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
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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.
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| 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.
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| From left to right: Sunnyside and Ratchet |
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| 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. |
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| 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.
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| 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
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PS2 versus Wii
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