Sakura Wars takes place in 1928 New York, with Japanese student and military pilot Shinjiro Taiga being sent to New York unexpectantly, and is sent to join the Star Division, New York's mecha combat robot team of awesomeness. You play as Shinjiro as he adjusts to his new life in the big apple, getting used to customs, trying to fit in with the members and avoiding getting killed in the process. The overarching story here is very well done. Characters at first despise Shinjiro and feel he doesn't belong, but soon realize the hidden power Shinjiro (who i will be calling Shiny for the rest of the review) has inside him. You get a good feel of what it must be like for Shiny and even though you may hate all the characters for being so mean to him at first, they quickly give the characters most cruel their own arcs and they redeem themselves rather quickly. The story is handled through episodes, each one dealing with a specific character and their individual storylines. Which brings me to the characters themselves.
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| She's quite the feisty one |
There are 6 members of the Star Division, all female. These are not only your squadmates, but also your love interests. Dialogue options are VERY frequent in this game and allow for a better or worse relationship with each character, depending on your answer. This is the main part of the game and is by far the most fun. Choosing the correct dialogue and getting to know what each girl would want to hear allows you to foster an understanding for each girl. This also makes you feel very much in control of each dialogue and give a sense of immersion into the player. Usually there are 3 options of text to choose from, each one having either a positive, negative or neutral effect on the characters relationship with you. But there is also a timer for each choice, meaning you can choose to select nothing and stay silent. This is not explained and can be frustrating as you wouldn't expect to let the timer actually run out unless the game informed you. Another thing this game does is minigames with the analog sticks, having you do certain rotations or directions in order to do a certain action like mop the floors or run away. This is fun, but some of these are BRUTAL and some actually require you not to get perfect, but just good, which is also cryptic and mostly unfair to the player. But nevertheless, each chapter brings each girl full circle, showing them at their low then bringing them back up to their prime. Because of this each character has redeemable qualities to them and at the very end you may have a hard time choosing which one is your favourite.
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| The blocks on the bottom are AP |
The second, and smaller, part of the game is the RPG turn based battle system with your mechs and the Star Division. These use action points as currency for either walking movements, attacks or special command. The battle system here is simple to learn but hard to master. Maximizing your AP usage becomes a required skill and while it may not seem deep and can be won by doing the basics, special commands hugely increase the depth to the battles and add for a deeper playing experience. They even managed to throw in some of the dating aspects through dialogue choices when two mechs are close to one another. Boss battles are a mixed bag. While the regular missions are never too challenging, boss battles can be absolutely CRUEL at some portions and will definitely push even veterans to their limits. They even include air battles with your mechs changing into jets with missiles; if that's not awesome, i don't know what is. Whilst the battle system plays second fiddle to the dating and dialogue portions of the game, it is still very fun and satisfying and will no doubt fill and want of another great RPG battle system on wii.
The design of the game is one of it's best qualities. When talking to a character, their eyes and mouths actually move and blink, and even change expression without switching to another picture entirely! Wow! Rune Factory take notes! This adds a smooth layer to each conversation and seeing their expression change from happy to sad or scared to happy makes the dialogue choices that much more satisfying. The character designs themselves are also well done, featuring a wide range of cultures; from Spanish bandito, to Texan Ranger and African lawyer, it certainly shows it's diversity. The game also bosts CG and animated cutscenes. The animated cutscenes steal the show as they are incredibly smooth and gorgeous. The CG cutscenes appear before every battle, introducing the characters and their mechs. This is also a welcome addition and gets the player pumped for each battle. There are some segments of walking around New York which to be honest look pretty ugly, but overall this game is a living and breathing anime and it certainly shows in it's design.
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| How most dialogue options look |
So did I have any major gripes with the game? Well, a little. The most notable is it's setting of 1928. Rarely does it ever actually FEEL like 1928 and the designs of each mech don't showcase any steampunk design to them. I literally forgot it was 1928, until it reminded me at the beginning of each battle. This is, for me, a huge wasted oppurtunity and could have resulted in some nice theming, while what we get is a New York that feels just as big as it is now, which is incorrect. Another thing is the saving issue. Now, you can save at any time from the pause menu, even in dialogue, so that if you screw up you can always reset. The problem is saving from the pause menu takes you back to the main menu and you have to reload your save once again. This becomes VERY annoying as you have to save, go back to the menu, reload the save, have the dialogue, and oh, you screwed up. Reset, wait for the menu, reload, and NOW choose. And if you screw up and didn't happen to psychically know an important choice is coming up, you either have to reset the entire chapter or just deal with it. No restart from checkpoints to be found. The only other things are the fact that the wii version doesn't include the Japanese voice track, some dialogue options feel really out of character and the correct option is something that noone would guess to pick. Some missions can literally be beaten in one turn, if the abuse of special commands is used correctly, and the main ending to the game needed more closure. I chose Gemini Sunrise, the red-headed Texan, and while they give you a unique animated cutscene for each character at the end, which is awesome, the game puts huge emphasis on preserving the future and growing old, and we don't see any of that! I would have liked if the game didn't restart itself once finished, but instead went the infinite epilogue route, simply letting you explore the overworld and talk to characters after the final battle until the end of time. I felt a bit cut off when my relationship hit it's peak then suddenly ended.
In conclusion, Sakura Wars, So Long My Love is a fantastic game. It mixes dating and dialogue choices with a unique and deep battle system, providing an experience unlike any other. The emphasis on character is fantastic, and the amount of replayability is quite simply, staggering. Playing the game over lets you unlock different dialogues, different cutscenes, and exclusive pictures and music from the in-game shop. The game's campaign is about a 10-15 hour experience, which is awesomely long and satisfying. This game lets you know this wonderful band of characters, each possessing something that makes each one different from the other, and it's immersion is simply brilliant. Anyone who is a fan of anime or RPGs in general needs to pick up this game. Don't let the semi-bad voice acting drive you away- this game is one for the ages.
Sakura Wars, So Long My Love gets an amazing 9/10 and a recommendation of Buy it!
Well hope you enjoyed the review. Next post will be: NAAG- WiiU Staying Relevant
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