Sakura Wars Reviews
It shines for the interactions between characters and their evolution throughout the adventure, as well as a beautiful and polished artistic style that, thanks to its episodic narrative format, transports us to a kind of playable anime.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sakura Wars is an undeniably quirky game, but its charming blend of stylish mech action and visual novel-style storytelling kept me completely invested in its adventure. Sure, the combat mechanics were a bit simple and some of the game’s lewder content felt a little cringey in places, but neither stopped me from having a blast whilst restoring the Imperial Combat Revue’s Flower Division to its former glory.
Put simply, Sakura Wars isn't going to be for everyone. It's oddly paced, character-focused, and anime-inspired, but that's also some of the best things about it. If even a tiny bit of you is interested in that description, there's a chance you'll really enjoy the craziness that Sakura Wars puts on the table.
Sakura Wars may be a crisp, fully 3D modern release, but every inch of the story, characters, and sound feels like it's straight out of the 90s. This soft-reboot may not revolutionise gaming as the original game did, but it still manages to deliver an expertly crafted love letter to those old-school stories and characters that will put a smile on anyone's face. The combat scenes may lack the same depth and intrigue as the story beats of the game, but they're a minor part of an otherwise unforgettable anime adventure.
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 not perfect, but it is a delightfully charming experience. Between the sweet bonding moments and high-stakes battles, there's plenty to cheer for.
Sakura Wars is a welcome franchise reboot that I hope sees more titles released by SEGA in the future. The mech combat is fun, but could use some more depth. The majority of your time will be spent in the visual novel / dating simulation portions of the game, but the characters help to elevate the overall plot. Wonky camera angles hurt the presentation, but the overall visuals and music make this about as close to an interactive anime as you can get.
As a soft reboot, this new entry of Sakura Wars works perfect as it offers some fresh ideas and changes to its gameplay mechanics while retaining the essence of the series, as well as most of the key aspects that turned it in one of the most beloved franchises in Japan. However, it is not suited for everyone as its combat controls feels clunky and basic and the combination of genres is unbalanced, so much that it will mostly appeal to those that love dating sims and visual novels.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While it has been a long wait, Sakura Wars is a satisfying blend of everything that the franchise has done well for a new generation on PS4.
Sakura Wars has always been about the characters, interacting via L.I.P.S., and experiencing some insane, over-the-top anime antics. In that respect, the new Sakura Wars recaptures the spirit of the earlier entries and is a perfect bit of RPG comfort food to brighten your soul.
At its very best, Sakura Wars made me feel like I was playing through a top-tier shonen or seinen anime, and while the lows certainly exist, they are infrequent and inconsequential enough to the core experience that it makes it easy for me to recommend the game to anyone with a passing interest. While it might be mechanically lacking in some aspects, it smooths over those rough edges with a ton of heart, and I'll always take an ambitious game that sometimes fails to reach the heights it strives for over a boring, middle-of-the-road title.
Sakura Wars is a good mixture of Dating Sim, Visual Novel and few RPG elements. Because of the LIPS system you have to make many decisions in a short time. Even if it is sometimes not obvious what the outcome is, the fun sequences compensate for it. Through the many romances, you can play the game well and often. The role playing area has several problems and is just too small to convince JRPG fans. But if you are looking for a good visual novel with a touch of Musou action, you will definitely find it with Sakura War.
Review in German | Read full review
Sakura Wars doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights set by its predecessors but it remains a worthy attempt at not only resurrecting the long-dormant franchise but also modernizing it for a new audience. Despite its flaws, there really are no other games like it, and I think the developers should be commended for releasing a game like this one despite the risk it entails, especially when compared to more popular genres. If the idea of fun interactive storytelling mixed with a nice helping of steampunk and robot hijinks sounds good to you, then Sakura Wars just might blossom into your kind of game.
Despite its gorgeous world and accessible veneer, Sakura Wars isn't going to win over the masses. It's simply too restrictive design-wise to achieve the broad appeal of games like Persona and Yakuza. For those willing to look past the blemishes, there's a certain beauty to be had here. It may not be the next Sega cult-hit, but Sakura Wars is a powerful love letter for series fans. It' not half-bad for anime fans, either.
Sakura Wars' unique world, fun character interactions, and high-stakes melodrama help it overcome mediocre action sequences.
When SEGA first announced they were doing a soft reboot of the Sakura Wars franchise I was shocked. I had many questions on how they would handle it and if they would devote enough resources to make it something that truly stood out, and they did exactly that. The amount of love SEGA has put into this title shows with every aspect of it. From the amazing soundtrack to the character designs, they made the game feel very nostalgic for older fans while making it completely accessible to new players. This is not an easy feat to pull off and others should really look to this for an example of how this is done well. I put well over 30 hours in this and completed a couple of playthroughs. The $60 price tag is a very fair price for a title with this level of quality. I hope this spurs them to do more with this amazing franchise going forward. Sakura Wars is one of those rare titles that does everything right and is just a pure joy from start to finish.
While Sakura Wars does have some issues with the repetitiveness required to see all of the content and the battle system not being as fluid as it could be, the majority of my experience has been great. The interactions with the characters particularly stand out and the game’s focus is definitely on that. The patch which came out around release alleviated some of the issues I experienced playing prerelease, but did not completely erase them. I still recommend it, but it still falls below expectations in some ways.
SEGA’s Sakura Wars reboot marks a welcome return for a series that’s gotten criminally little exposure to western audiences since it first released nearly 25 years ago. While the game’s real-time, hack-and-slash approach to its combat left me wanting more, the superb writing and lovable cast of characters kept me glued to my controller right to the very end. And with multiple endings and romance options to unlock, I hope to do it all again very soon.
There were not a few of us who wanted to finally taste an adventure in the conditions of the legendary Sakura Taisen. However, the decision to replace the T-RPG battles with a more musou style has ended up darkening the expectations that we had for him.
Review in Spanish | Read full review