Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
I’m going to let you in on a little secret: playing the original Sakura Wars (via the PSP port) was actually one of the game experiences that I personally found to be most enjoyable in 2009. Well, the first half of the game, but we’ll get into that shortly.
The game certainly showed its age, as a package complete with excessive load times, CG originally generated for the Sega Saturn, and clunky (yet serviceable) controls littered throughout both the battle and adventure segments. Yet at the same time, I was also keenly aware that I was participating in something entirely foreign to me, making it just as refreshing as it was archaic. Most significant however, was the reality that I was thoroughly enjoying the characters and the world within which I was forging relationships, not to mention the fact that this quirky adventure game was also half strategy RPG, and a rather satisfying one at that.
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love serves as the fifth entry in the popular series which was released nearly five years ago in Japan for the PlayStation 2, which was nine years after the release of the original on the Sega Saturn, making the game’s landmark voyage overseas only about 14 years late.
I was met with apprehension when I sat down with Japanese version of the game (which this preview is based on). I wanted to like the game, but was my unpredicted attachment to the original supported solely by the novelty of having had such an exotic experience from anything that I had encountered before, or was there something genuinely charming embedded in the unique composition of the games in this series? Last year, Weekly Famitsu readers voted Sakura Wars as the video game series in highest demand of a proper sequel (followed by Okami and Shenmue), which ought to indicate something, regardless of any “cultural differences.”
But, what is it?
Should I be forced to draw a comparison between Sakura Wars and another game, taking into consideration both the battle system and overall the game flow, this new entry in the series is actually remarkably similar to another Sega title, the PlayStation 3 strategy RPG darling, Valkyria Chronicles (do I have your attention now?), and in some ways, even more similar to the PSP sequel. The player presses on through the story chapter by chapter, and even though the game isn’t presented in a “storybook” like format and broken down into separate cut scenes that play out for the player bit by bit, the game does offer clear “breaks” with opportunities to check character status and save your game. Each chapter also consists of a limited number of battle sequences, often only one, which serve as the honorary action segment for that particular chapter of the game. Sound familiar?
Now what if I told you that Valkyria Chronicles’ “revolutionary” action-strategy battle system was actually lifted from a five year old PS2 adventure game? The structural and mechanical similarities are striking, but it’s also very clear that time, experience, careful planning and more powerful hardware produced something much more refined and deserving of the praise that it received. Sakura Wars . . . not so much.
The battle system is by no means unplayable, or even unenjoyable for that matter, but there are a few ingredients which brew frustration, and having experienced the series in its classic, isometric perspective, grid-style format, it’s very clear that the system’s roots lie elsewhere. I won’t waste time outlining battle mechanics, as there are much better sources for such information, but it is worth noting the issues that the system suffers from as a result of the series’ move to 3D, particularly with regards to air battles.
Simply put, a 3D space just doesn’t offer an ideal vantage point for gauging character placement on the battlefield, which becomes very apparent once the mechs take to the sky and the player is then forced to manipulate the Z-axis as well. Given the scale of some of the battles and the necessity for pair and group attacks which require particular character alignments within the 3D space, having to constantly rotate cameras, move and re-move team members, and exit out of the battle screen in order to check non-3D grids for some sense of direction, slip-ups that are difficult to attribute to lack of skill are a bit too frequent, occasionally feeling like unavoidable antecedents of eventual failure. The pressure to transplant these segments into a 3D was likely strong and unavoidable, but it’s interesting to see how, in some cases, “archaic and simple” can often prove to also be ideal.
I should make it clear that Sakura Wars is not a dating sim. While the visual presentation and largely female cast may force the uninitiated to prematurely draw comparisons to the largely ostracized genre, the “goal” is never to date, unclothe, or have one’s way with any of the game’s characters. It is however a game where relationship building lies at its core, as the time that one commits to roaming the Littlelips Theatre (base of operations, and performances) and New York’s various neighborhoods (here is your chance to check out a brilliantly stereotyped version of Harlem) in order to interact with the game’s eclectic cast seems to be where the magic lies. These interactions and the player’s responses within conversations will directly impact how the characters feel about Taiga (the main character), and consequently those characters’ stats during battle sequences, giving decisions made by the player a level of permanence and a direct through-line between all elements of the gameplay.
Dialogue choices in video games are not new, and neither are quick-time events which force the player to think and react under pressure. Sakura Wars combines these and integrates them into nearly every instance of dialogue selection throughout the entire game, which is one of its flagship features. This is nothing revolutionary, but there is something very significant going on here that is worth mentioning: the realistic nature of time-pressured responses.
While having a dialogue option in most games typically warrants the player on opportunity to leave the game alone in order to make a trip to the fridge or answer the phone, this is not how conversation actually plays out in real life. Questions and comments demand reactions and responses. Response time actually plays a very significant role in communicating the true intentions of the speaker and can significantly save or damage the face of those involved in the exchange irrespective of the speaker’s word choice. People can only tolerate a limited amount of silence in conversation, and this amount of time actually differs between cultures.
Recognizing this is part of what makes “conversing” in Sakura Wars so satisfying. Not only does the sound of a rising meter convey a clear sense of pressure and impatience, but the speed at which time runs out between dialogue selections changes depending on the situation. Better still, adding further believability to the nature of the differences between the characters’ disposition and personality, it is actually often quite difficult to determine the “best” response from the given list of choices. I’ve run into many situations where I was sure that I had offered the most sought after response, only to be left standing by my lonesome before I even had a chance to grasp the situation, and vice-versa, where I was sure that I was in for a smack in the face, only to be awarded with smiles and praise. Sure, dialogue trees may have arguably come a long way, but it doesn’t mean that something meaningful which was conjured up nearly a decade and a half ago is any less relevant today.
The interactions are splendid, but the story is where my largest complaint lies. The setting, cast of characters, and sheer concept are, to be honest, completely absurd, and this is true of the series in general. The game, however, manages to walk a fine line in its early chapters where character development and the involvement in one another’s personal lives takes center stage, and since this is arguably the game’s greatest strength, the balance between absurdity and honesty is an interesting and tolerable one.
It isn’t until the developers feel forced to switch gears and focus on the overarching “plot” and further integrate the plot line’s greater evils with much more frequency that the game suffers. I mentioned earlier on in the article that I really only thoroughly enjoyed the first half of my experience with the original, and the same holds true for this entry as well. Sure the game’s characters are ridiculous, but there’s something very human about them. This is not the case with the game’s antagonists or their avenues of evil. Once the story part really kicks in, the sense of relationship building really feels like it takes a back seat, even though it doesn’t go anywhere, as it gets overwhelmed by characters, dialogue, and plot twists that I feel almost embarrassed to be involving myself with. This is very subjective, as the battle system or story progression may very well be the game’s selling point for a percentage of the potential audience, but for me the good vs. evil story feels rather jarring and secondary alongside the game’s other elements. As a result, I probably won’t end up finishing the game, but I’m quite sure that I’ll eventually play through the first half of every entry in the series eventually.
I must take a brief moment to point out to those that have played other games in the series that this game feels “off” in comparison to previous entries. Having the story open up in Japan and interacting with series' classic characters Sakura and Ogami-san, only to then be promptly whisked off to an alternate-reality New York complete with rootin’ tootin’ Texans and over exaggerated depictions of nearly every other facet of American people and society, the game seems to lose something that makes it . . . Sakura Wars. A little time with the game was enough to convince me that I was indeed playing some extension of previous experiences that I was hoping to relive, but it still never felt like the experience that I was hoping for. For those new to the series this won’t be an issue, but it’s worth noting. At least it sounds as if players will be able to elect to go with the original Japanese voice work instead of the English, which ought to be the safe bet and more supportive of an authentic Sakura Wars experience.
In the end however, I am happy to proclaim that, while I can recognize the multitude of reasons for why Sakura Wars may not attract the attention of a large chunk of the gaming populous (and may actually actively repel them), my time with this latest entry has been enough to confirm for me that there is something intertwined amongst the presentation and player interaction that manages to capture me in a way different from any other game out there, which in my book means that if nothing else, we have at the very least been offered something worth examining. Why NIS has decided to take a chance on the game now remains a mystery (releasing it smack in the middle of “Second Christmas,” no less), but if gamers have any desire to join the theatre group again, they ought to speak loudly and monetarily very soon. They may just be saving NIS while they’re at it.
