Sakura Wars (2019 video game)

Sakura Wars
Developer(s)Sega CS2 R&D
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Tetsuya Otsubo
Producer(s)Tetsu Katano
Programmer(s)Hisao Koba
Artist(s)
Writer(s)
Composer(s)Kohei Tanaka
SeriesSakura Wars
EngineHedgehog Engine 2
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Release
  • JP/AS: December 12, 2019
  • WW: April 28, 2020
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Dating sim
Visual novel
Mode(s)Single-player

Sakura Wars, known in Japan as New Sakura Wars,[a] is a cross-genre video game developed and published by Sega for the PlayStation 4. The sixth mainline entry and a soft reboot of the Sakura Wars series, the game was released in 2019 in Asia and 2020 worldwide. It is the first Sakura Wars game not to be developed by Red Entertainment. The gameplay combines overlapping action role-playing, dating sim and visual novel elements. The base campaign was later expanded with downloadable content (DLC), adding further gameplay options such as additional costumes.

The game takes place in a fictionalised version of the Taishō period in 1940, where the World Luxury Operatic Federation fights against those who threaten peace around the world. Naval captain Seijuro Kamiyama is transferred to Tokyo, where he must lead the struggling Imperial Combat Revue through a worldwide tournament of Combat Revues and fight the demons once again.

Development of Sakura Wars began in 2016 after a positive fan response at that year's Sega Fes convention. A combination of new and returning staff were involved in development; these include veteran Sega producer Tetsu Katano, director Tetsuya Otsubo, scenario director Takaharu Terada, music composer Kohei Tanaka, story writer Jiro Ishii, and scenario writer Takaaki Suzuki. Manga artist Tite Kubo designed the main cast, while guest artists handled the supporting cast. The cinematics were produced by Sanzigen. The game was announced at Sega Fes 2018. It is the first mainline entry in the series since Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (2005). A manga adaptation is running in Young Jump. An anime television series sequel produced by Sanzigen premiered on April 3, 2020. Gameplay-based DLC was released between 2019 and 2020. Upon release, Sakura Wars received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the game for being welcoming to new players as well as for its mix of tactical and story-based gameplay, but criticised it for its combat and some story elements.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).