Sakura Wars (2019) Retrospective: Celebrating 5 Years of Drama and Action!

[@MagillanicaLouM]

This was my proper intro to the series and still love it. Made Sakura Wars not just one of my favorite Sega thing but gaming franchise in general. Looking forward to more and hoping the signs of another game are true

[@mi2-c035]

This game has special vibes, it's like Shenmue or Like a Dragon: cool to hang out in this world. The visuals and character designs aged like a fine wine. I'd like to see more exploration in a potential new game, and definitely more minigames.

[@nr2676]

No wonder you had Shenmue & Yakuza vibes in this game, because this game was produced by Toshihiro Nagoshi, and RGG Studio helped with cutscenes.

[@Bullman422]

I got this game awhile back but didn't play it until a few weeks ago. I'm really liking it a lot and hope that the series will continue.

[@knuclear200x]

This is the ONLY Sakura Wars I've ever played, because it's finally a genre I like. Otherwise, I've only seen one of the anime. Also Anastasia was my waifu

[@starblaze27]

I quite enjoyed this game. I too have been a fan of the series since it first came out so I got this game quickly when it came out. While it was different to the others, I still felt the spirit of the series in it so to me it was a wonderful game. I too would love to see a sequel come in at some point.

[@Flashshadow]

Man, I wish I had discovered Sakura Wars during my younger years. I enjoyed the 2019 title well enough and I wouldn’t be opposed to a sequel. But, there are so many characters and stories from past games that I would love to experience… 😤

[@oratank]

well you still can dc emulater has 1-4 ps2 has 1remake 3,5 also people from Taisho Romanization already translate 2 games now at part 3

[@Ichi108]

Thanks!

[@Flashshadow]

Man, I really underestimated the extent of the game’s creative team… 😲 I’d love to recruit an artist that specializes in drawing mechs… 😅

[@nr2676]

Keichi Matate who designed mechs for this game, designed also vehicles (tanks) for Valkyria Chronicles 4. The mechs from older games in series were designed by Hidenori Matsubara (Neon Genesis Evangelion).

[@SonicKick]

I always felt that SW 2019 wasn't an amazing game, but it's a very memorable one. I do wish it was successful enough to get a sequel cause I loved the cast and wanted to see where the story went after the anime. Also Kubo's designs I always love and I would hope they'd bring him back for future games. And the other guest artist I appreciated in lore building because it made it feel like each character was from different countries, which I assume was the point.

[@matheu6848]

Now I’m here as a new fan of the series, I started by sheer curiosity playing the first game that was translated in the sega Saturn last year, somehow I really like it despite the tactical gameplay being so shallow imo (understandable from a game that have 20+ years), I also played Sakura wars 2019, I’m so anxious to play the rest as well when the English patch is ready.

[@sagittariusseiya8310]

Happy New Year.

[@Joe-bepop]

I played this game last year an I thought it was great and hilarious although the combat was a bit simplistic. The OST is also amazing and I listen to it frequently.

[@nr2676]

If Sega plan make new game in series (and according to the leaks they probably developing new game), there is many things to fix: - they MUST hire Ouji Hiroi atleast as a supervisior - they must bring back characters from previous games, even as a NPC - they must do something with artstyle, go back to Hidenori Matsubara + Kosuke Fujishima (which is unfortunately very unlikely, because of scandal) or change game engine because i don't know it's Hedgehog Engine issue or Tite Kubo artstyle simply don't transfer well to the 3D models (those ,,doll faces'', this was also big problem in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, this engine clearly was build ONLY for Sonic The Hedgehog games). I would like to see new Sakura Wars game in similar art directon and graphic from ... Sakura Wars Pachislot (seriously this thing from 2017 looks so much better than PS4 game) - go back to the turn-based system from older games, and update ARMS to BliTZ battle system from Valkyria Chronicles series, more map and objective varietry, personally i'm not a fan of action games, there is too much anime games in musou genre on the market, they should stick with the strategy gameplay, because Sakura Wars was always series about teamwork, but how you can utilize teamwork when you play most of the game solo ? - all girls should be playable in any moment of the game, like in previous games, not only Kamyiama + one girl - add levels when you fight in famous places for each city like in previous games, for example: Eifel Tower in SW3, or Time Square in SW5, in Shin Sakura Wars you never feel you protect city, because you just fight only in 2 types of map: factory and cave, probably from low budget reasons (maps copy pasted from Sonic Forces). There are Berlin, London and Shanghai Combat Revues in this game, so why not add maps when you protect not only Tokyo but also those cities ? Would be amazing when you fight with demons near Brandenburg Gate, or Big Ben ? - ditch platforming elements, this is not Sonic The Hedgehog game dear Team Sonic - bring back the dependence of girls' statistics on your decisions in the Visual Novel segment, in Shin Sakura Wars your decisions in VN segment don't have any impact to the girls effectiveness in combat, aside of morale, which is useless in this game, because you fight only alone - bring back time managment from previous games (clock system from older games, not calendaar system from Persona which is horrible in my opinion), and ,,missable'' events for better replayability in New Game +, in Shin Sakura Wars aside of endings i don't saw a proper motivation to beat this game more than once - bring back story with dedicated chapter for each character in Combat Revue like in previous games, give them more development, not only for Sakura in PS4 game, because rest of cast (especially from other revues, like Berlin) feels like walking stereotypes from anime - don't push main heroine as a ,,canon choice'' for the MC, previous Sakura Wars games never did that and gave each girl equal chance to shine - bring back character minigames from previous games - add more types of LIPS for example: conversation mode from SW3 - dating with Sumire unlocked after clearing game, just like Ratchet in SW5 So Long My Love - bring back Theater Mode from SW2, SW3, and SW5 - better proportions battle to VN segments, if this series want to be more succesfull in the West, they must not only improve gameplay, but also add more of time when you actually a play a game, not only read. For example: they can add sub chapters (1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-BOSS), each one with own map, ended with boss map, something similar did SMT Devil Survivor on DS/3DS, and it was good - add better villains, because i don't care about those in PS4 game. This was always a biggest issue of this series (cartonish villains), but in previous games they gave me atleast a proper reason to kill them, but in PS4 they don't did that. All villains were forgettable in PS4 game. - they should localize and remaster older games to give some hype in the West, otherwise it will be another commercial failure in our region like So Long My Love. People don't like start from 5th or 6th game in series. Ofcource multiplatform release (Switch and Steam are platforms suited for Visual Novel games now). Yeah i know there is A LOT text to translate, but they always can buy fan translations or use AI.

[@sagittariusseiya8310]

Exactly.

[@ROJM-cc1gp]

The last use of Sakura Taisen was a crossover with SEGA's star horse arcade game. And the crossover was exclusively with the original Sakura Taisen team. That was two years ago now but the last one because there were two crossovers was last year. Tony is the designer for the characters in 3D but the game also includes original anime and art from the original series.

[@nr2676]

@@ROJM-cc1gp There was also DLC for Super Robot Wars 30 with main characters from SW1-5, also with original artstyle (Kosuke Fujishima). There was also crossover with PUBG Mobile in Japan, also with original Hanagumi. So they probably ditched Sakura Wars rebot completely. I hope Sakura Wars characters will be represented for first time with Sonic (Sonic Crossworlds). If i remember, Sakura Wars is still the only one Sega franchise who never was in any of crossover with Sonic The Hedgehog in the West.

[@ROJM-cc1gp]

To be fair, that was both to do with Sakura Taisen's anniversary back in 21, so they were always going to use the original cast. What I mentioned was the collab that started in 23 and continued with a new event last year. Thats more of an indication since they used fully 3D graphics akin to Shin Sakura Taisen for some of the characters using Tony's design. As for crossovers, Sakura Taisen is not the only game not to crossover with sonic. There's plenty of SEGA ips not included in crossovers for various reasons. None of SEGA of america's IPs has been in a crossover like Vector Man, Kid Chameleon, Ecco etc. Problem is SEGA has too many IPS that they cant include them all. Second issue, its down to the team making the game on who they want in the crossover. For example Sumo Digital mostly wanted characters who were big during the master system days and a few favourites from the dreamcast era mainly Ryo. They werent interested in Yakuza because none of them played the game. The guy who was involved in a recent interview that he wished he included a yakuza character now that he's played some of the games. While Sega japan did their version of a racing crossover game in a SEGA AGES version of Powerdrift but all those characters were mostly from SEGA's arcade 1980s era. The only SEGA crossovers that gave a good balance of their history was SEGA Heroes and a game made by namco called project x zone who not only used some SEGA characters from arcade and console but also included SEGA second party characters (games that was made for SEGA by an outside studio). This is why i keep telling people to stop thinking that SEGA is like capcom, because they will always do the opposite to what people who arent really sega fans want. Mainly a SEGA crossover fighting game. The history shows they always do the opposite. The only time we got one was because no one else was doing one at the time and it was for the saturn, Fighters Megamix which was the first 3D crossover fighter. Things may change with the supergame but again dont hold your breath.

[@SynFritz]

Never had the chance to play it sadly, honestly forgot about it until after I sold my PS4 to a friend. I do hope it gets a sequel (and a port someday).

[@MagillanicaLouM]

Also yeah Sumire really kicks butt at Koi-Koi lol

[@nr2676]

For me the hardest opponent was Reiji. Sumire was not that bad, atleast she don't cheat like Reiji.

[@poetikinjustice]

This one was completely off my radar, but you might have just peaked my interest.

[@KoriMaruGaming]

@@poetikinjustice This game is worth checking out. It usually goes on sale on the PS Store for about $20 or less.

[@nr2676]

For 10-20$ is great deal.

[@poetikinjustice]

@@nr2676 picked it up on $ale for $9. I just started Ys IX, so maybe after that.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

I do agree about the battle system. I actually do think action combat is a good direction for the series, even some older games flirted with the concept like Kobu Knuckle in SW3 or outright made whole game of it like Episode 0. But something more needs to be added to give some sauce. Not really make it so much more complex, the older games were super simple for their style too. But maybe just different objectives and level designs like old game maps. Like allowing maybe playing around with swapping to other members on a different part of the same map to kinda like Valkyria Chronicles (which i also need a new game of). And the enemies could be a little stronger for sure. Oh yeah, bring back multiple super moves, though i know that usually came with mech upgrades dictated by story, so it depends on if they do that goinh forward which, is very likely anyway lol. But yeah what we got is a good base, they just gotta build on it more AND YES BRING BACK CHARACTER MINIGAMES WITH CHIBI SPRITES AND ALL

[@oratank]

fast pace action was nice but it lose interaction from team member that was big part of sakura taisen feeling on battelfield if put all of team on the field then gameplay will be slower

[@ROJM-cc1gp]

Now that Nagoshi's gone any attempts to sabotage the series has been neutralized. After all he was put in charge of the project and it was his great idea not to include Red entertainment. One of the hangups of old SEGA which was also one of their strengths was the internal competition between the teams. Unfortunately the downside of that is when certain teams wouldnt help eachother, or when team member heads ended up running huge parts of SEGA, certain games wouldn't get made. Wonder why JSR hasn't made a comeback despite the fact the IP ended up in RGG Studio? But Super Monkey Ball continued. Because one game was directly created by that studio's founder while the former game wasnt. Same reason with the SEGA Japan SEGA of America war which most people who talk about it only focus on the executive side of things, no one focuses on the developer side of things with SEGA jp teams vs SEGA america developers or the fact that this internal fighting went all the way into the DC era.

[@suketodara]

In the better timeline, these past 5 years have seen sakura wars remake in the new engine, shin sakura wars 2, and they are about to play sakura wars 2 remake with shin sakura wars 3 teased. They also didn't burn the franchise in an over expensive gacha failure.

[@nr2676]

In better timeline (simpler version): Sega don't hired Toshihiro Nagoshi and Hideo Baba. Two walking CEO disasters. They should give this franchise to Ouji Hiroi and Rieko Kodama when she was still alive.

[@zoombig]

The did make a new Sakura wars game bro, that mobile gacha game made by the FGO dev that flopped so hard it died under a year 😂

[@nr2676]

To be honest, this mobile game was TERRIBLE, and had no connections with Sakura Wars franchise . Hideo Baba is a walking disaster, and Delightworks proved they can't make a good game.

[@icdeadpipol]

was really hoping for a Steam release for this game. Unfortunately seems like I'll just have to wait for PS4 emulation to mature later.

[@KoriMaruGaming]

@@icdeadpipol How I yern for a Steam port

[@sagittariusseiya8310]

@KoriMaruGaming Did you got Virtua Fighter collector edition?

[@nr2676]

@@KoriMaruGaming Segata Sanshiro mod hmmm ...

[@mm4750]

How come the rival teams look better than the regular cast?

[@nr2676]

Main cast was designed by Tite Kubo, while rest of characters by guest artists (dudes behind Swort Art Online, Persona, Pokemon, KA-ON, Fist of The North Star, Girls und Panzer). Basically Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or SMT IV situation. Tite Kubo art simply don't fit to Sakura Wars franchise, and new writer don't even tryed develop characters other than Sakura, like old writer who develop every character from main cast equally well. Kubo is mainly Bleach manga autor, which is shonen where most of cast is male, instead of female. Previous art designer - Kosuke Fujishima was known as famous manga artist with atractive womens (Oh My Godess ! and You Are Under Arrest ! manga), and character designer - Hidenori Matsubara was also famous with mecha anime drawnings (Neon Genesis Evangelion). Still bafling me why Nagoshi decided hire shonen manga artists to this game, instead harem / romance and mecha manga artists like in previous games. Probably lack of experience in those kind of games. But seriously, it's probably Tite Kubo artstyle don't fit well with 3D models or Hedgehog Engine 2.0 problem with properly modeling character faces. Outdated engine, who designed mostly for Sonic games in 3D.

[@mm4750]

@@nr2676 Wow. That is quite the info dump. Thanks a lot

[@anchanz]

the sequal was turn into an anime, it was okay.. still a cgi anime kinda wonky looking

[@ROJM-cc1gp]

Sakura Taisen 2019 is seen as a bust, because it failed to relaunch the franchise. The stage show with the new characters did not last long and the mobile phone game spin offs also went no where. Which explains why the brought back the original cast for a collab in the last two years.