Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars: A History, Part 10: Unknown Legacy
Anime & Manga:

Sakura learning the deathblow
The first ST anime was Ouka Kenran or "Cherry Blossom Magnificence", released between December 1997 and July 1998. It's a four-episode OVA; episodes 1-3 tell of the Flower Troupe before the events of Sakura Taisen 1, including how Sakura and Sumire joined the Kagekidan. Episode 4 is a side-story that takes place during ST1.

Gouka Kenran: Reni & Iris on stage
Next was Gouka Kenran or "Rumbling Flower Magnificence", released between December 1999 and December 2000. It's another OVA, which takes place after ST2 and consists of six self-contained episodes of Ogami reminiscing on his experiences in Tokyo with the Kagekidan. Each memory is triggered by some memento he comes across as he packs his things to leave for Paris (in anticipation of ST3).
A 25-episode anime series ran on broadcast TV from April to September 2000. It was based on the story of the first game, but included some unique new scenes and shied away from the heroine-specific relationship subplots that are so often problematic in anime adaptations of games that let the player choose a romance path.

Sakura Taisen TV
The original two OVA series and the TV series in particular are interesting because they became popular among non-Japanese fans thanks to ADV Films picking them up for localization. So it's not uncommon to find Sakura Taisen fans who have never played the video games themselves, or even who never knew that there were video games! The fantastic late-90s animation, voices, music, and storytelling made the Sakura Taisen animes eminently enjoyable whether you had played the games or not.

Sakura Taisen: The Movie
Sakura Taisen: The Movie, is a high-budget theatrical anime production that came out in December 2001. It takes place between ST3 and ST4, and introduces the character of Ratchet Altair, the leader of the New York Kagekidan who would return in STV. The plot is a somewhat bizarre story of a sinister American corporation that is trying to replace the Kagekidan with its own self-piloting robots for profit.
Su-Mi-Re is a one-off OAV episode that commemorates the retirement of Sumire's voice actress, Michie Tomizawa. It was released in December 2002. The story takes place after ST4, and involves Sumire discovering that because her spiritual powers are declining, she needs to retire from the Kagekidan.
Sakura Taisen: École de Paris and Sakura Taisen: Le Nouveau Paris are each 3-episode OVAs, released between March 2003 and March 2005. They tell side stories about the relationships between characters during Sakura Taisen 3, such as how Glycine and Erica met, or how Lobelia was convinced to join the Paris Kagekidan, or how Hanabi has to hide her participation in the Kagekidan from her father.
Sakura Taisen: New York New York is a 6-episode OVA, released between April and August 2007, that takes place after the events of STV. It tells side stories about the characters of the New York Kagekidan that were originally intended to be included in the game proper as adventure chapters.

The Manga
The Sakura Taisen manga has been going since February 2003, with story written by Ouji Hiroi himself and art by Ikku Masa (who does a fine job with his inheritance from Fujishima and Matsubara). The plot is based mainly on the storyline of the original game, but with a melange of elements from other ST properties added in: Kayama from ST2, characters from the stage shows, mechanical designs from Atsuki Chishio Ni, and so on. Nine volumes came out in the original series, released on Koudansha's Magazine ZKC label. A second series that continues the story, with three volumes so far, is being released on the KC Deluxe label. Over the years, the comic has run in the manga publication that mutated from Monthy Shônen Magazine Z, to Magazine Îno, to Monthly Shônen Magazine+.

The bizzare Kanadegumi
Probably the most bizarre development in the Sakura Taisen franchise is the girls' comic Sakura Taisen Kanadegumi which started in 2011. A collaboration with the long-running popular girls' manga magazine Hana to Yume, it reverses the classic ST trope by putting a female protagonist in a troupe full of charming and attractive men. The story is that the heroine Neko Miyabi came to Tokyo in order to join the Hanagumi as a performer, but ended up assigned to the Kanadegumi, the orchestra group. Of course, it turns out that the orchestra is also a secret combat troupe for battling demons. The limited edition of the first volume of the manga came with a short anime DVD. Starting November 2012, Kanadegumi stage performances are being held much in the same vein as the traditional ST live shows. And now an actual anime adaption of the Kanadegumi is nearly out.
Legacy:

Sakura Taisen Kayou Show
The semiannual Sakura Taisen stage shows grew to be as big of a part of the franchise as the games, anime, and manga. If there was any doubt about how seriously the fandom took their idolization of the actresses, consider the hubbub surrounding the retirement of Michie Tomizawa, the voice of Sumire, in 2002. A special, melodramatic farewell stage show was assembled to be her final performance. Sakura Taisen heroines cannot just retire without a fanfare!
The music of Sakura Taisen is, of course, legendary. The slightest clip of incidental music from an inconsequential scene is known to immediately turn a true fan misty, let alone a full-on vocal piece. For some odd reason Sega decided to put the newest version of the Sakura Taisen Song Box on iTunes even though as i've tried to point the series is virtually unknown so this is odd. Here's the link to iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sakura-da-zhan-songubokkusu/id309215135
For a decade, a dedicated Sakura Taisen shop and cafe, the Taishou Romandou, operated daily in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It was crammed full of Sakura Taisen merchandise, organized by heroine. It featured human-sized statues of the characters and Koubu. The staff wore Sakutai cosplay, and apprehensively declined being photographed. At the cafe, a small menu of tenuously character-themed sweets and drinks were available. In the back was a shelf loaded with dozens of guestbooks, every page filled with messages and drawings from fans around the country and around the world.
Influence:
Other series have since successfully blended dating elements into a more standard RPG framework. Thousand Arms, released by Atlus in 1998 for PlayStation, took a less pure-hearted approach, but combined dating and RPG mechanics in a steampunk world. Langrisser 3, another tactical RPG, introduced a ST-like system in which you can develop trust with members of the female cast, culminating in a romance.
Later games added their own RPG/dating hybrid experiences, notably the Ar tonelico series and recent installments of the Persona series. Ar tonelico intersperses visual novel  chapters with the RPG sections, with your trust level directly affecting your combat performance, creating a remarkably Sakutaiesque experience. Its focus on music and the heroines' roles as singers suggest a direct influence. Persona 3 and 4 weave the relationship management more directly into the flow of the story, but also include time management like a traditional dating sim and like Sakutai's night patrol sections.
The closest thing you are likely to see to a Sakura Taisen 6 is... Valkyria Chronicles. Much of the Sakura Taisen team remaining at Sega, headed up by Ryutarou Nonaka and Shuntarou Tanaka, worked on Valkyria. It shows: an alternate-history world with wildly unrealistic machinery powered by miraculous technology. Gridless, pseudorealtime tactical combat. A heavy emphasis on developing relationships outside of battle, and how those relationships come into play on the battlefield. Of course, VC doesn't have any of the dating-sim relationship or time management of ST; all of the character development happens on a rail. Conversely, ST doesn't have any of VC's detailed roster management, training, and equipment upgrading mechanics. But the overall feel of the games is similar: semi- to fully-campy wartime drama with a sentimental bent.
Unfortunately the Sakura Taisen series is well and truly dead or at least a shadow of it's former self with titles like Roman Academy to blame. The true Sakura Taisen 6 may never see the light of day and that is a sad thing. Sega is just a terrible company these days. They ruined Sonic the Hedgehog, and thankfully bringing him back, and now they've ruined such a glorious thing as this series. Little to no advertising was done for Sakura Wars So Long My Love which helped it be dead on arrival. It's just a shame to see the series in the shape it's in but it's always good to look on the glory days of Sakura Taisen.
Well that's it. Now you've read about a series that is basically dead. But that doesn't mean don't care about. No sir it's just the opposite. If your even a little interested buy Sakura Wars So Long My Love nuff said. Have a good day y'all. I'm turning this A History series into video format and i'm gonna rewrite the script a bit so look out for that!
Sources:
The Project S documentary DVD that came with the LE of Atsuki Chishio Ni is invaluable for fans interested in the history of the series.
Kayama's translation guides helped me out a lot whilst play Sakura Taisen 3
The major source goes to Hardcore Gaming 101. The guy there wrote most of the articles so I just edited them and put my own spin on them. Here's the start of his article: http://hardcoregaming101.net/sakurataisen/st1.htm
Social Plugs:
Sakura Taisen 3 Let's Play: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzL9-cVKzkcXNdMRs-tGbZjRS_ksYsN8h&feature=mh_lolz
Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KataGnS?feature=mhee
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorFischer
Tumblr: http://kpfmedia.tumblr.com/
10:12 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars: A History, Part 9: Sidegames

The Sakura Taisen series has had a crap ton of spinoffs and sidegames whilst it's been around. Here's some of the one's that i've found that I think are pretty cool.

Sakura Taisen Hanagumi Taisen Columns - Sega Saturn (1997)
An apparent cash-grab but the surprise is that this is a pretty well-put-together product. On the surface, it seems to just be the classic falling-blocks puzzle game Columns with a Sakutai theme. (The second "Taisen" in the title has different kanji, meaning "competition" rather than "war".) Of course, it includes 1-player and 2-player ordinary Columns modes. But then there's a story mode, in which you choose a heroine and play through normal Sakura Taisen adventure scenes, complete with LIPS dialogues; Columns matches are interspersed with the story. There's also a "Cinderella mode", in which you choose a heroine and she competes with the rest of the cast for who gets to play the title role in the Imperial Revue's performance of Cinderella - as you beat the other heroines, their unglamorous role (such as "tree") is decided.
There is a fair bit of new material in this game: chibi versions of the characters with controllers, reacting to the match; expressive portraits swapping out behind the Columns gems; dedicated illustrations for the story scenes; and so on. Ultimately, a surprisingly rewarding side-disc.

Sakura Taisen Hanagumi Taisen Columns 2 - Dreamcast - (2000)
Released in January 2000, this was the first Sakura Taisen title for Dreamcast. It's basically more of what we saw in Hanagumi Taisen Columns 1, with afew key differences. First, of course, is that it takes advantage of the new Dreamcast hardware for higher-fidelity graphics and fancier animation. Second, it includes the new characters from Sakura Taisen 2. Third, it offers online play using the Dreamcast modem (though the servers have long been turned off, of course). Fourth, and most importantly, it seems to be the first game to use character art by someone other than Kousuke　Fujishima and Hidenori　Matsubara. Because of the consistency in presenting these characters in every other context, it really shows. There's something wrong about seeing the characters you've spent so many dozens (or hundreds) of hours with, drawn by someone kinda, but not quite, like the usual artists.
Otherwise, this is quite similar to the first Hanagumi Taisen Columns. There is a main story mode, a mode in which the heroines compete for a lead role, and ordinary one- and two-player modes.



Ogami Ichirou Funtouki - Dreamcast - (2000)
This game is surprisingly awesome, if only because of how bizarrely meta it is. It was released in February of 2000, and by that time the Sakura Taisen stage shows had become pretty elaborate affairs. The voice cast had transmogrified themselves into a stage cast, performing ever more self-intertwined stories in which they appeared on stage as their characters preparing to put on a play, and then portrayed their characters portraying characters in the play. This, then, is a video game about the putting on of a stage performance with characters who are portrayed by characters who are from a video game about actors who put on stage performances. It is as awesomely self-referential and surreal as it sounds.

It may make more sense to take it chronologically. Sakura Taisen is a series of video games about robot pilots who also perform stage plays. In real life, the voice actors began putting on stage plays in which they portray the robot pilots preparing and putting on stage plays. One of these stage plays was then made into a video game, combining video clips from the real-life performance with regular video game segments as if they are all part of one continuity.

Most of the game is an ordinary Sakutai adventure-part scenario, interspersed with video clips from a real-life performance by the Sakura Taisen voice cast of the original play Benitokage or "Crimson Lizard". After each clip, you get to deal with the behind-the-scenes view of what is going on around the theater, which leads into the next clip. This is a fun thing to get wrapped up in; the clips are actually surprisingly entertaining and well-integrated into the storyline.

Sakura Taisen GB - Geki! Hanagumi Nyuutai! - Game Boy Color - (2000)
Released for Game Boy Color in July of 2000, this game came in a huge variety of different packs. The series was still riding high on the success of ST2, and on the anticipation of ST3. The convenience store Lawson carried a different pack for each of the six original heroines, including a pin and a cell phone strap of that character. The Premium Pack included a T-shirt. The Pocket Sakura pack included a self-contained Tamagotchiesque mini-game, which included a pedometer, and could upload walking progress back to ST GB. And the Game Boy Color pack included a transparent pink Game Boy Color, with a Sakutai motif.
The idea of the game itself is that you are recruited to lead the Flower Troupe for one month, participating in combat practice and doing night watch duty. This means playing a menu-based combat system and primitive LIPS events with the cast. This is one of few ST games where you don't play as Ogami; instead you are yourself, and you actually interact with Ogami during your month of training. The driving goal, in dating-sim fashion, is to manage how you spend your time in order to keep up your various stats: strength, intelligence, spirit, courage, speed, and dexterity. For a Game Boy Color title, the production values are stunningly good. The graphics and music are excellent.


Sakura Taisen GB 2 Thunderbold Sakusen - Game Boy Color - (2001)
Released in December of 2001, this was another Game Boy Color game in which you portray a temporary guest member of the Flower Troupe. It's basically a dungeon-crawling RPG in the vein of early Final Fantasy titles, with some Sakura Taisen touches such as, of course, LIPS events. Each chapter has you wandering a map in a Koubu with one of the ST2 heroines, looking for items and getting in random turn-based battles. The variety of actions you have to choose from in combat is pretty impressive for a game of this sort; each unit has melee, ranged, special, and deathblow attacks. The graphics are once again amazing for the Game Boy Color, especially in the adventure parts. The music is an impressive effort to capture the Sakura Taisen themes and atmosphere in chiptune form.


Sakura Taisen Monogatari: Mysterious Paris - PS2 - (2004)
Now here is an odd game. Originally announced as part of the Sakura Taisen World Project in 2002, along with the rest of the products that were supposed to carry the franchise to great global success, it was finally released in March of 2004. Sakura Taisen Monogatari was meant to be a gaiden (side-story) series, using the settings and characters of the main series, but with different protagonists. Initially, a Tokyo counterpart was meant to be developed alongside this Paris installment, but that game never materialized.

Mysterious Paris takes place after the events of Sakura Taisen 4, and follows the adventures of detective Kojirou Akechi and his sister, Chattes Noires performer Miki Akechi - both are playable characters. The story focuses on a series of mysterious disappearances of Chattes Noires performers, and much of the game plays out in LIPS-based adventure scenarios. The game does introduce a few innovations, such as a life bar (enough bad choices can eventually deplete it and get you a Game Over screen), first-person dungeon crawling, and rudimentary shooting events. It's surprisingly well put-together, considering its peripheral status, with full-on anime sequences and good production values. But it is a bit odd to be running around locations from Sakura Taisen 3, and interacting with its cast of heroines and NPCs, with Ogami and the Koubu nowhere to be found.

Sakura Taisen V Episode 0: Samurai Girl of the West - PlayStation 2 - (2004)
Released in September of 2004, this was the first glimpse fans had of the new Sakura Taisen setting or cast, in preparation for STV. The outlook was notso good. It is generally regarded as a terrible game, and for good reason. The premise is that just before the events of STV, Gemini set out from her home state of Texas to find her destiny in New York, under orders from her mysterious mentor. What follows is a series of jokes about how the klutzy ditz has a miserable sense of direction and ends up in San Francisco instead. She gets wrapped up in trying to protect a girl named Juanita from the antagonists as they make their way across the USA to New York. All this takes place on a curiously botched map, where Illinois is in Missouri and Tennessee is in Minnesota.

The primary gameplay is combat action, controlling Gemini on her trusty horse Rally, as she fights her way through robot enemies with her... katana. That is to say, she gets stuck on geometry, tries to convince the camera to face the right direction, and falls in a pit. It seems that trying to do horseback combat right was a poor choice for the first-ever action title in the franchise. Rally's movements almost never feel natural, and it's downright infuriating to try to get moving in the right direction and accurately swing your sword without bumping into something or getting hit by an enemy or a boulder and thus losing your momentum. The 3D environments are drab, dark, and boring, which isn't helped by how many events take place at dusk or at night. Most battles are a matter of muddling your way toward the newest batch of enemies to appear, then mashing the attack button and listening to Gemini make the same "Yah! Yah! Heyyah!" combo ad nauseum until they are all dead. It also feels pretty stupid to fight robots with a sword on horseback. One is forced to wonder what a proper Koubu-based action combat game could have been like.

Dramatic Dungeon: Sakura Taisen Kimi Aru Ga Tame  - Nintendo DS - (2008)

Released in March of 2008, 4 years after the last Sakura Taisen title, this odd return to the series almost seems like a genuine attempt to rekindle the Sakura Taisen legacy in a new genre. Sega advertisedDramatic Dungeon as if it was a completely original and new genre and franchise, though it's clearly just Shiren the Wanderer mechanics plus Sakura Taisen storytelling. If you're familiar with Shiren, or the Mystery Dungeon series as a whole you'll recognize much of it in this game: random, "Roguelike" dungeons populated by ever-increasing crowds of baddies and ever-mounting hoards of treasure. It has a fast-paced take on turn-based combat. Input is for the most part like an action RPG, but entities on the screen take exactly one action for each of your actions, so you can make things move as quickly or as slowly as you like. Your companions act automatically, attacking monsters, collecting treasure, and disarming traps, among other things. Interspersed with the dungeon crawling are very brief traditional Sakutai adventure scenes, complete with LIPS dialogues. There's a multiplayer mode, in which you can race friends to the deepest level of a dungeon, while casting spells to hinder their progress. Development was done by Neverland Company, a long-running studio with some well-known titles to their name: Estpolis/Lufia, the Shining Force titles on PS2, Rune Factory, and even Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden on Dreamcast, which makes sense considering the Shiren similarities here.

Dramatic Dungeon spends an unusually brief amount of time on storyline for a ST game. It takes place after the events of STV in the year Taishou 18, which would equate to 1929 (in reality, the Taishou period ended at year 15 and gave way to the Shouwa period). Yoneda has retired, promoting Ohgami to commander of the Teigeki. During a performance of The Maid of Orleans by Tchaikovsky, Joan of Arc herself appears; she ends up being the villain of the game. A calamitous event somehow transforms the entire city into a monster-infested labyrinth, and incapacitates the Koubu. The members of the Teigeki have no choice but to delve into the dungeon and investigate. Eventually it is revealed that Paris and New York have suffered similar fates. As the game goes on you move on to playing as Shinjirou, and ultimately you can recruit a party of your choice from the entire cast of 18 heroines.

The real surprise about this game is that it really isn't half bad. Once you get over the oddness of dungeon crawling with your favorite Sakura Taisen characters, it's actually just a quite fun Roguelike with a lot of sentimental value. The combat feels fun, especially when team-up attacks start going off and your teammates are calling out their catch phrases. The character portraits are recycled, but the new pixel sprites and environments are charming. Unfortunately the story scenes are not voiced, save for a very few key lines. If you were in the mood for a dungeon crawl anyway, it might as well be with the ST cast, interspersed with night rounds at the theater just like old times.
Sakura Taisen: Taishou Roman Academy - Browser - (2011)




















So here we are. The latest Sakura Taisen release. Sakura Taisen: Taishou Roman Academy has been presented as the successor to the series. Being a browser game it's also a social game and from what little I know of it the adventure part may have been axed in favor of the battle system making the game a complete strategy rpg. It's even devolved back into the isometric grids of yore for it's gameplay. I don't really have much else to say about this game so heres the trailer for it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NMvqQcjIyWI
Closing thoughts:
These games are kinda awesome except the last one which I despise for probably bringing about the end of the true Sakura Taisen series. The other games I won't be including links to find them so you'll have to hunt them down on your own. My next article, Part 10, will be the last one on Sakura Taisen... I hope not.
Social Plugs:
Sakura Taisen 3 Let's Play: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzL9-cVKzkcXNdMRs-tGbZjRS_ksYsN8h&feature=mh_lolz
Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KataGnS?feature=mhee
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorFischer
Tumblr: http://kpfmedia.tumblr.com/

10:08 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars: A History, Part 8: Sakura Taisen/Wars V

Sakura Taisen V: Farewell, Loved Ones/Sakura Wars V: So Long My Love - PS2/Wii - (2007)

Now were getting into the good stuff or the one game in the series I beg you to try. Sakura Wars: So Long My Love is a fantastic game in it's own right no matter what other fans of the series say and should be welcomed with open arms. So give this article a gander and see how y'all feel.Considering how ST4 pretty clearly wrapped up the storyline of Ogami and the Imperial Revue, and especially the stepping-down of Sumire's voice actress Michie Tomizawa, any new game would need to take on a completely different setting and cast.

 Thus, in keeping with the World Project theme, STV brings a new main character, Shinjiro Taiga, to the New York Combat Revue, and its front organization, the Little Lip Theater. The subtitle is Saraba Itoshiki Hito yo, the Japanese-translated title of the 1940 American novel Farewell My Lovely. And the number in the title is always written with the Roman numeral V, rather than the Arabic numbering of the previous games, slightly distancing it from the main Ohgami storyline and also evoking the word victory. Another difference: instead of being named for flowers, the heroines are named for stars or constellations.

Characters


Shinjiro Taiga
Ogami's nephew. He is a bit less of a man's man, and has less military experience than Ohgami, so his arrival in New York is originally met with disappointment. His samurai spirit, and his actually quite impressive spiritual power, allow him to become the leader of the troupe when Ratchet is rendered incapable. He is enough of a bishounen (pretty-boy) type character to appear on stage in convincing drag. I will not reveal why that's relevant. You'll have to play the game to find out.

Gemini Sunrise
The main heroine of STV, a stereotypical Western cowgirl with a thing for Japanese culture. She takes every opportunity to grill Shinjiro on the details of what life is really like in Japan, and about the samurai way. She also affectionately calls him Shiny in the English version, how adorable. She has a case of rather outrageous multiple personality disorder which causes her to occasionally unknowingly become a sort of vigilante masked superhero. Her scatterbrain tendencies are even more severe than Erica's, with an extreme example being her leaving Texas to set out for New York, only to end up in San Francisco. She pilots a red Star with a katana. If can tell by the end of my rant earlier is my favorite character. Heck she's my favorite character in the whole series... so far.

Sagiitta Weinberg (JP) / Cheiron Archer (EN)
Harlem motorcycle gang leader turned successful lawyer. She fills the role of a Maria type, being older, wiser, and more serious than the rest of the troupe. In almost every situation, she relies upon the guidance of the law, and does what she can to follow it to the letter. While she puts on a cool exterior, she of course does have a softer side. She pilots a black Star with a chain of justice!



Rikaritta Aries (JP) / Rosarita "Rosita" Aries (EN)
A boisterous young bounty hunter from Mexico. She fulfills the role of a sort of Coquelicot/Iris type, with guns. She tends to be bright and cheerful, and is almost singularly fixated on food and mountains of it. She's immediately drawn to Shinjiro and they have a sort of big brother/little sister relationship. She pilots a green Star with twin pistols. Gold gun or Silver gun? Which one you wanna get shot with?

Diana Caprice
A gentle, kind, nurturing resident doctor. Her body is weak, keeping her in a wheelchair most of the time, but her spiritual power is off the charts. It is expected that she does not have long to live, giving her a quiet melancholy similar to Hanabi's. She has a way with nature, maintains a rapport with plants and small animals, and is vegetarian. She pilots a blue Star with... a syringe gun thing.



Subaru Kujo
Relative of the Japanese Imperial family, and an adept at traditional Japanese dance. Taking the androgynous-character template of Reni a step further, Subaru's gender and age remain unknown throughout the game. Has a somewhat knowing, superior attitude. She was a member of the experimental Star Troupe in Europe, and so is acquainted with Reni and Orihime. Pilots a purple Star with bladed Japanese fans. Is hard to write about without using gendered pronouns. She is a girl however and her "Subaru is Subaru" jazz is just a running gag with the game.

Michael Sunnyside
Commander of the New York Combat Revue and owner of the Little Lip Theater. He is one of the richest men in the world, and maintains a palatial residence in Central Park. His motivations are based not on right and wrong, but on maximizing entertainment value. Sunnyside fulfills the role of manager, commander, and financier of the Combat Revue all in one.

From left to right: Sunnyside and Ratchet

Ratchet Altair
Originally the captain of the experimental European Star Troupe project that Reni and Orihime participated in. At the beginning of STV, she is the captain of the New York Combat Revue, a role which Shinjiro eventually takes up. She originally appeared in the Sakura Taisen movie, during a stint at the Teigeki between her European and American assignments. In STV she serves as a sort of mentor and representative of the Sakura Taisen legacy, passing on wisdom from the previous games' troupes.
Air combat is terrible
STV is essentially a new game based on the Atsuki Chishio Ni technology, with the addition of air combat. The Star units can transform into jet mode, allowing them to take to the sky for key battles. This is novel but ultimately not significantly more exciting or deeper than the ground battles. It's mainly an experience of rotating in a fixed circle around the area, then choosing an attack and watching an overly-sensational animation of it. In the end, the air battles actually feel more constricting than the ground battles, because they don't provide a sense of moving around and getting into advantageous positions. The ARMS system remains the same but now Joint attacks are added as an option to use at any time with a teammate for a small amount of spiritual power or Pneuma as the English version so affectionately calls it.
The new QTE LIPS
There have also been several other revamps to the adventure mode as well. You can now walk around a semi 3d New York instead of the point and go mechanic of the last games. Events can even pop up right in the middle of walking through a street. LIPS has been overhauled and streamlined and the portraits are now in higher definition. And a new quick time LIPS has been added to simulate Shinjiro walking, running, moving stuff etc. It can be from an extreme bore to an awesome experience.
The attempt to reboot the entire setting and cast at once is... surprisingly effective. Some say it lacks the magic of the Ogami storyline. With 13 heroines already represented in the franchise, it must have been difficult introduce five new ones that didn't overlap with the existing personalities. For an American player, the outrageously stereotypical characters and setting are partially amusing and partially off-putting. But it is how they break out of their respective stereotypical shells is how they become nearly as unique and interesting as the original members.

With this being the only game of the franchise to be officially localized into English, it is likely to be the only game accessible to most non-Japanese fans. The English localization changed quite a few names (Sagiitta → Cheiron, Rikaritta → Rosarita) but the PS2 edition smartly included a Japanese-audio disc that kept the original names intact so fans of the series could keep the Sakura Taisen feel. However the voice cast was well cast and I don't understand why everyone complains about them. Eh that's why the PS2 version exists.
Unfortunately, the game bombed heavily upon release, practically sealing the fate of any future entries released in North America and the rest of the world.

PS2 versus Wii
Well this is only a matter of convenience. Since Sony decide to
cut backwards compatibility for the PS3 you can't play this unless you have a good old PS2 or and older version of the PS3. The Wii version is the most convenient to everyone since nearly all of us have Wii's or Wii U's





Why you should buy this game!:
GO BUY THIS NOW IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY!!!! It's not that expensive costing from 20 to 50 bucks on amazon. If you buy this game you'll have an amazing story and a game that no one has ever bothered to play that is awesome! The PS2 version is the way to go with that Japanese audio disc but choose which version is convenient for you.

Here are links to where you can order either of the versions off Amazon:
Sakura Wars: SoLong MyLove PS2:http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Wars-Premium-Edition-Playstation-2/dp/B002DC8GW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365228469&sr=8-1&keywords=sakura+wars+so+long+my+love

Sakura Wars: So Long My Love Wii:http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Wars-Long-Love-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B002DC8GWC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365228469&sr=8-2&keywords=sakura+wars+so+long+my+love

Social Plugs:
Sakura Taisen 3 Let's Play: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzL9-cVKzkcXNdMRs-tGbZjRS_ksYsN8h&feature=mh_lolz

Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KataGnS?feature=mhee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorFischer

Tumblr: http://kpfmedia.tumblr.com/
2:11 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars: A History, Part 7: Sakura Taisen 4


Sakura Taisen 4: Maidens, Fall in Love  - (Dreamcast/PC) - (2002)

This is an odd one. When the word came down that Sega was discontinuing the Dreamcast, what was originally intended to be another full-fledged STinstallment was hurriedly reworked into a sort of swan song for the series. Instead of the usual two-year development cycle, ST4 was rushed out the door in ten months, and saw release on March 21, 2002. Instead of telling its story over the course of many anime-like episodes, it instead consists of one sprawling, bizarre chapter with the three acts.
ST4 doesn't contain a buildup to a false ending followed by a turning point and a glorious expansion of epicness, like previous games. Instead it piles on the fan service (of the more general character-endearment kind, not the titillating kind) throughout. The theme of the game is essentially how much of a badass Ogami is, and by extension how badass the you are . The characters of the Imperial Revue, clearly representing the developers, heap praise and gratitude on Ogami, clearly representing the player. This, combined with the shockingly short play time, makes the game end up feeling like a sort of bonus-disc or coda, a thank-you and farewell to the fans.
The final victory pose
The setting is once again the imperial capital Tokyo, with the five pilots of the Paris Floral Assault Troupe joining the eight of the Imperial Floral Assault Troupe to form the (characteristic of ST4) ingratiatingly-named Ogami Floral Assault Troupe. With a cast of thirteen heroines bouncing around, and a total of forty possible love triangle situations (because your save files from earlier games remember who you like in Tokyo and who you like in Paris), the game is short but extremely wide. Depending on who you pick between your two sweethearts, there is a special scene to cleanly resolve your relationship with the other. That reconciliation, combined with how chaste and platonic and oblique the portrayals of your relationships are anyway, successfully prevents Ogami from looking like a slimy playboy. The final Koubu upgrade is to the Soubu or "dual warrior" - a single OP mech piloted by Ohgami and your final heroine of choice, together.

The running gag in the adventure parts is that the various heroines keep asking Ogami his thoughts on marriage; they are actually asking because of the wedding scene in the production of Les Misérables they are rehearsing, but of course wacky misunderstandings ensue. Incidentally, in real life a musical stage version of Les Mis wasn't put on until 1985 and then movie last year - a good example of the way ST plays fast and loose with history. The subtitle this time around, Koise yo Otome or "Maidens, Fall in Love", comes from the chorus of the popular 1915 tune "The Gondola Song" by Isamu Yoshii.

 PC version
More higher fidelity graphics yada, yada, yada.

 If You Want to Buy These Games:
I don't recommend this to you at all. Unless you have played and beaten the rest of the first 3 games on Dreamcast or PC. As said this is basically a bonus disc and has no real value to people jumping into the series.

 Here are links to where you can order either of the versions off Amazon and Play Asia:
ST4:Dreamcast-http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Taisen-Japan-Import-Sega-Dreamcast/dp/B00005V8DO/ref=pd_sim_vg_1

ST4: PC: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-xk-49-en-70-1zhc.html

 Some devices and links that could help you:
DC-IE: (This is the one I use for Dreamcast. I swear it's black magic): http://www.amazon.com/SEGA-Dreamcast-DCIE-Import-Enabler/dp/B0036UHVX0/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364175104&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=dreamcast+importer

 Social Plugs:
Sakura Taisen 3 Let's Play: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzL9-cVKzkcXNdMRs-tGbZjRS_ksYsN8h&feature=mh_lolz

Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KataGnS?feature=mhee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorFischer

Tumblr: http://kpfmedia.tumblr.com/
2:07 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars: A History, Part 6: Sakura Taisen 3


Sakura Taisen 3: Is Paris Burning? - (Dreamcast/PC/PS2) - (2001)

Ah finally my favorite game in the series! The first ST title developed specifically for Dreamcast, ST3 was released on March 22, 2001. The subtitle, Pari wa Moeteiru ka or "Is Paris Burning", ironically recalls Hitler's famous, possibly-apocryphal question upon hearing of the liberation of Paris during WWII. ST3 could very well be the world's only video game named after a Hitler quotation.Where ST2 added detail on top of the foundation created by ST1, ST3 started over from the ground up. The whole setting, the characters, the combat system, every bit of UI - it was all recreated to take advantage of the next-generation Dreamcast system and build an experience that felt brand-new and yet welcoming to Sakura Taisen fans.

ST3 has Ogami assigned to the newly-formed Paris Kagekidan otherwise known as Groupe Fleur de Paris - the European counterpart to the Teikoku Kagekidan - and their front, the Chattes Noires theater; an actual real, historic place. This plunges him into a totally unfamiliar setting, populated by unknown characters, in an exotic and new culture (doubly-layered for non-Japanese players). This serves as an excuse to have a whole new set of people to get to know, making for a fresh experience. The French aesthetic is carried throughout the game, with Art Nouveau UI elements, French folk and classical and stage musical styles, and the cancan flavor of the Chattes Noires performances. This is also the only one out of all of the japanese series that us Westerners can most relate too.

Characters


Erica Fontaine
The main heroine of the Paris cast and the very first member of the Paris Kagekidan, and as such a counterpart to Sakura. She is a cheerful, manic, and klutzy nun-in-training. There is a running gag made of her habit of pulling her twin machine guns, Gabriel and Raphael, out from under her skirt and waving them around at the slightest sign of trouble. Her piety and religious theme connect to an angelic, miraculous aesthetic to her attacks in combat. She pilots a red Koubu-F with a cross-shaped machine gun.




Glycine Bleumer
A member of the French nobility, with Viking ancestry. Proud and serious, she is a sort of cold counterpart to Sumire and Orihime. She is skilled with the halberd and is known to threaten people with it when they cross her. She has a stage persona, Blue Eyes, whose true identity is kept secret from the theater patrons to protect her family name. She pilots a blue Koubu-F with a battle axe.








Coquelicot
An orphan from Vietnam, and a member of a traveling circus. As a precocious young child, she is a sort of counterpart to Iris and Reni. Her demeanor is almost invariably cheerful, and she treats Ogami very familiarly, calling him by his first name "Ichiro". She has a way with animals, and especially loves cats. She pilots a peach Koubu-F, decorated with a cat motif, with weaponized musical horns... that fire cat missles!!







Hanabi Kitaoji
Daughter of a noble Japanese family with a bit of French blood. While her appearance is Japanese, and she has learned many traditional Japanese arts such as kyuudou, she has spent most of her life abroad and is unfamiliar with what Japan is truly like. Her fiancé died in a wreck of the ship where their wedding was taking place, and she continues to mourn him. Her personality is deferential and timid, and she has a barely-audible style of speaking. She pilots a black Koubu-F with a crossbow.





Lobelia Carlini
A bit of an odd heroine for the Sakura Taisen series, in that she is, well, evil. She is a notorious criminal from Transylvania, Romania, who uses her spiritual power to steal valuable items around Paris. Ogami and Erica are sent to the prison to recruit her to the Flower Troupe for her remarkable powers, with the understanding that if she disobeys her orders then she is to be beheaded. She acts aloof and self-serving, and tries to get away with anything she can. Her cracked glasses are a pretty unusual accessory in a medium where spectacles almost always indicate bookishness. She pilots a green Koubu-F with a claw.

"Grand-Mère" Isabel Lilac
Commander of the Paris Assault Troupe and owner of the Chattes Noires Theater. She is the widow of a count, who fell in love with her despite her originally low status as a mere performer. Now she is seen as a respected member of the Paris community, and carries quite a bit of clout. She's rarely seen without her cat Napoleon.

Mell Raison


 Ci Caprice

 These two French maids serve a similar purpose to the Wind Troupe at the Teigeki. At the theater they do administrative work, and in battle they provide logistical support. Their names are pretty stunningly elementary: Raison means reason, Caprice means whimsy, and together their first names spell merci, "thank you". (This "just pick whatever" naming style would come back in earnest for STV.)
ST3: ARMS
Combat occurs in the brand-new ARMS (Active & Realtime Machine System), which does away with the isometric grid. Instead, on a unit's turn it can run around the 3D map freely within the range alloted to it, and can precisely rotate the attack area to encompass its targets. Instead of being allotted just two actions per turn, each unit has a number of action points that they can spend on various actions.
Similar to the improved combat system, this game brings a revamped experience across the board, with the high resolution, full-frame art making a huge impact and causing the earlier games to feel cramped and quaint. The free-roaming sections of the adventure part now take place not just around the theater, but all over the city. The Long Day mode includes a multi-stage, progressively-unfolding 3D casino super-minigame featuring poker, blackjack, roulette, and slots, in which you can earn coins to unlock more content.  The result of all this makes clear the generational leap from Saturn (and Saturn ports) to Dreamcast.
The ever smiling Erica Fontaine
Speaking of which, all of the Dreamcast hardware gimmicks are put to use. A new LIPS type requires you to use the analog stick to indicate not just what to say, but how strongly to say it - speaking not too timidly nor too forcefully for the circumstance. While plugged into the controller, your VMU represents the mobile Kinematron communication device, which occasionally beeps and scrolls important messages from other characters at you. And if you have an infinite supply of CR2032 batteries, there is a dating minigame that you can download to the VMU for portable play. Rounding out the gimmickry, ST3 introduced downloadable content to the series, with several self-contained scenes available for purchase on Sega's online service. This content was eventually also made available on the bonus disc that came with Sakura Taisen 4, presumably because 2001-era players were not yet ready to accept the existence of game content that required connecting to the Internet and paying extra money.

PS2 version
Now this one is interesting. Yes it has nearly HD graphics but the important part is that it is part of the failed Sakura Taisen World Project (I believe I talked about it earlier but if not i'll mention it in the end) which was supposed to bring the entire series to America and the rest of the world. But because of ST1 and ST3's poor rerelease the only one we would see would be Sakura Wars So Long My Love. More on that later.


PC version
More higher fidelity graphics yada, yada, yada.

If You Want to Buy These Games:
Now the other times I've been harsh on buying anything that is Sakura Taisen in Japan but with this game i'll make an exception. Because it's set in France ST3 has a setting and characters that are more relatable to us. It's not so Japanese heavy as the other series and heck there are some words in the ABC system we all love. So heck buy this game get your old PS2 or Dreamcast together and a translation guide and you'll have a good time. But heck just try watching Episode 1 of Sakura Taisen 1 on my channel so you can get a gist of it.

Here are links to where you can order either of the versions off Amazon and Play Asia:
ST3:Dreamcast-http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Taisen-Japan-Import-Sega-Dreamcast/dp/B000069TBA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365223161&sr=8-2&keywords=sakura+taisen+3

 ST3:PS2:http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Taisen-Japan-Import-Playstation-2/dp/B0006U1C0G/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1365223193&sr=8-7&keywords=sakura+taisen+3
ST3: PC: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-xk-49-en-70-1oq8.html

Some devices and links that could help you:
DC-IE: (This is the one I use for Dreamcast. I swear it's black magic): http://www.amazon.com/SEGA-Dreamcast-DCIE-Import-Enabler/dp/B0036UHVX0/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364175104&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=dreamcast+importer

Swap Magic for PS2: http://www.amazon.com/PS2-Magic-2-Disc-SWAPMAGIC-VERSION/dp/B004P50NOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365223301&sr=8-1&keywords=swap+magic

Social Plugs:
Sakura Taisen 3 Let's Play: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzL9-cVKzkcXNdMRs-tGbZjRS_ksYsN8h&feature=mh_lolz

Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KataGnS?feature=mhee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorFischer

Tumblr: http://kpfmedia.tumblr.com/
2:04 PM | Category: | 0 comments

Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars: A History, Part 5: Sakura Taisen 2

Sakura Taisen 2 - (Sega Saturn/Dreamcast/PC/PSP)/(1998)

This much-anticipated sequel was released for Saturn in April of 1998. It remains the breakout hit of the Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare or "Beloved, You Must Not Die" - from a controversial wartime poem by Akiko Yosano. Selling over half a million copies - this also makes it the #2 best-selling gal game title of all time. It began the tradition of using a historical, poetic quotation as a subtitle; this time being the biggest addition to the game, of course, is the expanded cast of heroines: two new arrivals, Orihime and Reni, have joined the Imperial Revue. Ogami returns to the theater from a one-year deployment aboard a Navy ship, and finds most of the Flower Troupe away on various business. Eventually the Black Nest Society are found to be at it again, and the now 9-member Flower Troupe is called upon to save the capital once more.
series,

Characters


 Reni Milchstraße
A stoic, androgynous child prodigy from Germany. When first arriving at the Imperial Revue after a stint at the experimental Star Troupe in Europe, Reni is assumed to be male. An incident in the bath eventually reveals that she is female. Her intellect and fighting skill are tremendous, but her apparently emotionless nature causes her difficulty in social adaptation. She does get along well with Iris, though, the other precocious young member of the Flower Troupe. She pilots a blue Eisenkleid with a lance. Calls herself boku, the ambiguous but slightly masculine personal pronoun.


Orihime Soletta
Scion of a noble Italian family, and prodigy of the stage. She serves as a hot-blooded highborn counterpart to Sumire's simmering haughtiness. For reasons not immediately clear to Ogami, she has a deep resentment for Japanese men (even though her father is one). This makes her a classic tsundere (tough/soft) gal-game archetype. Furthermore, she speaks with an outrageously exaggerated accent and mixes foreign words into her Japanese sentences liberally, making her seem even more distant. She was a member of the experimental Star Troupe that briefly operated in Europe. She pilots a magenta Eisenkleid with... steam-powered lasers. Calls herself watashi, a normal personal pronoun, but always spelled out in hiragana as if spoken with an accent.

Kaede Fujieda
The replacement for Fujieda Ayame, and her sister. Due to events at the end of Sakura Taisen 1, Ayame doesn't return in ST2. Thankfully she has a sister who is also readily capable of fulfilling the "unattainable older woman" archetype.
Kayama Yuuichi
Head of the intelligence unit Moon Troupe, and an old friend of Ohgami from their Navy days. It seems that any time Ohgami is unsure of himself, Kayama appears mysteriously, strums a few chords on his flamenco guitar, makes passes at any attractive women present, lays down some sage advice, and disappears. He's basically like James Bond but in a crazy, hilarious Sakura Taisen way.





ST2 also introduces the cutesy child character of Tsubomi, with her catch phrase "smile, smile!" And, of course, the insufferable, hyper-caricatured okama (effeminate male) trio of the Rose Troupe, presumably for comic relief.

The return to Japan
The game systems are a refinement upon the formulas introduced in ST1. The original LIPS types are back, plus several new types. In one, you need to facilitate a touchy conversation between several characters on screen. This generally involves clicking randomly back and forth between them until the situation is worked out or until you fall asleep at the controller, whichever comes first. Another type changes up the answers on you halfway through the time limit, which sometimes helps you and sometimes harms you. Still another gives an overarching time limit that counts down while you deal with several individual time-limited LIPS choices. The biggest addition to LIPS is the personality gauge, which uses colors to track the kind of answers that you give to your troupe in LIPS decisions, recording whether you are a gentle or strict leader. Different characters prefer for Ohgami to behave in different ways, so the meter affects the way various scenes play out throughout the game. Unfortunately this feature is not used in later games in the series.

Such added detail permeates the game, reflecting a sense of confidence and joy on the part of the creators, as if they are certain that they are onto something. 3D-animated cherry blossom petals blow past. Characters get a huge range of expressive poses and portraits. Each heroine has a new third costume in her wardrobe. In combat, the active character shows a full high-res bust, broken out of the UI, rather than a tiny portrait. The Koubu have been upgraded to the Koubu-Kai or "warrior of light, revised", which are slightly bigger and more bad-ass versions of the originals. At the turning point, they are further upgraded to the Tenbu or "warrior of heaven".

The scale of the game has been expanded lengthwise, too, occupying three discs versus the previous game's two. This even includes a classic hot springs vacation, just like any old Japanese video game. Furthermore, save data from ST1 can be read in, unlocking certain scenes and allowing you to continue the relationship you have already cultivated thus far with whichever heroine you have chosen.

Dreamcast version

ST2 was released for Dreamcast in September of 2000, during the lead-up to Sakura Taisen 3. It included a special preview disc for ST3, still six months off. Animations appear on the VMU screen at certain moments, such as when you earn trust points during adventure parts or perform deathblows during combat parts.

PC version

I don't really know alot about this one just like ST1. It's just more higher fidelity graphics just like in the Dreamcast upgrade and it may have changed it's combat system to ARMS but once again i'm not sure. And I can't seem to find it anywhere so if you have a Sega Saturn or Dreamcast with the import devices below you should be good to go.

If You Want to Buy These Games:

Once again it's hard to recommend the series in Japan. Only if your willingly to look through an entire translation guide while playing and listen to constant Japanese words that you don't understand will you enjoy this game. I recommend to use the guides on gamefaqs for help. Otherwise if your not into that then why are you reading this? The Dreamcast edition is the one to go for though.

Here are links to where you can order either of the four versions off Amazon:

ST2: Sega Saturn - http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Taisen-2-Japan-Sega-Saturn/dp/B000092PGT/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1364949587&sr=1-3&keywords=sakura+taisen+2+sega+saturn
ST 2: Dreamcast - http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Taisen-Kotonakare-Import-Sega-Dreamcast/dp/B000062YCU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1364949563&sr=8-6&keywords=sakura+taisen+2
ST2: PC: Does not exist as far as I know. If it does you can't buy it...

Some devices and links that could help you:

Importer for Sega Saturn: http://www.amazon.com/Action-Replay-Plus-sega-saturn/dp/B000HFAWLU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364175365&sr=8-1&keywords=action+replay+4+in+1
DC-IE (This is the one I use for Dreamcast. I swear it's black magic): http://www.amazon.com/SEGA-Dreamcast-DCIE-Import-Enabler/dp/B0036UHVX0/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364175104&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=dreamcast+importer

Social Plugs:
Sakura Taisen 3 Let's Play: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzL9-cVKzkcXNdMRs-tGbZjRS_ksYsN8h&feature=mh_lolz

Gaming Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/KataGnS?feature=mhee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DirectorFischer

Tumblr: http://kpfmedia.tumblr.com/
2:33 PM | Category: | 0 comments