Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love

A unique gaming experience that owners of the 360 and PS3 should be jealous of. Sakura Wars: So Long My Love offers Wii owners and fun and polished title with memorable characters, great music, and stellar gameplay.

All in all, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is a worthy addition to Wii's library.

One that shouldn't be missed.

Sakura Wars ~So Long, My Love~ is a great game in its own right. It sports NISA's best localization to date and has truckloads of replay value to boot.

It's a coming of age story that seems aimed at a younger crowd, but that didn't stop us being captivated by the characters and ultimately moved by the sentimental dramas played out.

This is one of the few times when a game does something so different it will make or break the game entirely, but if it is your thing, it will be hard to beat when it comes to overall quality.

Yes, the dialogue can be trite and vapid, but Sakura Wars goes much deeper than a simple "dating sim" -- Western gamers really haven't seen this mix of real-time, visual-novel storytelling and giant-mech strategy before.

Flawed, but this is a unique, rewarding experience. [Apr 2010, p.85]

All in all I can recommend this game to hardcore anime fans. It's a pretty cool game with a deep storyline, nice high-quality cutscenes and a stunning atmosphere. Be aware, if you don't want to click through lots of dialogue, you should keep your hands off this game.

It's been five years, but Sakura Wars aged rather well. A great mix of visual novel and SRPG, charming characters, several endings and a great gameplay; one of the best games on the genre both for PS2 and Wii.

Yes, it's campy and silly in parts, and yes, it's not something many western audiences are going to be used to. However, I feel that Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is definitely worth the look.

Despite the lackluster combat options, the overall story and characters of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love were more than enough to keep my interest over the course of the game.

If you like strategy RPGs then you owe it to yourself to check this 20+ hour game out. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love will be one of the freshest experiences you've had in the genre for a while and shouldn't be avoided because of the word "dating sim."

A fantastic game. It has some very solid writing, a great set of characters, interesting (if easy) battles, and great replayability. Strange artifacts from the porting process dog the game, but not so much as to greatly affect my feelings towards it.

Sakura Wars So Long My Love is an interesting Visual Novel fused with strategic Jrpg elements. The cast is well characterized with so many different girls to interact with. Battles are always challenging but with a good Jrpg degree you can overcome any hardships. The bad thing is that the game lasts just 15 hours and the control system has not been rebuilt for the Wii version.

So Long my love is a Strong Tactical RPG, but maybe too old to impress players of this generation.

Certainly Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love has its issues, but it's a game unlike any I've played before, and I applaud NIS America's willingness to finally bring the long-running franchise to North America. [Apr 2010, p.83]

Even if it's not suitable for everyone, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love really deserves a chance. With his astonishing artworks, good amount of variety and entertaining battles, the game will certainly make any otaku happy. Despite the poor 3D and the unbearable sound effects, it definitely is one of the best visual novels so far.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is a rare gem that'll certainly find its niche among anime fans and RPG perfectionists, but I fear that your average gamer won't have the patience for the dialogue and runaround involved in each episode.

The premise may be wild-eyed, but the systems that fire it are robust... Deserves the small but vociferous following it will no doubt find. [Apr 2010, p.95]

Sakura Wars: So Long My Love might be one of the most unlikely western releases of recent years, but the very fact that an English language version of such a niche title exists at all is cause for some cheer.

Dating sims and giant robots really do mix in this compelling cocktail of Japanese obsessions.

Combat is a bit lackluster and more interactive minigames are sorely needed, but those who enjoy zanier, simpler strategy RPGs should appreciate the game's casual tone.

Sakura Wars is quite a strange beast. The combination of the fighting and keeping up social contacts, paired with the familiar Japanese graphical style, makes for an interesting mix. Even though it's far from perfect, this game keeps on surprising.

Interesting in an "only in Japan" fasion but both the dialogue and the battles drag on. And on. And on. Manga fans will like it though. [Mar 2010, p.59]

Sakura Wars might just be too Japanese for us. The dialogues are quite boring and the fights in the game just don’t bring that spark we were hoping for.

Full of energy, humour and zest, but the actual gameplay is far and few between. [Apr 2010, p.85]

A dating simulation combined with more traditional combat is certainly an interesting concept, but with Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love's inconsistent tone, exhausting battle system and poor story, it's trying to be too many things at once.