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[Videoneon]

Kori-Maru, a staff member from the Sega fansite SegaBITS is going to be doing a long-play of Sakura Taisen for the Dreamcast. This was inspired by the recent NiGHTS campaign (that contributed to the HD remaster/PS2 upmake we got from Sega recently) and from a SomethingAwful member named "SpiritArmor" who is in the middle of a similar project for the PS2 Version of Sakura Taisen 1 - subtitled "In Hot Blood".

This is part of the Kiss Me Sweet project, which is designed to spread awareness of the Sakura Wars franchise in order to convince Sega and/or other publishers like NIS America (who published Sakura Wars: So Long My Love, the fifth title in the series, in North America) to localize and distribute the previous four main Sakura Wars entries outside of Japan.

For those who don't know about the Sakura Wars franchise, it was once of Sega's most prominent and profitable franchises in Japan until recently. Here's an excerpt from his explanatory post on the SegaBITS forums to get you started:

Sakura Wars is a dramatic adventure game created by Ouji Hiroi along with Kosuke Fujishima (character designer), and Satoru Akahori (character background). The games were also produced and directed by former SEGA employee, Noriyoshi Ohba, who was known for producing our favorite SEGA classic franchises such as Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Clockwork Knight, Skies of Arcadia, and Blood Will Tell within SEGA AM7/Overworks. The game was released for the Sega Saturn on September 27, 1996 and sold out on the first day becoming very successful in Japan later spawning several sequels, stage plays, animes, merchandise, and a freakin cafe (which closed in 2008 unfortunately)

Wondering about the gameplay? In Sakura Wars 1 you are Ichiro Ohgami, a recently assigned leader of the Flower Division of the Teikoku Kagekidan, or Imperial Assault Force. The world of Sakura Wars is a steampunk alternate reality of our own, and in the first two Sakura Wars games, you are set in Japan (3 and 4 are set in Paris with a new team, and 5 is set in New York with another new team, though you do not play as Ichiro Ohgami in the fifth entry). You are the only guy in this unit of women, however you all possess spiritual powers that help you defeat demons using steam-powered mecha.

The story within each individual game is divided into chapters, and throughout each chapter you as Ichiro Ohgami accomplish various tasks to move the story along. But a key element of what you're doing is building relationships with your unit by talking to them. As such, Sakura Wars games are a strategy/dating-sim/visual novel hybrid. A little more from Kori-Maru on the gameplay of the series:

Sakura Wars is a mixture of a simulated dating sim and strategy. The series actually has good storytelling (2 & 3 are my favs). The dating sim portion (LIPS ~ Live Interaction Picture System) is where you talk to the members of your team in order to gain (or lose) trust points from them. Think of it as a static version of Binary Domain. Depending on how your team member trusts you will reflect during battle mode. Battle mode is the strategy part of the game. The first two games focus on a grid system turn based gameplay similar to Shining Force while later games focus in a free movement with a limited bar gauge called ARMS (Active and Real-time Machine System)

Sakura Wars is generally meant to pretty light-hearted. It has this...how to say, 90's battle-anime optimism (Flame of Recca / Rurouni Kenshin, without the fighting or plot emphasis), it's not cynical at all. You as Ichiro Ohgami are supposed to be a generally well-meaning and upstanding guy (well...depending on the choices you make) surrounded by the colorful, sometimes absurd personalities in the unit.

Each Saturday Kori-Maru (the player) will upload a new chapter of the game, and the videos can be up to 30-40 minutes each depending on the chapters' proceedings (though they won't always approach that length.) The videos will also have English subtitles on them. The videos have Japanese voice work, and chapters will be spread into parts. Each chapter, I'm assuming will have anywhere from 3-4 parts, or videos, each.

This LP is for people unfamiliar with Sakura Wars and for those who know of the series or have already played a title (or all of them!) Give the first few videos a try if you are new! Indeed, Sakura Wars has led to a cafe, several OVA's, a TV series, and all sorts of merchandise in Japan. The franchise is being generously featured in the upcoming triple cross-over 3DS title "Project X Zone", where two of the six playable Sega teams are Sakura Wars teams.

Enjoy, and partake in the Anime's rendition of Geki! Teikoku Kagekidan!, the theme of the Imperial Assault Force of Tokyo! (Alternatively, check out the Sakura Wars 2nd OVA set openings, either of here or here, if your name is XiaNaphryz or you like good animation) And excuse my entry level Photoshopping.

Essential Links:

-Kori-Maru's Explanatory post on "The Great War of Cherry Blossoms":http://segabits.com/forums/index.php?topic=2457.0

-Trailer for The Great War of Cherry Blossoms project (latter half stays the same): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHVCmJHE8Tk
-2nd Trailer for the Sakura Wars Localization Project, courtesy of Snatcher:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jo0mBDkmii0

-Kiss Me Sweet - Sakura Wars localization support Facebook group link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kiss-Me-Sweet-The-Sakura-Wars-Localization-Project/382878205094476
-and Twitter!: @swkissmesweet

-Sakura Wars Localization Project on Operation Rainfall
---Part 1 - Series Overview
---Part 2 - Sakura Wars I, The Teikoku Kagekidan - Hanagumi/Imperial Assault Force - Flower Division profiles, and the world of Sakura Wars
---Part 3 - Sakura Wars II, new recruits and characters
---Part 4 - Sakura Wars III, The Paris Kagekidan - Hanagumi/Paris Assault Force - Flower Division profiles
---Part 5 - Sakura Wars IV
---Part 6 - Sakura Wars V, Sakura Wars V Episode 0, and the New York Hoshigumi/New York Combat Revue - Star Division profiles
---XSEED Letter Writing Campaign

-Sakura Taisen X Coca-Cola Advertisement webpage

Snatcher's playthrough of Hanagumi Taisen Columns, Sakura's Path

-The most hype thing ever: Sakura Wars TV OP

-The most hype thing ever: Akio Suyama, the voice actor for Ichiro Ohgami, singing both the Sakura Wars 1-2 and 3-4 Openings

Links to video chapters (will post when each one is uploaded)

Chapter 1 ~ Teito - The Flowery Assault Group
-Part 1 - Enter Ohgami Ichiro (watch out for some VA audio hiccups at 14:14 and later on when Yoneda talks again)
-Part 2 - Ohgami's Conflict
-Part 3 - Battle: Tutorial, Satan and the Kuronosukai
-Part 4 - It's okay, Iris doesn't drink
Chapter 2 ~ The Enemy's Name is Kuronosukai
-Part 1 - Introducing Ri Kohran!
-Part 2 - "I think I should be able to have some sweet dreams tonight"
-Part 3- Prelude to Battle Scenario 2
-Part 4 - Battle: Kasen armada
-Part 5 - A sad day for the Kuronosukai, great day for Ohgami
Chapter 3 ~ I am not Fit to be Captain!?
-Part 1 - "I've just met a girl named Maria..."...er, Kanna
-Part 2 - Prelude to Tsukiji / Maria and The War
-Part 3 - Battle: We've got you now Setsuna...or what have you!
-Part 4 - The trippiest, most reality-warping segment yet
-Part 5 - Prelude to Maria / The Fire-eating bird
-Part 6 - Battle: The Maria Reclamation Effort
-Part 7 - Ohgami's Sacrifice
-Part 8 - Boss: Jade Setsuna
-Part 9 - What's with this lovey-dovey atmosphere?
Chapter 4 ~ Rampage! Rampage! Great Big Rampage!
-Part 1 - Ratsetsu plans to avenge his brother's death/Cleaning up with Sakura/A Crazy Date with Iris
-Part 2 - Iris is NOT a child!
-Part 3 - Iris's Dream/Iris takes the Kobu for a ride!
-Part 4 - Boss Battle ~ Talk some damn sense into Iris/Rasetsu's Revenge
-Part 5 - End
Chapter 5 ~ Bloom into Flowers! By the Maidens' Obstinacy!
-Part 1 - Tenkai's really mad about his minions deaths/Kanna vs. Sumire, place ya bets ladies and gentleman/Assigned to the abandon mansion with those two, oh boy.....
-Part 2 - Enter the spiritual mansion/Unlike Knuckles, Kanna ain't afraid of no ghost!/ZOINKS! A s-s-s-s-snake(Kanna's Fear)/ZOINKS A s-s-s-s-spider!(Sumire's Fear)/Following the enemy/Kagekidan in a half-shell lol
-Part 3 - Battle Miroku's Crimson Army!
-Part 4 - End Kanna & Sumire gets along while I'm dying from poison/Miroku finds the Imperial Theater/Next Episode Preview (Sakura's episode)
Chapter 6 ~ Teito's Great Collapse!?
-Part 1 - The enemies plans/Let's party hardy/Sakura's fear
-Part 2 - Sakura tells Ohgami of her childhood/The team's in trouble/Comforting Sakura and preparing for battle!
-Part 3 Boss Battle - HAJA KENSEI! OKA RANBU!
-Part 4 End - Demonic spell in Teito?!/Sakura has a stroke and falls lol
Chapter 7 ~ Decisive Battle - The Limit of Life!
-Part 1~ Please wake up Sakura!, We must defend Teito!
-Part 2~ Imperial Assault Force surrounded, Sakura to the rescue
-Part 3~ Sakura is ok, Sakura's Dream, the Anti Kouma Squad
-Part 4 Boss Battle~ Tenkai's Home Base, 100 too early, Spirit Bomb? Ohgami's a Super Sayain?!
-Part 5 End ~ Victory Pose!...... Agreed *hic*
Chapter 8 ~ A Date in Days of Peace
-Part 1 - Happy New Year!
-Part 2 - (Battle) Aoi Satan's new friends
-Part 3 - The Koubu take a beating
-Part 4 - A new strategy?
-Part 5 - work it Harder, make it Better, do it Faster, makes us Stronger
-Part 6 - (Battle) VS Inoshishi ; Debut of the Shinbu
-Part 7 - Flower Division's Ambivalence
Chapter 9 ~ The Final Weapon Revealed
Chapter 10 ~ The Final Judgement

(note for mods: I intend to check up on this thread regularly and will update it for each new "episode" that is released from "The Great War of Cherry Blossoms." Basically I'd like to handle it like a "continuous event" type of thread. I myself am not affiliated with KissMeSweet but enjoy Sakura Wars and decided to create this thread as there is no dedicated OT for the franchise or any thread for a Sakura Wars title or subject related to the franchise in recent history. If for some reason what I'm doing violates the ToS or other GAF rules or you have reservations about what I'm doing please post or send me a PM and I'll get on it if you don't already decide to lock the thread. I'd actually be totally happy with this being a catch-all Sakura Wars thread if it gets lively enough.)

 

[sechsterangriff]

Some of the first imported games I ever played were Sakura Taisen 3 and 4 for the Dreamcast with ST3 becoming one of my secret favorite games of all time (those awesome AWESOME Openings!). I just had so much fun playing it. I played them even before I learned Japanese with the help of some great guides I found on gamefaqs many years ago. Whoever made those guides must've really loved those games. So much stuff translated!
I've been meaning to play the first two games and V but I never got to it for some reason...

 

[Dremark]

I played the Saturn version a few years back. Very fun game. The strategy gameplay is so easy it's a joke but the characters are all really likeable and it's a very fun experience overall.

 

[zeroshiki]

I got the Sakura Taisen 1&2 PSP bundle thingy for my Vita last year. Its certainly an interesting game and I'm sad the series is no more. That said though, the SRPG portions were pretty bland/boring but the VN aspects were great. I'm told the fighting does get better in the sequels, however.

 

[Tain]

I'm really looking forward to the day I can try this series from the start in English. Only a matter of time.

 

[peakish]

I've been eyeing the rest of the series after playing So Long, My Love, finding out that no other games had been localised was such a disappointment. Might check out this playthrough later, thanks for the link.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Of all the renditions they've made of Geki Teikoku Kagekidan, you choose the TV series version? Really? :/

 

[pancakesandsex]

It's all about the Oogami version of the op from ST4 man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbjwmVt_CU0

And for fun, the full version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m26dV7shKTE

 

[Dremark]

I got the Sakura Taisen 1&2 PSP bundle thingy for my Vita last year. Its certainly an interesting game and I'm sad the series is no more. That said though, the SRPG portions were pretty bland/boring but the VN aspects were great. I'm told the fighting does get better in the sequels, however.

I've only played 1 and 5 but the strategy gameplay evolves from a pretty standard SRPG system to somethibg closer to Valkyria Chroncles without the surpressive fire (Same developer btw). Both games are extremely easy though so you're playing it more for the characters and such than anything else.

 

[Videoneon]

Of all the renditions they've made of Geki Teikoku Kagekidan, you choose the TV series version? Really? :/

=P

The one that opens the OVA's isn't all that good. What's the best one?

 

[Nudull]

Speaking as someone who's played the PS2 version of V, this interests me quite a bit. I'm excited to see how this turns out.

 

[zeroshiki]

I've only played 1 and 5 but the strategy gameplay evolves from a pretty standard SRPG system to somethibg closer to Valkyria Chroncles without the surpressive fire (Same developer btw). Both games are extremely easy though so you're playing it more for the characters and such than anything else.

Yeah I heard this as well. VC is basically the spiritual successor of Sakura Taisen. Both franchises of which are basically in limbo now.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

=P

The one that opens the OVA's isn't all that good. What's the best one?

Video wise the second set of OVAs openings were better than the first OVA's. It also uses the best version audio-wise IMO, but unfortunately not the full version of the theme from Sakura Taisen 2. There's another version of that featuring Iris, Kohran, and Kanna as the leads of the verses (a bit of it is heard in the 2nd vid link I posted above) instead of Maria, Sumire, and Sakura.

Hilarity-wise, the full version of the Sakura Taisen 4 OP with Oogami leading is tops obviously since it also goes into the Sakura Taisen 3 OP.

It's too bad we didn't hear a fully versed version of it in the ST movie, though the orchestral bit in the end credits was nice enough and the orchestral version that played during the climax of the final battle was awesome.

 

[akaoni]

I've been looking into the series very recently because of the character designer being Kousuke Fujishima (love that 90's-ish style). If I were to play the series, what versions would I play, and are there resources to translate all the text in the game? I would just jump in with the one we do have available in English, but my obsessive side tells me not to.

 

[Videoneon]

I've been looking into the series very recently because of the character designer being Kousuke Fujishima (love that 90's-ish style). If I were to play the series, what versions would I play, and are there resources to translate all the text in the game? I would just jump in with the one we do have available in English, but my obsessive side tells me not to.

There was a fan-translation project of the PC version of Sakura Taisen 1 but they apparently haven't updated in a year.

If you look at the individual GameFAQs pages for any of Sakura Wars 1 - 4, there is a user or two (Kayama and I think one other person) who back then had translated the script and menu stuff for almost the entire games. I can't say for sure as I've only given them a cursory glance, and it's not the same as playing the game with translations already in it, but if you somehow come upon a Japanese copy of the game then you aren't without resources.

Without a Dreamcast or Saturn at hand I just went a picked up Sakura Wars 5. I got the Wii version and it's really cheap off of Amazon. I had hoped to play them in order not only because I wanted to check out the character interactions in past games, but because I wanted to avoid playing an evolved battle system like 5's and then going back to the first game's battle system. It's still good fun though and I don't regret it.

I do like Fujushima's art too! He does work for the Tales series, and I'm a big fan of that general look his characters have when they're drawn. The OP image is an example, but I also think of the Tales of Vesperia boxart when I think of Fujushima.

Had to post PS3 version since the previous one causes server problem for GAF or something.

Video wise the second set of OVAs openings were better than the first OVA's. It also uses the best version audio-wise IMO, but unfortunately not the full version of the theme from Sakura Taisen 2. There's another version of that featuring Iris, Kohran, and Kanna as the leads of the verses (a bit of it is heard in the 2nd vid link I posted above) instead of Maria, Sumire, and Sakura.

Hilarity-wise, the full version of the Sakura Taisen 4 OP with Oogami leading is tops obviously since it also goes into the Sakura Taisen 3 OP.

It's too bad we didn't hear a fully versed version of it in the ST movie, though the orchestral bit in the end credits was nice enough and the orchestral version that played during the climax of the final battle was awesome.

First...how the hell did you find that Sega-CON CD? Going to check it out. And I feel so ashamed for not knowing of the godliness of the Akio Suyama-led Sakura Taisen 4 OP. Initially I thought this couldn't be for real, and then...hey, it's kind of cool!

Visually I won't dispute the superiority of the OVA openings you posted (the TV anime animation's...just, normal) but as far as audio I like the loudness of the Anime OP. Call it over-produced if you must. =P I like Yokoyama's voice a lot more in the Anime OP, in the chorus it sounds more forceful.

You're making me want to watch the Paris Kagekidan OVA's now. Damn I loved the animation there. The OP's...so good, and I love Mihata no Moto ni.

edit: I took a look at Ecole de Paris and Le Nouveau Paris recently; what's with the animation, it's a lot worse than I remembered. Was I only thinking of the FMV-type sequences?

 

[InfiniteNine]

Well I have the PS2 one NISA published, but can I play any other game in English? O:

 

[Neko Mimi Mode]

Played V on the PS2, amazing game. Love the balance of over the top mecha battles and visual novel/dating sim.

Gave it to a mate who found the plot a bit too bonkers to cope with though. Which is saying something as a JRPG fan.

Would love to see translations for the Dreamcast games especially.

 

[zeroshiki]

I do like Fujushima's art too! He does work for the Tales series, and I'm a big fan of that general look his characters have when they're drawn. The OP image is an example, but I also think of the Tales of Vesperia boxart when I think of Fujushima.

Ah! My Goddess!

The PSP version is up on JP PSN if anyone wants a cheap way to get a hold of the first 2 games.

 

[akaoni]

If you look at the individual GameFAQs pages for any of Sakura Wars 1 - 4

That's good enough for me! Thanks.

I didn't even realise he was the character designer for the Tales games! I haven't played the series, but that would explain why I keep looking into finally trying them so often and why the characters/cover art appeal to me so much. I feel really dumb right about now.

 

[FrostuTheNinja]

I'm really looking forward to the day I can try this series from the start in English. Only a matter of time.

One of these days.

The wait stinks, though.

 

[Videoneon]

That's good enough for me! Thanks.

I didn't even realise he was the character designer for the Tales games! I haven't played the series, but that would explain why I keep looking into finally trying them so often and why the characters/cover art appeal to me so much. I feel really dumb right about now.

Glad to help you to the script translations!

As for Fujishima, he's one of two of their main designers as I recall. Fujushima did all of the work on Tales of Vesperia ( the one I posted above), Mutsumi Inomata did the character illustrations for the next main entry "Tales of Graces," and then in the next entry Tales of Xillia (soon to be released at the end of this summer in North America and Europe) both Fujushima and Inomata designed characters.

Xillia has two main characters: Jude Mathis and Milla Maxwell, and Fujushima and Inomata designed one each. Trust your instincts and you can probably figure out who drew which character.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

That's good enough for me! Thanks.

Just be aware the 1st game has been remade a couple times, so depending on the version you play the translation guide may not exactly hold up.

Another thing to remember is that the dialog system in these games are usually timed, so when you have to pick a response you usually won't get the chance to look at the guide. So be prepared ahead of time.

 

[Dremark]

Ah! My Goddess!

The PSP version is up on JP PSN if anyone wants a cheap way to get a hold of the first 2 games.

I bought all the games in the series shortly after 5 came out in the US. I was surprised how cheap they were on the Saturn. 1 cost me $7 and 2 cost me $15. ST2 was actually a new/sealed copy as well.

 

[zeroshiki]

I bought all the games in the series shortly after 5 came out in the US. I was surprised how cheap they were on the Saturn. 1 cost me $7 and 2 cost me $15. ST2 was actually a new/sealed copy as well.

Yeah but who has a JP Saturn nowadays

 

[InfiniteNine]

Yeah but who has a JP Saturn nowadays

I think that is what the action replay everyone has is for. O:

 

[Ramune]

Ah, the days of wasting trees at the campus computer lab to print Kayama's translations for Sakura Wars 1 & 2! Subbed!

Spoiler

obviously

 

[Son of Cervantes]

Does anyone know if the PC versions of 1 thru 4 work fine on a US version of Windows 7? Would love to play through along with this thread if that were the case.

Shame about the translation project seemingly stalling, as I would have loved to contribute to it.

Subscribed by the way!

 

[Dremark]

Yeah but who has a JP Saturn nowadays

I would think a lot of people on gaf would have a Saturn and the carts to play imports have generally been easy to get.

 

[meppi]

Yeah but who has a JP Saturn nowadays

All the people that matter.

Sakura Taisen was such a pleasant surprise back in the day.
Heard a lot of great things about it from the guys at the small import shop where I used to go once a month and after a little while, my own copy came in.
Loved it so much I didn't only buy the second one as it was released as well but also the Radio Show and Sakura Taisen Columns and I remember some other extra disc that I'm not sure what it's called. When the games started coming to the Dreamcast, I bought every single one of them as well along with the collectors box later on.

 

[cj_iwakura]

The Sakura Wars translation project isn't dead.


There's a pending update coming sooner than you think.

Please be excited.


By the way, if more people had bought So Long My Love(which was a fantastic game), we might have gotten the PSP version of 1 & 2 localized. Consider that.

 

[LowerLevel]

Imported these for my Saturn way back when. Downloaded and copied a FAQ while I was a temp and got fired for using too much paper LOL. Finished all storylines and got a most of the

Spoiler

bath steam "scenes"

. Back in my MS loving hey-day, I wished MS picked up this license with their getting JSRF, SegaGT, ShenMue, ETC with the OG Xbox. Would have helped them secure a bigger foothold in Japan. But alas...

 

[Son of Cervantes]

The Sakura Wars translation project isn't dead.


There's a pending update coming sooner than you think.

Please be excited.


By the way, if more people had bought So Long My Love(which was a fantastic game), we might have gotten the PSP version of 1 & 2 localized. Consider that.

I bought four copies! I did my part.

 

[Valkyria]

I have to star playing 1 and 2 one of this days. Maybe I buy a Tablet so I'll use it to read the texts guide easily.

The games are really cheap, I got the especial edition for the first with the mouse and all for less than 10$.

And STV was Ok, but a bit cheesy.

 

[Augemitbutter]

The Sakura Wars translation project isn't dead.


There's a pending update coming sooner than you think.

Please be excited.


By the way, if more people had bought So Long My Love(which was a fantastic game), we might have gotten the PSP version of 1 & 2 localized. Consider that.

tell them to release V on PSN first. the original release came too late.

 

[R_thanatos]

tell them to release V on PSN first. the original release came too late.

That's a cool idea actually .

 

[Broach]

I remember when they announced the "Sakura Wars World Project".

Supposedly the PS2 remake would be localized, and the rest remade/localized as well. Never came to frution sadly. The PS2 Era, when Disgea and others appeared, would have been a good time to introduce this series to the west.

 

[Ramune]

tell them to release V on PSN first. the original release came too late.

But they even went beyond the call and had Idea Factory do a Wii port exclusively for the West! Between the two SKUs, it STILL didn't sell.
But enough ranting, I agree So Long My Love needs to be a PSN release. Although the original had some issues on BC 80GB units as far as the FMV was concerned IIRC.

 

[Brandon F]

I played the Saturn version a few years back. Very fun game. The strategy gameplay is so easy it's a joke but the characters are all really likeable and it's a very fun experience overall.

Yea, played it on my Saturn back in the late 90's with a faq translation. The combat is seriously dumb, but I was into anime at the time and enjoyed the interactions. Really don't think it would hold up well though, so many episodes are just filler throwaway(as most anime is).

 

[djtiesto]

I bought 1 and 2 a while back on Saturn, and 5 (English version) on PS2. Was playing 5 a little while ago, the game seemed really awesome. I liked the characters a whole lot, but I wasn't prepared for the dialogue:battle ratio, reminded me of the Persona games in that it was about 2-3 hours just to get into the first battle. I really liked Gemini Sunrise especially in the game, and her horse she has in her apartment. Really need to play more.

Also didn't know the artwork was done by Fujishima.

 

[-NeoTB1-]

I've seen the anime (enjoyed it), and I know there was one game released here in the states... but unfortunately, I never got around to playing it. Perhaps I should.

Looking forward to playing Sakura in Project X Zone.

 

[Videoneon]

Chapter 1 has arrived! Or rather, Chapter 1-1. Perhaps there is more to upload of Chapter 1? I have to step out of the house for a bit, so I'll watch and post in a little while. The audio feed is focused on the right speaker, so heads up.

Chapter 1-1

 

[Clov]

The Sakura Wars translation project isn't dead.


There's a pending update coming sooner than you think.

Please be excited.


By the way, if more people had bought So Long My Love(which was a fantastic game), we might have gotten the PSP version of 1 & 2 localized. Consider that.

I bought the PS2 version and loved it! I thought it was issues with SCEA that prevented NISA from bringing over 1&2, though?

Also, great news about the update.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I bought the PS2 version and loved it! I thought it was issues with SCEA that prevented NISA from bringing over 1&2, though?

Also, great news about the update.

NISA flat out said it was because V didn't sell, if I recall.

 

[Clov]

NISA flat out said it was because V didn't sell, if I recall.

According to this interview, while Sakura Wars sold far below their expectations, they may not have been planning on bringing 1&2 here in the first place; rather, another company tried to get 1&2 brought over here, but SCEA rejected them. Since SCEA rejected the game from the other publisher, NISA didn't bother. Though V's sales didn't help matters much, I can imagine.

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/29/nis-americas-president-on-anime-crossovers-sakura-wars-and-ps3-development/

 

[cj_iwakura]

According to this interview, while Sakura Wars sold far below their expectations, they may not have been planning on bringing 1&2 here in the first place; rather, another company tried to get 1&2 brought over here, but SCEA rejected them. Since SCEA rejected the game from the other publisher, NISA didn't bother. Though V's sales didn't help matters much, I can imagine.

http://www.siliconera.com/2010/06/29/nis-americas-president-on-anime-crossovers-sakura-wars-and-ps3-development/

I think today's SCEA would probably say yes, but yeah, with V bombing, not worth the time or effort. I always thought that game's lack of sales was a travesty. It's like not buying Nocturne because Atlus didn't localize SMT 1 & 2.

 

[RurouniZel]

It really is a shame Sakura Wars didn't perform in America... I had high hopes.

 

[Clov]

I think today's SCEA would probably say yes, but yeah, with V bombing, not worth the time or effort. I always thought that game's lack of sales was a travesty. It's like not buying Nocturne because Atlus didn't localize SMT 1 & 2.

I agree completely! A game in a long running series that never had a North American release is FINALLY brought over, and what do people do? Not buy it, apparently. It's terrible.

I think today's SCEA would be willing to allow it as well, though I doubt Aksys or Gaijinworks (the two companies I can see doing more PSP stuff in the future) would be willing to take a crack at 1&2; too high of a cost and too much text.

Though we at least have that fan translation of the PC games to look forward to.

 

[RurouniZel]

I agree completely! A game in a long running series that never had a North American release is FINALLY brought over, and what do people do? Not buy it, apparently. It's terrible.

I think today's SCEA would be willing to allow it as well, though I doubt Aksys or Gaijinworks (the two companies I can see doing more PSP stuff in the future) would be willing to take a crack at 1&2; too high of a cost and too much text.

Though we at least have that fan translation of the PC games to look forward to.

The problem is Gaijinworks already did try to, back when it first came out. It got rejected, and once it's rejected it stays that way, even if Sony's policies change over time.

 

[Clov]

The problem is Gaijinworks already did try to, back when it first came out. It got rejected, and once it's rejected it stays that way, even if Sony's policies change over time.

I didn't know they had tried to do that! That really sucks about SCEA's policies, though it's at least nice that they've loosened up a bit since then.

 

[Videoneon]

Well I just saw both Parts 1 and 2. According to the player there should be another video or two for this chapter. Having said that, my thoughts on the first two parts.

I don't know what it is about this game, but evokes feelings similar to the one I had when I first started playing Sakura Wars 5.

My initial thought being: "What the hell is this?"

But it blends in so well with Ohgami's confusion. I've never seen this game played through before, but it's fun to watch since I stayed with it. This will end soon once the story picks up, but the introduction is very effective.

From a gameplay perspective so far, it seems like all of the core elements are there. I personally prefer the use of the 3D model to wander the overworld sections, but I'm sure there are some people who dig the chibi sprite. Part 2 concluded right before what I'm assuming will be the chapter's battle scenario, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled. I think I've seen it before--an isometric battlefield.

As for the player, looks like he's choosing the "good guy" responses, heh heh. When I played Sakura Wars 5 I was generally honest to my own responses unless I knew I would get myself in deep shit. People only got mad occasionally. I did piss off Anri immediately, sometime early in the game. Though for what exactly I forget why, it was some dialogue choice at the theatre and I told her something like "you can do it yourself" in response to her request. I also stayed away from checking out the ladies. It's just an awful idea unless you want to screw around, because you can't get away with it and they'll just get pissed off as far as I can tell. I checked out Ratchet early on in the game (for science) and she got irritated. I did think it was funny that the player didn't go through the whole Theatre and mostly just hung out with Sakura.

Music is great in this game. Can't wait for the rest.