It may be a bold statement, but in my opinion Sakura Wars is Sega’s best franchise. It’s unfortunate then that they went so long without localizing these titles. Even publisher Working Designs tried to acquire the rights but the house of Sonic kept the games strangely close to their chest. Sakura Taisen debuted on the Sega Saturn in the late 90s to huge success in Japan. It went on to garner six sequels and numerous spin-offs. Unfortunately this was decades ago, and they sort of let the series die. This is why I was extremely excited to learn they were planning a reboot of the franchise on the PS4. Titled simply ‘Sakura Wars’ in the West (in Japan it was Shin Sakura Taisen) this was an unfortunate flop. I’m hot off of completing this PS4 release, and I have a lot to say about it.
The story here picks up a few years after Sakura Taisen V (which we knew as Sakura Wars: So Long My Love.) This is a world of steam engines and advanced technology because of it. Despite this advanced tech the game more closely mirrors the 1940s. The setting is in Japan. The Imperial Combat Revue (as well as those in New York and Paris) was destroyed during the Great Demon War a few years prior. For those not in the know a combat revue is a theater troupe that puts on performances during the day while boarding giant mecha robots to fight off demon invaders by night. The World Luxury Operatic Federation has begun establishing new divisions of the combat revue around the world. They are now organizing a tournament among them and all but the winning team will be disbanded.
Sakura Wars stars newcomer to the franchise Seijuro Kamiyama as he is assigned to revitalize the failing attempts to restore the Imperial Combat Revue. All of this is under the guise of helping to run a theater so as to protect the identities of those enlisted. The main cast is entirely new (although Sakura Amamiya is basically a carbon copy of the original titular character). He must whip the new girls into fighting shape all the while helping manage the performances they put on in the theater. In typical Sakura Wars fashion you control him directly and one of the biggest parts of the game is managing his relationships with his teammates. This is done by participating in events, choosing appropriate dialogue responses, and of course working together with them in battle.
The story is designed to play out like a shoujo anime series. It’s divided into chapters each of which focuses on a character arc of a different character. There are even anime style previews of the upcoming chapter each time you complete one. Some will like this, and others will absolutely hate it. Personally I’ve always been lukewarm on this feature, but it does help Sakura Wars to stand apart. The plot itself focuses on relationships between the characters and many will find it’s too sentimental and saccharine. Personally I liked it though I will be the first to admit I found it worse than most previous franchise installments. It has a ton of references to the overarching story and even features some recurring characters, but it’s enclosed enough you can jump right in with no prior knowledge.
One of the most unusual aspects of Sakura Wars is the fact that it’s one of the few RPGs where you spend more time outside of battle than in. You move Seijuro throughout various areas of the city in completely 3D environments. They’re generally very enclosed, and the game world is small, but this was not a major issue. The environments are intimate, and you really feel as if you are existing inside them after a while. Generally you have a series of side quests to complete which consist almost entirely of interacting with the main cast. This increases affection levels which not only effects the plot but also the battle system. Additionally you can also collect bromides, and secondary characters have their sub plots to follow as well. Of course you can bypass all this and just move from one main objective to the next should you so choose.
These interactions have a lot of variety to them. Sometimes you’ll simply need to speak with characters. During dialogue you’re given choices on how to respond and doing so appropriately will raise their trust levels. Other times you’re completing small tasks such as finding items or tracking characters down. Some of these have time limits with a counter rapidly depleting. What’s interesting is that sometimes what seems like a good answer or solution isn’t always the best. My least favorite of these interactions is the tete a tete encounters. These are usually romantically charged and kind of strange. You’re tasked with looking at specific things during these sequences as well as choosing the correct answers. It gets very suggestive in true visual novel form. It’s not my cup of tea, but they raise trust significantly so these do serve a purpose.
Unfortunately the one thing I was really disappointed in was the battle system. That’s a shame because I’m a huge fan of RPGs, and I feel Sega really dropped the ball here. They did away with the classic turn based strategy elements and instead enemy encounters are action based. You move and attack in real-time. It just feels soul-less, and it’s made clunky by the fact that the characters are onboard gigantic mecha robots. You have two different basic attacks; fast or strong. You can chain these together for different effects. Unfortunately button mashing is the best method here. For most of my time in Sakura Wars I didn’t have to use much strategy at all. I hit the two buttons in rapid succession and won, easily.
You will however need to rely on strategy later, but the beginning is a real slog. You basically move from area to area destroying all foes which then unlocks the path forward. Rinse, lather, and repeat. Your mecha can speed boost without restriction so I found myself purposely zooming through most areas. The controls are stiff and clunky when moving. What makes this fact worse is that you’ll have to do some light platforming in most stages. It really slows the action to a crawl, and causes a lot of needless frustration. Several combat scenarios take place on narrow ledges and considering the fact that your characters can be knocked backwards, and move forward when attacking is downright frustrating. When you fall you only take a little damage before being placed back in the action, thankfully.
I also have issue with the lack of RPG elements here. Your characters don’t gain levels, nor do they use equipment. They have super moves that are accessible when you’ve collected enough power orbs, and that’s about it. You also do not have direct control over more than one character at once. Generally you have one partner, and the AI takes over duties for them. You can switch between them, and will need to do so sometimes, but generally I found this to be a waste of time. Combat just never feels right here. The only plus side is that the objectives change during the combat revue games where you’re tasked racking up points by defeating enemies. You’re competing against another team (controlled by the AI) during these segments, but mad dashing around to defeat foes first is really rewarding and fun.
If I’m honest I wish the rest of the game was more like these sections. Combat just isn’t very fun, and can be mind numbing at times. What I do like is the fact that as you perform larger combination attacks you can temporarily raise the stats of you and your teammate. This is also where the social aspects of the game come into play. By raising trust outside of battle you get various bonuses during combat when paired with said girl. It’s a great way to tie the visual novel elements into tangible gameplay, and it’s one of the series best strengths. This aspect is carried over and is just as functionally great as it has ever been. This is even despite the new focus on action over classic RPG elements.
Graphically the game is a bit lacking. The anime style is pleasant and the character models look nice enough. I was impressed with how light sheens off of the leather parts of the characters’ uniforms and clothes. Unfortunately the environments can be very bland, and sometimes barren outside of battle. What’s worse is that it often runs at a sub 30 frames per second. It looks pretty awful in motion. Battles actually fare better with better art for the backgrounds. The framerate even holds steadier which is impressive considering how many enemies can be on-screen at once. The soundtrack is pretty decent. Many of the different area themes are forgettable, but the theater track will get stuck in your head. The main theme (which is a rendition of the classic from the original) is amazing and always gets me pumped.
