Gamers have definitely been on a roller coaster of emotion these last few months, with so many classics returning, being remade or rebooted and the list just keeps growing. Sega’s beloved steampunk series Sakura Wars returns with the sixth installment, providing a big dose of nostalgia and winning over new hearts.
Sega’s Sakura Wars first appeared on the Saturn in 1996, giving players a new type of adventure that was more of a dating sim mixed with real time strategy. Set in the Taishō era of Japan, it follows the story of Ichiro Ogami and the all-female Flower Division of the Imperial Combat Revue, who must save Tokyo from demons.
The episodic storytelling allowed players to believe they were staring in the actual episode of the anime. The series legacy spawned four extra games,a stage show, food products, a manga and anime series. Now it returns fourteen years after previous entry Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love with a new game and anime.
(Image: Sega)
Set twelve years after the events of the last game, this new tale serves as a soft reboot, allowing for a new fan base but also expanding the lore. The narrative stays heavily planted in its roots, with a young captain leading a band of female pilots. It introduces Seijuro Kamiyama – Ichiro Ogami’s spiritual successor, who has been ordered to assist Tokyo’s new Imperial Combat Revue’s Flower Division squad.
Fans are instantly treated to nostalgia from the original games as the legendary venue the Great Imperial Theater returns alongside former Flower Division member Sumire Kanzaki. As the story progresses players will find themselves forming bonds with each member of the Flower Division with the odd battle here and there with demons.
(Image: Sega)
Visually, Sakura Wars is a gorgeous game. The environments are well designed, adding layers of exploration filled with lively NPCs. The character models designed by Tite Kubo really exude emotion, mirroring their anime counterparts during heartfelt cutscenes. The anime-inspired visuals with expressive Japanese voice acting are backed with brassy-based melodies created by the composer of the original anime series, Kohei Tanaka. There are a few anime cutscenes thrown into the mix, these are gladly welcome for battle scenes, but the CG scenes work well without it.
What I do find charming are the efforts to feel like as much of an anime as it can, with additions like ending every chapter with “next time on Sakura Wars” sequence. As a huge portion of the game is focused on story, there should’ve been voice acting throughout – even for NPCs – as the repetition of reading dialogue and clicking responses gets old fast.
(Image: Sega)
The story mode serves as a prequel of the anime, allowing fans to play out a new story arc. Its plot is almost entirely driven by players exploring newly appointed captain Seijuro’s relationships with the five other female characters. Each mission is divided into episodes focusing on a different member of the team. Players will play out character-to-character interactions that can either build trust or break it.
For all those situations, Sakura Wars brings back its LIPS mechanic, the Live Interactive Picture System. Players will have to choose Seijuro’s response from an option of moral boosting words. Each option will be timed and choosing nothing will result in Seijuro staying silent, which might be the right call at points. Every response will result in a different reaction, some very different to what I expected. Depending on what you pick, a corresponding jingle may pop up showing if a person liked your response or not,
There are a few different forms of LIPS used in character-to-character interactions. For instance, rather picking from multiple answers, players may be prompted to pick how loudly Seijuro responds to a comment. There are a few timed adventure missions as well, ranging from simple tasks like finding cleaning equipment to searching for someone’s child. There is loads of dialogue but the majority of it doesn’t have an effect on the main story.
All the trust you gain with each of the five heroines is represented on a cute stage by little models. The more the trust you have, the closer the models move down the stage towards you. There’s also some extra content after the credits available for those you have a high amount of trust with. Sakura Wars does a fantastic job of immersing players in a real anime by letting the player really live a story filled with quirks and charms needed to make it work.
Sakura Wars has always been split between romance and battle, and behind all of Seijuro’s drama there’s a battle being fought against demons. Sega have left behind the original tactical turn-based system that the series is known for, switching to real time fights.
At the climax of each chapter players will get to control the Flower Division mech in a hack and slash campaign which slightly resembles Dynasty Warriors. Each mission will see players always control Seijuro’s personalised model partnered with one member of the Flower Division at a time, often depending on who the main character of the episode is.
Each level is packed with enemies designed to favour the the Flower Division member you are paired with.. Sakura will face more melee based enemies while Clarissa will shoot them down with her magic. Combat looks amazing, and each attack pops with vibrant effects leading to so much beautiful chaos.
(Image: Sega)
Most of the levels feel pretty repetitive, and it feels like each map is the same, just following one linear path. Fighting hordes of enemies will be fun to start off with, but since enemy AI doesn’t offer much difficulty (even for hardy foes), battles can quickly turn into a mashing fest. It also would’ve been nice to pick what members of the the Flower Division you want to partner with.
Gameplay is straightforward, and players have two melee buttons which can be used to create combos. There’s a special move button, which I recommend saving for the tougher enemies as it takes long to charge. Each special move has a stylish cinematic cutscene that never gets old for each character. The main novelty in combat is being able to dodge attacks at the right time, allowing players to enjoy a temporary slow motion effect and dish out damage.
Players can’t modify their mech at all, with ability stats staying the same throughout the story, which is a shame after the depth placed on the story. Sakura Wars is so story driven the players might forget the action packed mecha fights which seem to be an afterthought. It was disappointing putting in hours of character interaction only to play battle campaigns that last just 10-15mins at a time. The balance isn’t there.
Sakura Wars does well at immersing players in an actual anime as opposed to just playing its story. The depth Sega has gone to in giving players an intimate experience with the Sakura Wars story and cast is certainly welcomed. But I was let down by the overwhelming amount of story phases of the game, with dialogue sections lasting for way longer than they should, only to be rewarded with a short skirmish.
There’s plenty of replay value, and hardcore fans will relish trying to get all the multiple endings. You shouldn’t expect an high octane action RPG, but rather a real life romantic novel filled with in-depth emotion and over the top scenes.
Sakura Wars is out now on PS4 for £49.99
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