Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars)

SAKURA TAISEN (SAKURA WARS)

Sega Saturn
GS-9037(2 Disks)
Capatible with Shuttle Mouse and Memory Cartridge
RPG / 1 Player
¥6,800(Normal Edition)
¥8,800(Special Edition)
Available: 9/27/96

© Sega Enterprises 1996
© Red 1996

— by Richard "Pocky" Kim

In light of the flood of 'relationship' based games that have followed TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL, SAKURA TAISEN breaks away from the standard mold. Unlike the usual crop of 'dating' games, SAKURA TAISEN focuses on not just the relationship between your character and the ladies in your group, but also on the overall plot of the game. This distinction, in addition to character designs by Fujishima Kosuke (of OH MY GODDESS fame), a storyline by Akahori Satoru (writer of LAMUNE AND 40 and KO CENTURY THREE BEASTKETEERS), an all-star cast of voice actors including Yokoyama Chisa (Sasami of TENCHI MUYO), Tomizawa Michie (Sailor Mars of SAILOR MOON), and Orikasa Ai (Ryouko of TENCHI MUYO) has made SAKURA TAISEN a very popular game, second only to TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL this past year. SAKURA TAISEN is a half-strategy, half-adventure game based in an alternate-reality 1920s Japan (the Taisho era), where steampower has replaced standard coal-based systems. You take the part of Lieutenant Ohgami Ichirou, fresh out of the academy. Ohgami's first assignment is to be the new leader of the Hana-gumi (Flower Division) of a special military group known as the "Teikokukagekidan" (Imperial Special Strike Force).

After a brief introduction explaining the background and storyline, the game commences with Ohgami waiting for a member of the Hana-gumi to meet him in Ueno Park. A young lady named Sakura greets the young lieutenant and escorts him to the Gekijou (the Hana-gumi headquarters, which looks suspiciously like a theater...). After a bit of exploration and work, an attack finally erupts. Ohgami and the rest of the Hana-gumi go to the rescue in their steampunk mecha. (Yes, mecha.) The game begins in earnest from the first meeting with Sakura, the title character, and doesn't slow down until the end of the game ten episodes later. Interspersed between both the adventure and combat sequences of the game are short, high-quality animation sequences which help move the story along. Formatted much like an OVA series, each episode of the game ends with a 'next episode' animation showing previews of the next stage. Likewise, most of the episodes begin with an animated sequence, most often being a discussion between the enemies you face.

This game, like many of the 'relationship' games, has characters with very well-defined personalities. The six members of the Hana-gumi are Shinguji Sakura , a swordswoman; Maria Tachibana, a combat veteran from Russia; Iris Chateaubrian from France; Kanzaki Sumire, the hieress to the Kanzaki fortune; Li Kouran from China; and Kirishima Kanna from Okinawa. The enemies and the minor characters are likewise well-defined. Although the overall point of the game is to defeat the enemy and keep Japan safe, there is still the underlying plot of Ohgami's relationship to the six ladies in the Hana-gumi. These relationships are important not only because of how they feel about your character, but also because this affects how well they fight during the combat scenes. Their feelings toward you are affected by the answers you give to questions they pose to you between battles. Giving the correct answers during the adventure part of the game will give the women bonuses to their attack and defense capabilities. These bonuses only last, however, for the episode you are currently on.

The combat portion of the game is done in a fairly standard way, with the battlefield shown in a mostly 3/4 view and the characters moving their mecha around in straight lines. Each character gets two turns and can attack once a turn, move, etc. The enemies have the same options. In addition to their standard attacks, each character has a "kiai" meter which they can use for a special attack. This attack generally destroys the enemies within the area of effect, which is useful later on in the game. A final special attack is also possible for the member of the Hana-gumi that has the most positive feelings for Ohgami in that episode; she and Ohgami stand next to each other and use a combination attack, usually doing 4 times the damage of a normal attack.

In keeping with the theme of games like TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL, you can end the game with one of the women in the Hana-gumi falling in love with you. After the final battle, you will see the ending of the character that has the most affectionate feelings towards Ohgami in a short animation, followed by the credits of the game's staff as the Hana-gumi sings a slightly melancholy song.

When SAKURA TAISEN was initially released, there were three versions: special version A, special version B, and the normal version. The special versions came with a mouse and one of two special mouse pads, featuring all six heroines (version A) or just Sakura (version B). All of this, plus a blitz of magazine and televison ads, helped to make this game one of the more popular to be released in the later half of 1996. There are already rumors of a possible sequel, and an OVA series is in the works for fall release. With the high quality of this game, the chances are very good that the OVA series will be superb as well.

Rating:

**** Stars (out of 4)