(DC) Sakura Taisen 3 [NTSC-J]

[Valencia]

Valencia celebrates her 3600th post with....


Yay! I've spent almost a month trying to get the first disc, and my patience has finally paid off. angel21pl: Of course, now it'll probably take another month before I could obtain the second and third discs. Well....I guess someone else can always post the other discs up if I don't get them uploaded first. Then it'll be like a joint effort or something. Hehe....my first joint effort. Sounds like fun.

Originally Posted by Peter Bartholow

In the Saturn's Japanese heyday, Sega published Red Company's quirky Sakura Taisen and was immediately shocked by the popularity it garnered. Immensely popular, the game spawned a sequel, an anime OAV, and a slew of related merchandise. Seeking to capitalize on this series once again, Sega is retooling and rereleasing Sakura Taisen and Sakura Taisen 2 before shipping the much anticipated Sakura Taisen 3 for the Sega Dreamcast later this year.

The game was developed by Red Company, the team responsible for Atlus' Thousand Arms, it may come as no surprise that Sakura Taisen features one of the most offbeat, original, and unlikely of storylines. Set in 1920s Japan during the first industrialization and westernization of the country, Sakura Taisen chronicles the dual lives of the "Teikokukageki-dan." A homophone for both "Imperial Attack Corps" and "Imperial Opera Corps," this secret force is charged with the duties of protecting Japan from the forces of evil and entertaining the locals with impressive musical productions. Steam and spirit fuel the group members' efforts, as they battle in massive steam-powered mechs. Ichiro Okami, the character you control, is set to replace the Corps' current captain and must struggle through the attacks of the Kurosukai and relate to the beautiful women who scurry through the halls.

Set up like the first season of an anime series, Sakura Taisen is more about story and characterization than it is about battle. The game is divided into thirteen episodes, each of which continues the story and deals with various characters and situations. At the end of each episode, you're even treated to a preview of the next episode - a great device for keeping the player going.

The majority of the game is spent talking to the various characters and talking your way through the various quirky situations that are bound to arise in a female-populated attack force and opera company. As in most of the infamous Japanese dating sims, you're prompted to choose a response when confronted by a member of the cast. However, unlike in most dating sims, you have a limited amount of time to react - remaining silent is just as viable an option as the other choices presented, and it's sometimes necessary to maintain the relationships with the girls. There isn't any actual dating - as the captain-in-training, Ichiro, just has to maintain morale and keep the girls happy. There's really no way to absolutely fail in these scenarios, and the player's actions only have minimal effect on the story.

Morale translates directly into performance in the game's strategic battles - the higher the morale, the more damage attacks will do. A relatively simple grid-based strategy game along the lines of Sega's classic Shining Force series, Sakura Taisen has you maneuvering and destroying mechs galore. Each character's turn is split into two actions, letting you move and attack, move and defend, attack and move, etc. Each character also has a critical attack, which is charged throughout battle by the charge command and by receiving damage from the enemy. Additionally, Ichiro's mech can rush to the defense of a selected character, negating damage and raising that character's morale. The battles aren't particularly difficult for the most part, as enough healing and attacking options are present. Despite this, however, they're usually short and entertaining.

As a remake of a Saturn game, Sakura Taisen's technological abilities are somewhat limited. However, Sakura Taisen's production values are still impressive. Sporting crisp, high-resolution graphics and tons of anime cutscenes, the two-disc game is hardly at a loss for visuals. Red Company's flamboyant anime style is in full force in Sakura Taisen, bringing the world and characters to life. While mostly simple FM-synth, Sakura Taisen's music is catchy and appropriate for the various situations. The ample voice work is also of high quality in both performance and bit rate, and although the entire game is in Japanese, you can wade through it without knowledge of that language, as the story and conversations aren't crucial, and the strategic battles are pretty straightforward.

While a little low on gameplay, Sakura Taisen's focus on story and presentation is handled expertly. It's unfortunate, if understandable, that Sega won't give this series a shot in the US. An excellent game given its due once again, Sakura Taisen should please fans of anime, strategy games, and dating sims. If this Saturn remake is any indication, Sakura Taisen 3 will be quite a treat.

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NOTE: If you are experiencing difficulty downloading or playing this game, use our Download Difficulty subforum. Do not post such issues in this thread, as they will be deleted. Yeah....because I'm sure I won't be able to help you. But someone else might at that subforum! Copy the URL of this page by selecting the entire address and pressing Ctrl+C, as you will need to reference it by pressing Ctrl+V on an entry box when seeking assistance.

New LiNKs By OMI:
http://snesorama.us/board/showpost.p...7&postcount=28

[behindthefreezR]

Awesome!!!!! Now we have all four of them. Thanks for completing the collection Val. Let me see if i can give u rep.....

[EDIT] Hell ya, Rep given]

[:: Ð ::]

another good strategy game from the sakura wars series

good game

!!!thanks very very thanks¡¡¡ "valencia"
sincerely “the gamer mekdra”

thanks, great upload

[Vincent]

sorry but isn't there is a CD 3 To this game

Originally Posted by Vincent

sorry but isn't there is a CD 3 To this game

probably cuz the uploader is too busy hanging out with her RL friends she forgot about her upload :1327: oke0ba:

I love you so freaking big, this post box can't even possibly fit it all.

Thank you very much for this upload.

T_T Nomake's tears are once again flowing like waterfalls!

[gooduser]

Can anybody mirror upoading.com-chunks ?
Uploading.com MUST DIE !!!

Originally Posted by gooduser

Can anybody mirror upoading.com-chunks ?
Uploading.com MUST DIE !!!

u should report that in the Download Difficulties section, not in the game's thread, and yeah, uploading is a bitch