| Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning? | |
|---|---|
 Cover art of the original Dreamcast release, featuring protagonist Erica Fontaine | |
| Developer(s) | |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Akira Nishino |
| Producer(s) | Ryutaro Nonaka |
| Designer(s) | Toru Yoshida |
| Programmer(s) | Takayuki Kudo |
| Artist(s) | |
| Writer(s) | Satoru Akahori |
| Composer(s) | Kohei Tanaka |
| Series | Sakura Wars |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Tactical role-playing, dating sim, visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning?[b] is a cross-genre video game developed by Red Company and Overworks and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The third installment in the Sakura Wars series, it was released in March 2001. Defined by its publisher as a "dramatic adventure" game, Is Paris Burning? combines overlapping tactical role-playing, dating sim and visual novel gameplay elements.
Taking place after the events of Sakura Wars 2: Thou Shalt Not Die, Sakura Wars 3 follows protagonist Ichiro Ogami join the newly formed Paris Combat Revue and train the "Flower Division", an all-female unit dedicated to fighting supernatural threats against the city while working as a cabaret act. Alongside Ogami's training, the Paris Division must prevent Salu and the Paris Phantoms, the game's main antagonists, from threatening Paris.
The concept work for Sakura Wars 3 began during development of Thou Shalt Not Die. Most of the original staff returned, including series creator and general producer Oji Hiroi, writer Satoru Akahori, artists Kōsuke Fujishima and Hidenori Matsubara, and composer Kohei Tanaka. Newcomers included director Akira Nishino and executive producer Noriyoshi Ohba. While retaining the basic systems of the Sakura Wars series, the engine and gameplay were rebuilt for the Dreamcast, with a new battle system being designed. The anime cutscenes were produced by Production I.G, blending traditional animation with computer graphics. It received positive reviews from journalists and sold over 300,000 units. A direct sequel, Sakura Wars 4: Fall in Love, Maidens, was released in 2002.
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