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New Sakura Wars Game Announced

ranmafan

ranmafan

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Oct 27, 2017
313
Lucumo said:
I guess it's because Sega's legacy is pretty much a joke in comparison with how it should be. You would never guess Sega won the console war in NA and even more in Europe if you look at it today. Half of that is Sega's fault with their mismanagement of pretty much everything and half of it has to do with "Nintendo people" becoming reporters, editors etc in the gaming community. It always feels like Sega fans stopped playing (which could definitely be true in NA, I would want to see demographics of who owned a SNES and who owned a Mega Drive/Genesis) and at the same time aren't vocal at all. Also, with tons of games being released these days, a massively reduced legacy is doubly painful.
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Also it seemed like the news was just drowned out by the Shenmue announcement in the west, which while I'm so excited for as well, its been like the gaming worlds worst kept secret for years now. Its been constantly slightly hinted at by people happening. And considering its popularity in the west it was certainly going to overshadow the Sakura Taisen news. But yeah Sega not doing enough to help its legacy doesn't help much either there. Plus the fact for many people Sakura Taisen is more an anime franchise than a gaming one.

Still I was a bit surprised some a few of the major Japan based journalists didn't even post about it yesterday, but did for Shenmue. And even those that did post it most got the translations of the date wrong (I may be nitpicky there since I live in Japan and speak the language but those translation errors were so basic it was unbelievable to me.) Thankfully I saw more posts today about the news. And certainly there is excitement out there for it. Im actually quite interested to read the reactions by Japanese gamers in the next tanitsu to the news. Im sure it will be glowing considering what I've seen online so far!

fiendcode said:
The games were pretty big on Saturn too weren't they? I know DC & PS2 couldn't replicate the magic though.
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They were huge on the Saturn, no doubt about that. And they were on the dreamcast as well. The third game was voted as the best game on the Dreamcast in one Dreamcast magazine here (which I remember came to a shock to those on the retronauts podcast about the dreamcast years back.) The fourth game did well but isn't looked at as fondly as the others. It was hurt by being rushed, most likely due to the dreamcast's quick demise and the retirement of Sumire thus forcing a quick end to the Ogami sage, and it was quite short. However with its shortcomings it was a fun game and a nice end to that part of the series. But sadly yeah the PS2 versions couldn't keep the train going. The series went downhill after the fourth game. The fifth has people on both sides. Some love it some don't. Then there was that ds game that no one remembers. Which I finally just picked up recently.

Honestly the series needed a break. But its a good time now to bring it back!
 
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Lucumo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
690
ranmafan said:
Also it seemed like the news was just drowned out by the Shenmue announcement in the west, which while I'm so excited for as well, its been like the gaming worlds worst kept secret for years now. Its been constantly slightly hinted at by people happening. And considering its popularity in the west it was certainly going to overshadow the Sakura Taisen news. But yeah Sega not doing enough to help its legacy doesn't help much either there. Plus the fact for many people Sakura Taisen is more an anime franchise than a gaming one.

Im actually quite interested to read the reactions by Japanese gamers in the next tanitsu to the news. Im sure it will be glowing considering what I've seen online so far!
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That's true as well, unfortunately Shenmue did that (and I really like both games, especially the first). I was more talking about the legacy of Sega, as a brand, since if you are really well regarded (and in the minds of people) and looked at closely, every release of you will get good exposure, especially ones from the olden days. As for the legacy of Sakura Taisen itself in the West...it's unfortunately almost non-existent. Not much they could have done there.

Absolutely. While Japanese have short-term memory regarding games and franchises, the series was large enough and is still relevant to the tastes today that it should garner a lot of attention.
 

ACL

Member
Nov 18, 2017
1,304
Played ProjectXZone earlier this year and one recurring thought playing as Sakura Wars characters in that game was, that it would be nice to see a new Sakura Wars entry. Pleasent surprise to actually have a new game announced.
 
HyGogg

HyGogg

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,495
FireFistAce said:
Never heard of this game. Be honest, guys, it's one of those niche games that's hyped on forums, isn't it?
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In Japan, it's a mainstream, multi-million selling franchise, with anime and spinoffs. So this is a big fucking deal for Sega.

The fifth game was the only one that came out in the US, and the localization was released 5 years late on last-gen hardware in limited quantities, so it hasn't ever really had a chance in the west.
 

FireFistAce

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
692
HyGogg said:
In Japan, it's a mainstream, multi-million selling franchise, with anime and spinoffs. So this is a big fucking deal for Sega.

The fifth game was the only one that came out in the US, and the localization was released 5 years late on last-gen hardware in limited quantities, so it hasn't ever really had a chance in the west.
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Just looked up the sales of the last main series entry - 144k on current gen system (back then). The one before that did 257k.

It's about as big as Minna No Golf by the looks of it.
 
Virtua Sanus

Virtua Sanus

Member
Nov 24, 2017
6,492
FireFistAce said:
Just looked up the sales of the last main series entry - 144k on current gen system (back then). The one before that did 257k.

It's about as big as Minna No Golf by the looks of it.
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The main story of the series ended before that and releases in the series started going through the motions more than anything. It was also an extremely expensive IP to maintain considering stuff like the live tours and all of the actors starting to get a bit too old for constant releases.

Think of the series like this: It is Valkyria Chronicles both in scale and quality, made by the same people, but the focus on story and gameplay is reversed, with the visual novel-like scenes making up the majority of the game. Of course they have several other significant gameplay elements to them, but that is the most simple description I can give you. The fact the series has like 20ish games, dozens of animations, hundreds of memorabilia (figures, etc) that still sell even well even with over 10 years of no major releases should tell you how important this franchise is to many people in Japan.
 
Yunyo

Yunyo

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Oct 25, 2017
2,824
I think before the new game releases that I should at least play Sakura Taisen 1 for the first time.
 
ranmafan

ranmafan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
313
rocket said:
It's been a while since I play a "turn base rpg + dating sim."
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But it's not really a dating sim at all. I really hate that comparison to the game. It just a game with Some aspects of games in that genre. Even though you will go on at least one date in the game doesn't make it a dating sim. Also the fact your interactions and relationship building goes beyond just the girls in the game you might come close to. Your reactions to conversations are important to all characters since it's a factor in how your battles can go. Something like tokimeki memorial deserves the title of dating sim, not Sakura Taisen.
 
HyGogg

HyGogg

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Oct 27, 2017
2,495
FireFistAce said:
Just looked up the sales of the last main series entry - 144k on current gen system (back then). The one before that did 257k.

It's about as big as Minna No Golf by the looks of it.
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I don't know how current/accurate those figures are. The 5 main entries have sold 4.5 million combined.

The last one was sort of a soft reboot with a new cast and is kind of the "Apollo Justice" of its series, so I expect it didn't do as well. The one previous to that was also not a full game -- today it would be considered a "Stand-alone DLC." It was less than half the length of the others and mostly designed to wrap up and conclude the original trilogy. So those might not be fair comparisons. The first three games are the ones people remember most. Despite being tied to unsuccessful Sega systems they did really well, probably the biggest sellers on those systems in Japan.
 
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FireFistAce

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
692
HyGogg said:
I don't know how current/accurate those figures are. The 5 main entries have sold 4.5 million combined.

The last one was sort of a soft reboot with a new cast and is kind of the "Apollo Justice" of its series, so I expect it didn't do as well. The one previous to that was also not a full game -- today it would be considered a "Stand-alone DLC." It was less than half the length of the others and mostly designed to wrap up and conclude the original trilogy. So those might not be fair comparisons. The first three games are the ones people remember most.
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The whole series has sold 4.5M, not just the main games.
 
Virtua Sanus

Virtua Sanus

Member
Nov 24, 2017
6,492
The Apollo Justice comparison is great and reminded me that I should seriously play those games soon. It is a shame Sakura Taisen V is considered such a black sheep for the series in the same way though. I loved Gemini and Sagitta/Chairon and found the rest of the cast pretty fun. The flying combat was awesome and most of the music was some of my favorite in the series too.

Anyways, before this announcement I figured that if a new game ever did come out that it would absolutely get a worldwide release but also be another reboot of the series in general. I still believe this will get localized, but it seems like it might be awfully awkward for newcomers to the franchise to get into. With SEGA knowing that, it sort of has me worried that this game will have a new main cast with the originals as back up.

I honestly feel like Shin Sakura Taisen has the ability to sell well all over the world, but what are the odds of them porting all past games in the meantime? Localized ports of the original games would likely be way too much of a hassle, and with So Long My Love I doubt they would have access to all of the voices/assets from that localization. I would love to be proven wrong though.

I am kind of getting way ahead of myself though, I guess. I just really want this to be a big IP for SEGA again, and I think it is on it's way to being a bigger cult hit worldwide than Valkyria Chronicles is if they play their cards right.

HyGogg said:
Nobody bought the stupid tetris clone. Spinoffs don't account for any significant portion of that.
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The Columns spin-offs were fantastic, you monster! The art in the second game was pretty weird, though.
 
Eien1no1Yami

Eien1no1Yami

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Oct 30, 2017
2,331
Virtua Sanus said:
The Apollo Justice comparison is great and reminded me that I should seriously play those games soon. It is a shame Sakura Taisen V is considered such a black sheep for the series in the same way though. I loved Gemini and Sagitta/Chairon and found the rest of the cast pretty fun. The flying combat was awesome and most of the music was some of my favorite in the series too.
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I have to agree about the cast,I thought they were pretty great too.
With one big, big exception though.I really didn't like the protagonist Shinjiro Taiga, he was pretty lame compared to Oogami.
Now as fas as SW5's quality as a whole compared to the other games I would say that the combat was more engaging and had some nice additinions that also made a little bit more challening IMO (this "save the air plane from enemies" flight still gives nightmares)
The dialogues were pretty good too, they had this "Sakura Wars" feeling that a fan of the series expects, I can't quiet express this feeling with words but people who played the previous games can maybe get what I mean.
Having said all that I still think that SW5 wasn't as magical as the previous ones were.
SW1-4 are pretty special games to me that I finished only recently and was literally shocked by how a jrpg of this quality never made it to the West(excluding Russia for some odd reason).
When the credits rolled in SW4 and Kimi yo hana yo started playing, oh man, I will never forget this moment as I started and kept crying 8 minutes straight not because something bad happened at the end of the story, SW games are light hearted games after all, but
because inside of me I said "is this really the end?Why does it have to be?I want it to keep going forever.I was so emotionally attached with those characters at the end of the Saga that it was really hard for me to let it go.



Well once again although I found SW5 great I never felt the same way while playing it.



That's why I also think they will have a hard time to achieve the same sensation again with this new game, but I really hope they succeed, for the sake of this gem of a series.
Sorry for my long post and if I digressed a little but there are so many things I can say about the games that I could speak for a day.Unfortunately the series are not so popular in the West so it is had to find an active community
and discuss things with fellow fans.Thanks to the creation of a Discord group a few years ago things are a little bit better, but before that the drought was real.
 
HyGogg

HyGogg

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
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Virtua Sanus said:
I still believe this will get localized, but it seems like it might be awfully awkward for newcomers to the franchise to get into. With SEGA knowing that, it sort of has me worried that this game will have a new main cast with the originals as back up.
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Sakura Taisen 3 was also like that though, with a mostly new cast and some cameo appearances from the rest, and it walked that line perfectly. It was welcoming for newcomers and kept fans happy. I'd actually consider it my favorite.
 
sensui-tomo

sensui-tomo

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Oct 25, 2017
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Just wondering (since it seems like fans here know about it) Only Sakura wars 5 was translated/localized right? (meaning the rest of the franchise has never been fan subbed or anything ... besides that anime which actually was dubbed) because its funny to see a big franchise like it and not see a fan translation anywhere.
 
Eien1no1Yami

Eien1no1Yami

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,331
HyGogg said:
Sakura Taisen 3 was also like that though, with a mostly new cast and some cameo appearances from the rest, and it walked that line perfectly. It was welcoming for newcomers and kept fans happy. I'd actually consider it my favorite.
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Sakura Taisen 3 still had Oogami though and saying that the previous cast appears as cameos in the game I think is a huge understatement :P.
They play a big role in the story after half of the game.
 
Eien1no1Yami

Eien1no1Yami

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,331
sensui-tomo said:
Just wondering (since it seems like fans here know about it) Only Sakura wars 5 was translated/localized right? (meaning the rest of the franchise has never been fan subbed or anything ... besides that anime which actually was dubbed) because its funny to see a big franchise like it and not see a fan translation anywhere.
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In English yes, only Sakura Wars 5 was translated, unfortunately, but the PC version of SW1-4 was also translated into Russian for some reason.
As for the fan translation, there is one for the first game and it's "almost done".
You can ask more cj_iwakura about it, as he's involved with the project

Blade24070 said:
Who's the most popular waifu: Sakura, Erica, or Gemini?
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I don't like to use the term "waifu" so much but if I had to choose my favourite protagonists of the series excluding Oogami
it would be something like:

Sakura from Teito
Hanabi from Paris
Sagiitta/Cheiron from new York
 
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sensui-tomo

sensui-tomo

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
4,629
maybe i should consider myself lucky with getting SW5 on the ps2 from gamestop new (with a used price) ages back, also surprising that the game had 2 copies in it, Subbed and dubbed tracks (and they used different names too which is fucking rare for games when making a sub track different from the dub subs)
 
hikarutilmitt

hikarutilmitt

"This guy are sick"
Member
Dec 16, 2017
11,551
sensui-tomo said:
maybe i should consider myself lucky with getting SW5 on the ps2 from gamestop new (with a used price) ages back, also surprising that the game had 2 copies in it, Subbed and dubbed tracks (and they used different names too which is fucking rare for games when making a sub track different from the dub subs)
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It was easily one of the best ways any company at the time handled a localization, because they knew their audience. One disc was essentially just a translated game, the other was a more localized game, that they also ported to Wii for some extra copies to be sold. It also didn't cost much more.
 
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