teenagers. (For example, instead of Anastasia shooting Reji, have her hit him with a comically large prop back stage.)

    Sakura never develops as a character and never progresses beyond her basic level. She loses her development anytime the plot needs pointless drama. She even undoes her own character development later on in the game when she goes back into time. Any chance of being epic or even relatable is thrown out because, she has to maintain the same complexes. Happy until a problem arises, then cry a lot, then go, "I care about people" and win the day!

    Hatsuho and Clarice are both excellent characters, which is the only reason this game gets a 3 instead of a 2. They show how lighthearted progression can easily be done.

    Azami is a frick'n ninja who can summon monsters. Except this does nothing for the game and never means anything. Azami is capable of much more than she is allowed to because...who ever made this game cannot think outside of very bland anime tropes. Why create possibilities which are interesting only to throw them out? Again, utter incompetence

    There are 4 series of mecha groups...why not make more? Why not add 4 more chapters to the game and develop things more? This game feels rushed, played way to safe and is inconsistent in it's tone. For example, the Shanghai team runs a restaurant, which is cool, so why don't the other teams do stuff? Again, it's played off for laughs instead of actually developing characters. (also why can I get them to join me? seriously make this game into a waifu collector)

    Finally, Kamiyama, the main character. He is shown to be worthless and a coward, but for some reason he's made Captain. The tone of the game doesn't make sense at all, it's as if Kamiyama isn't allowed to be himself and is a slave to the story. Sometimes he's not attracted to girls then he's leering at them, like how a 14 year old things about women. Then the whole world is about to end and we have sacrifice people to save Tokyo. This game sometimes feels more like a Shonen Manga, wherein saying "friendship" and "try harder" over and over again replaces character development.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

61
#61 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 62
  3. Negative: 2 out of 62
  1. GameMAG
    Sep 14, 2020
    80
    Sakura Wars has its drawbacks, and it is not only a weak combat system with forced battles in the championship, but also some templating, the length of some elements and spoilers-announcements between episodes. But all this is offset by deeply developed characters, beautiful animation and good humor. It is one of the best games of the genre in the last few years and the best that could happen to the series.
    Read full review
  2. LaPS4
    Sep 8, 2020
    78
    Sakura Wars is the return/presentation of one of the most iconic series in the Japanese videogame industry. Dating simulator, visual novel, interactive anime and real-time combat system are the basics of this unique project. Sega is ready to captivate the world with its most daring game until the date. But, is the world ready?
    Read full review
  3. Gamer Escape
    Jun 10, 2020
    70
    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.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »