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 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.
If you like the idea of an alternate 1940s with steampunk mecha, demons, and a harem of cute anime girls, then you’ll probably find a lot to like in Sakura Wars, despite its flaws.
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.
Even though the lackluster combat is a major detractor in an otherwise great return to form for the series, it doesn’t ruin the experience either. Despite being on hiatus for so long, this release proves that there is life left for the series, and I for one can’t wait to see what’s next in store for the world of Sakura Wars.
The fact that it's a franchise revival is highly notable, which also provides an overall positive vibe. But as the renowned Sakura Wars franchise title, it didn't deliver all the hype and expectations to the fans who have been waiting patiently. This may be a concern even if we respect the fact that none of the original developers worked on the game and the only sentimental aspect is the music that was used in the reboot.
Review in Korean | Read full review
It might look too shallow (and it probably is) in a first glimpse, but the representation of the characters is certainly charming. It's like giving life to a shonen TV show.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
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 represents a great starting point for newcomers, and veterans of the series are sure to enjoy the throwbacks to prior entries, even if the shift to musuo-style combat is a drastic departure from what they are used to.
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.
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.
Sakura Wars is a title that not everyone will like. It's an interesting mix of genres, but very particular. If you're into visual novels and action on giant robots, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Flirting with girls has to be fun, too, by the way.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I really recommend fans of Sakura Wars or people who are into anime and visual novels to check this one out!
Sakura Wars will take you to a steampunk version of Tokyo to protect the city from danger and demons.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
When I went in to review this game I didn’t know what to really expect out of it but I came out of it as a fan and as someone who hopes to see more Sakura Wars in the future. The combat is kind of mindless but I feel like the strong story and character development along with a great visual style and audio work makes up for it. There is room to improve but this Sakura Wars reboot left a great impression on me.
Fun but limited combat, punctuates a fantastic, character-driven drama about putting on shows and pulling a once beloved group and theatre out of its rut, and into the spotlight on an international level.
Sakura Wars' unique LIPS system, thoroughly charming cast of characters, and great writing more than make up for its less than stellar combat.
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
Sakura Wars has its drawbacks, and it is not only a weak combat system with forced battles in the championship, but also some templating, the length of some elements and spoilers-announcements between episodes. But all this is offset by deeply developed characters, beautiful animation and good humor. It is one of the best games of the genre in the last few years and the best that could happen to the series.
Review in Russian | Read full review