Pasokon Retro is our common look again on the early years of Japanese PC gaming, encompassing all the things from specialist ’80s computer systems to the joyful days of Home windows XP.
As of late you may anticipate any Sega sport, from the newest Yakuza to the retro delight Sonic Origins, to show up on PC. It is a blessed time: Paying cash to decorate up Hatsune Miku and buddies after which have them sing over a tune from arcade basic racing sport Energy Drift has by no means been simpler.
Any Sega sport, I ought to say, that is not Sakura Wars.
2019’s gentle reboot of the collection stays conspicuous in its absence on PC in any language—it isn’t even on Steam completely in Japan. It is particularly odd as a result of 20 years in the past Japanese PC players have been busy putting in a wonderful XP-compatible port of the unique Sega Saturn Sakura Wars on their smokin’ scorching Pentium 3 machines (be careful—it demanded not less than 64MB of RAM, too).
Although this sport’s a (comparatively) excessive decision port of a ’90s smash, it suits the PC like a glove. Sakura Wars was—a bit of oddly, contemplating its Saturn origins—solely designed round cursor enter (the console did have an official mouse), so enjoying it on PC looks like a sport that is come residence. That was important on the time: PC controllers have been nonetheless a rarity, and lots of console ports have been both awkward suits or technical messes. Sakura Wars escaped each pitfalls, and clicking round in every single place from swimming swimming pools to battlefields is at all times straightforward and pure.
However what’s Sakura Wars, precisely? It is easy to deal with anyone a part of it and make a snap determination—in some locations it appears to be like like an journey sport, in others it goes all tactical, and generally, when the gentle music’s enjoying within the background and somebody’s blushing you may swear it was a romance sim. However none of these descriptions actually ring true. Sakura Wars is a chameleon, able to develop into no matter it takes to make the colorful forged shine brightest. It switches between animated bodily comedy sequences, dramatic battles in opposition to sinister forces, and heart-to-hearts as fits it finest.
So far as Sakura Wars is anxious, if we’re all having a great time then it is doing the entire “being a sport” factor proper.
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Our playable focus on this expertise is Ogami Ichiro, freshly transferred from the navy to Japan’s capital metropolis prepared to guide a gaggle of courageous peace-defending warriors in opposition to no matter might threaten the land. The one downside is he hasn’t been advised his squadmates aren’t grizzled army veterans however succesful younger ladies masquerading as a theatre troupe. He is additionally not been advised he has to play alongside and be the theatre’s ticket clipper. It is an ego-popping expertise that rapidly units the tone: Ogami’s one half of a talented group, and that is solely going to work if everybody, together with these of us enjoying alongside at residence, strive their finest and pull collectively.
How rapidly that occurs relies on how properly you deal with the adventure-style sections of the sport. The twist right here is Sakura Wars pretends the opposite particular person actually is standing there ready in your reply, and sure, they is likely to be aggravated if you cannot rapidly make a easy determination. Then in one other dialog they is likely to be impressed in the event you keep quiet, refusing to take sides in another person’s argument.
The precise size of time you are given to decide varies wildly relying on the state of affairs in query. Typically you will have time to rigorously suppose it via. Typically you will should go together with your intestine and hope for the perfect. The key to Sakura Wars’ success right here is that there is not any actual “finest” selection in these conditions. The script will usually pressure you right into a nook, goading you into selecting a response that may most likely delight one particular person and go away the opposite impartial or perhaps even indignant with you. However no matter occurs you may’t irreparably break a friendship, or wind up on the “unhealthy” story route, and meaning there is not any strain to play completely—or to withstand making Ogami act like a goof infrequently only for the enjoyable of it. It is a good system and I actually suppose nearly any sport that provided me decisions could be higher off if I needed to decide proper now.
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How a lot the opposite members of the forged like Ogami not solely impacts quite a few cutscenes all through the sport but additionally interprets into improved battle stats. Merely put, the forged hit issues (a bit of bit) tougher in the event that they like him.
These turn-based isometric scraps in appealingly stompy steam-mechs may appear disappointingly shallow at first. There is not any gear or expertise or just about the rest to fret about, and on the entire the tiniest scrap of widespread sense (resembling “do not ship one particular person off on their very own”) is all of the thought that is wanted to win each intentionally straightforward battle. There’s really a great motive for this: the rare fight segments aren’t presupposed to be Severe Man’s Warfare Simulation for Severe Folks Who Like Clicking Issues. They’re simply one other approach of conveying how a lot enjoyable it’s to see a gaggle of colour-coordinated buddies whack an excessively dramatic unhealthy man till they do the “Grrr, I will get you subsequent time!” factor and disappear.
As irritating because it might be to have a themed group of evil individuals repeatedly escape on the final minute simply to allow them to flip up once more later, the sport has the great sense to not drag this or the rest on for too lengthy. A mean, unhurried, playthrough tends to work out at comfortably beneath 20 hours, so even for somebody as impatient as myself each thrilling TV-style teaser for the following chapter leaves me eager to play for just a bit bit longer than I assumed I used to be going to.
Sakura Wars might have had about as a lot affect on the English-speaking facet of gaming as a single snowflake in an energetic volcano, however in Japan the collection was so fashionable it had quite a few sequels, a devoted cafe, a decade of stage exhibits carried out by the sport’s authentic forged, official clothes, and a lot extra. It was not simply beloved: it was as important and essential a “Sega” expertise as any Sonic or Phantasy Star On-line sport has ever been. At present Steam is awash with retro revivals, illustrated adventures, beforehand untranslated classics, and strange video games of all stripes, so what extra does Sakura Wars—a sport that has a PC port able to go—should do to show that even 20 years after its PC debut it could nonetheless really feel proper at residence on anybody’s onerous drive?
Heck, if Sega want a reminder, I will even let it borrow the Japanese copy of the sport I’ve had sitting on my shelf for years.
