Shin Sakura Wars Review:

Featuring a new main cast Shin Sakura Wars is yet another soft reboot of the Sakura Wars series after the previous game which released fourteen years before this game could probably be described as one as well. Since this game is only called Sakura Wars in the west and it being rather confusing with it having the same title as the original Sakura Wars, I'm by the way also going to just call this game by its Japanese title Shin Sakura Taisen, although with the translated Wars instead of Taisen to make it consistent with how I refer to the other titles in the series. Thereby being a soft reboot it still takes place in the same world and setting, although over ten years later after the previous games, and orients itself quite heavily on the first Sakura Wars game, which can mostly be seen by its setting, taking place in the same theater and location as the first game, and especially its main cast whose characters partially resemble previous characters of the original cast. While playing the game I can foremost say that I absolutely enjoyed it, and as a Sakura Wars fan, there were certainly a lot of aspects to love about this game. But unfortunately at the same time, there were some aspects and changes I wasn't particularly fond of, and I think that it has quite some problems that can drag down the experience to some extent. Despite these issues, and while I certainly have some partially mixed feelings towards it as a fan of the series, I still really love this game as a whole, and while I'm not certain if I can properly convey all of these feelings into words, I at least want to give it a try.

Ditching the strategy RPG gameplay of the previous entries that was featured through some parts of the game at key points through the story, Shin Sakura Wars instead opts for an action based battle system with hack n slash gameplay that goes away from the more tactical based combat of the previous entries. For these parts of the game and this new battle system itself, I think these gameplay elements are generally quite fun and pretty enjoyable. It took me some time to get fully used to all of its elements like the platforming and things like falling down from platforms while fighting enemies could at least from my experience become a little bit annoying, and the locations of these segments where you fight against the enemies sometimes felt a bit generic, and I would've really liked more sections where you actually got to fight at places in Tokyo, but as a whole it was still pretty decent for what it is and is trying to do. As this is a new system compared to the previous games and the game being released 14 years after the previous one I don't expect this aspect of the game to be as polished compared to other later entries to series, but I think there certainly would be a lot of room for improvement regarding this new system. One particular aspect I didn't like as much compared to the previous games is that through the action hack n slash gameplay segments instead of the strategy RPG gameplay it most often more feels like as if you are only playing with a single party member and one or two additional characters instead of a group that works together to defeat all of the enemies. I think the previous games managed way better to bring across the feeling of actually being this troupe who is fighting alongside each other in these parts of the game and the Flower Division really felt like a group that was working together in a tactical battle. In this game they instead feel a bit more disconnected in these parts of the game, which is only being reinforced by the fact that you don't have access to all the Flower Division party members at once in the action gameplay parts and are only controlling a few, which in my opinion is quite a shame. In the previous games I really liked and appreciated this feeling of all the characters working together in a battle, and this whole aspect doesn't feel as strong in this game because of the more action, hack n slash oriented gameplay. While they probably tried to appeal to a wider audience with this change, this is also a part where one of my problems with the game comes to mind. Even though I think that the strategy RPG segments of the previous games weren't necessarily the one aspect that defined the Sakura Wars series or the biggest appeal of the series, that at least to me would be much more the adventure parts along with the romance, it was still an aspect that partly contributed to its identity, and while it might haven't been the most deep or complex system like in the first two games, it was still a pretty great aspect about the games and quite charming with how it was implemented. I'm myself not even necessarily the biggest fan of strategy RPG gameplay, but I came to really like and appreciate it in the Sakura Wars series, especially with how it was implemented, and I think having these strategy battles at key moments of the story was always pretty fun. So having these parts of the game replaced by an action based battle system partly feels a little bit like it betrays a part of the identity of the series. I don't want to sound too negative, and I still absolutely enjoyed and had quite some fun with the action based battle system they went for, even with some of the problems I have with it. It's not at all a dealbreaker or something like that for me and on its own it's still pretty good and enjoyable, but a part of me honestly still misses the strategy RPG gameplay and I don't think this was necessarily the best decision for the series, and I probably would've preferred it and think it would've been better if they went for a more strategy based system.

Regardless of these changes and the removal of the strategy RPG gameplay parts of the game, one of the most important aspects of the series, the whole ADV parts of the game along with the whole LIPS system which is one of the defining aspects of the series, is still intact and similar to the previous games absolutely enjoyable. Although there are some changes that more hurt the gameplay than it benefits it, most notable is the removal of the action limit in the ADV parts. In previous games like with the first two Sakura Wars games you had only so much time to spend on different activities until the story automatically progressed. That means you couldn't necessarily go to all the locations, characters, and experience all the different dialogues and events the game has to offer in one playthrough. In my view that was always a great way of keeping the flow of the story with a pretty nice pacing, and allowed for so much replay value, which in my opinion was quite important with the different romance options and subsequent endings you could get. With a game like Sakura Wars 2 I could replay the game and it probably would still feel pretty fresh through this limit of actions and places you can go to in the ADV parts and the different dialogue options you can make throughout the game. Compared to that this removal of the action limit in Shin Sakura Wars hurts the game and especially the replay value more so than it actually being a good change that is beneficial for the overall experience. At least to me it could feel more tiring in this game and while I can experience all of the character events, it to me actually felt like there was less to do and to find in this game compared to previous entries to the series. It's definitely not totally ruining the game, but it still was a noticeable issue I had with the game and I wish they wouldn't have done this change to the ADV parts. Despite this change the ADV parts as a whole are still absolutely great and definitely the heart of the game with all of the different events and dialogue options throughout the ADV parts being really charming and generally really feeling like Sakura Wars. The implementation of the LIPS system is similar to previous games really good, and playing the game during these ADV parts felt like an absolute blast, aside from the former mentioned change to the formula with the action limit, or in general time that progressed with each location you went to, you had in previous games until the story progressed being removed, of which I'm not really fond of.

Presentation wise the game went full 3D for the most part compared to previous games which always had 2D character portraits and were animated with being completely lip sync. This change of presentation is yet another change I partly feel mixed on and don't know how to really feel about it, and while it certainly can have some benefits in certain aspects there are also quite some downsides to it compared to the previous games. What I can foremost say is that the character models of the main cast definitely look really great. I quite like their designs, and most of the time I think they hold up quite well to the 2D character portraits of the previous games. Generally Tite Kubo did a pretty great job for the main character designs, and while I still prefer the character designs of the previous games, I think his ones for the new characters hold up quite well. Though only most of the time since I think that some of the character models of NPCs don't hold up to that and can look noticeable worse and a bit out of place quality wise compared to the pretty great models of the main characters. With the 2D art I think that all of the characters looked like of the same quality and the games in general felt pretty consistent in that aspect, so I think it's a bit of a shame how this isn't completely the case with this game. But most of the time the game looks really good with the style they went for, and they made pretty nice use of the 3D character models, which allow for more animations. It's just unfortunate that some of the NPCs can look pretty rough with their character models. But in general there were some pretty decent and some cute animations with the characters throughout the game, but they also can sometimes feel a bit stiff. Gladly the game still features many anime cutscenes, which look really great and are definitely always a highlight throughout the game, and along with that, occasionally it still features some CGs at certain events. While they went for the 3D character models instead for 2D character portraits for the ADV parts, and I kind of miss the 2D character portraits which looked always really great, I'm glad that they kept these elements intact and both the anime cutscenes and CGs look really charming. Aside from that Kohei Tanaka came back to compose the soundtrack of the game, which sounds absolutely fantastic. Listening to the whole music and especially all the vocal songs was an immediate joy, and I'm glad that they brought back the original composer of the series. Just from listening to the opening song you immediately know that it's a banger soundtrack that has this unique Sakura Wars feeling.

While I still love the cast of characters of the first Sakura Wars games the most, I came to really like the Shin cast as well and I think there are some pretty great and interesting characters throughout the game that have a pretty nice dynamic with each other. Following the footsteps of Ichiro Ogami Shin Sakura Wars new protagonist is Seijuro Kamiyama. Similar to Ogami he comes from the navy and was transferred to the Imperial Combat Revue to become the captain of the Flower Division, and in general he resembles Ogami to some extent and you can see the parallels, while he still is his own unique and distinctive character. While his personality most of the time within the ADV parts of the game depends on the player choices, I found him to be a pretty good and charming protagonist, with his whole backstory and role within the story to be pretty nice and interesting as well. Through my playthrough I quite enjoyed playing as him and I think his voice actor, Youhei Azakami, did deliver a pretty good performance throughout the entire game. Personally I still like Ogami the most out of the three protagonists of the Sakura Wars main series, but he definitely quickly became my second favorite protagonist, and I think they did an overall really good job with him. As I really enjoyed and liked him as a protagonist I would also really like to see him again as a protagonist in a future new Sakura Wars game, and a potential Shin sequel that will hopefully happen sometime in the future. As for the other Flower Division party members, one of my favorites was definitely Sakura Amamiya whose personality and overall dynamic between her and Seijuro I quite enjoyed. Since I also mainly chose her as a romantic option in my playthrough, there were some really cute and quite some heartwarming moments between them, and in general their whole relationship and dynamic felt pretty good and believable. As romance is one of my favorite aspects about this series, this game once again really delivered in this aspect and I'm quite happy with all the romantic scenes there were in this game. Considering she even has the same name, she also parallels Sakura Shinguji from the previous games very much, but I think they did a pretty good job with giving her, her own unique and distinctive personality that sets her apart from Sakura Shinguji as her own character. There were also some great moments with her within the story, and I generally really enjoyed all of the scenes with her, which was only being enhanced by the fact that she is voiced by Ayane Sakura whose performance and voice I really love. Hearing her voice throughout the game was really great, and an absolute joy. My second favorite character aside from Sakura would most definitely be Claris, I really enjoyed her personality as well, and all of the moments between her and Seijuro were great as well. While I went for Sakura Amamiya in this playthrough, she definitely would've been my next choice, and she's absolutely one reason why I very much like the new cast of Shin as well! The other main characters aside from them like Hatsuho, Anastasia, and Azami were really nice as well, and I totally enjoyed their conversations and scenes for the most part too. Aside from the main cast the game now also features more side characters, which is quite decent, and I quite enjoyed them as well for the most part. As for the story itself, I found it to be pretty engaging and good all around, with some pretty nice moments with the characters. There are certain aspects about it that I don't like as much or don't know how to feel about them though, mostly about the general premise and partly how the game handles the previous entries of the series. I generally really like the passing the torch story the game is trying to tell, but as a fan of the series, I probably would've preferred if some aspects were done differently. Towards the end it at least to me felt a bit unsatisfying as a fan of the previous games. But how I feel about that whole aspect could very well still change with a sequel to this game that will hopefully happen at some point and I think there would still be a lot of potential.

Genuinely hope I didn't sound too negative and harsh on this game since I still very much love it despite some of the problems I have with it as a fan of the series. Even with some of these problems I might have with the game, there are still so many great aspects about it, and I ultimately still really love this game, and what it has to offer as a whole. Most of what I really love and adore about this series is still intact in this entry after all! There are so many great scenes between the characters, some of which are quite entertaining, along with many pretty romantic scenes that can be really wholesome, of which the last is most important to me. The core of what makes Sakura Wars so great in the first place is still present in this game for the most part, and even with some gripes I have with the game, I still had so much fun playing it and I once again absolutely love the whole romance aspect, just like with each other Sakura Wars game. I think there still would be a lot of potential for a Shin Sakura Wars sequel that fixes the problems this game has, goes for a more tactical direction for the gameplay parts, and in general just improves on this game, similar to how Sakura Wars 2 was a sequel that improved on the previous game in nearly every way. Please make further new Sakura Wars games in the future Sega, I genuinely would love to see a sequel to this game and in general new Sakura Wars games along with official English releases of the first four games. There's still a lot that can be done with this series.