Interested in Sakura Taisen
Interested in Sakura Taisen
I'm somewhat interested in trying out the Saturn and then possibly the DC Sakura installments. The sakura rose theme and girl samurai in steam powered mechs has had me intrigued for awhile. Are they somewhat easy to get through using online tutorials? Otherwise, unless the stories are decent (are they?) I am guessing a lot of enjoyment is taken out unless you can read what the characters are saying? And how is the anime/OVAs? I'm also guessing the Saturn and DC titles cost a lot now.
I have Sakura Taisen 1 and 2 on Saturn, and they're pretty solid games. They are very text heavy though, and pretty much require translation FAQs for it to be playable, but they're both very good fun. The battles are easy to get into, and I don't believe they are real-time (haven't played them in a while), and the conversation bits are funny - don't make Sumire angry, or you'll be sorry 
The artwork is pretty good as well. The Sat versions come with extra manual-sized artbooks featuring illustrations and concept work. I quite like Kanzaki Sumire's artwork and character design, the kimono-as-shoulder-dress is an intruging style (she's definitely my fave of the bunch, shame her seiyuu in the anime has retired).
I can't imagine them being expensive to anyone except devoted Sakura Taisen fans. eBay has a couple going for under $20, search for both "Sakura Wars" and "Sakura Taisen".
Got the OVA anime collection as well. Worth checking out
The artwork is pretty good as well. The Sat versions come with extra manual-sized artbooks featuring illustrations and concept work. I quite like Kanzaki Sumire's artwork and character design, the kimono-as-shoulder-dress is an intruging style (she's definitely my fave of the bunch, shame her seiyuu in the anime has retired
).I can't imagine them being expensive to anyone except devoted Sakura Taisen fans. eBay has a couple going for under $20, search for both "Sakura Wars" and "Sakura Taisen".
Got the OVA anime collection as well. Worth checking out
Umm, no, all the DC games are cheap. 1 & 2 are dirt cheap, 3 goes for between 20 and 30 dollars. I'd hardly call that a lot.
The highlights of the ST games are the characters and the dialogue, and the combat is usually fairly mediocre. (In 1 & 2 it's quite slow & clunky, but it gets better from 3 onwards.) If you want to play them and you can't read Japanese, you'll be glued to a faq. I mean "glued." You'll be consulting the faq every few seconds and relying solely on it to get you through the game. That said, I do know a lot of people who enjoyed playing through the games that way. The games are very much "interactive anime" - as you could probably guess.
The highlights of the ST games are the characters and the dialogue, and the combat is usually fairly mediocre. (In 1 & 2 it's quite slow & clunky, but it gets better from 3 onwards.) If you want to play them and you can't read Japanese, you'll be glued to a faq. I mean "glued." You'll be consulting the faq every few seconds and relying solely on it to get you through the game. That said, I do know a lot of people who enjoyed playing through the games that way. The games are very much "interactive anime" - as you could probably guess.
It's not sci-fi in the true sense of the term, since it's set in a very classical era, something like 1920s, or earlier. Just with your customary Japanese robo, futuristic vehicles, and demons.
It's not really romance either. The male character, Ohgami (sp?), is there as a support character. Granted, the girls look at him with affectionate eyes, but he's more like a brother than anything. And they play off him quite a bit in the anime, some scenes are quite humorous.
There isn't much combat in the animes, most of it is story. The four-part OVA is how they all came together as part of the Imperial Flower Assault Team, with a lot of background on the characters themselves. And the six-part series that followed goes into more detail with a lot of character development, and some good story.
I don't know how you'd describe Sakura Taisen. It's really a mix of all of those, but with no element that stands out more than the others. It's also pretty acquired taste, but I quite like it as it's not overwhelming, good to watch (or play), and entertaining.
It's not really romance either. The male character, Ohgami (sp?), is there as a support character. Granted, the girls look at him with affectionate eyes, but he's more like a brother than anything. And they play off him quite a bit in the anime, some scenes are quite humorous.
There isn't much combat in the animes, most of it is story. The four-part OVA is how they all came together as part of the Imperial Flower Assault Team, with a lot of background on the characters themselves. And the six-part series that followed goes into more detail with a lot of character development, and some good story.
I don't know how you'd describe Sakura Taisen. It's really a mix of all of those, but with no element that stands out more than the others. It's also pretty acquired taste, but I quite like it as it's not overwhelming, good to watch (or play), and entertaining.
I'd suggest avoiding the anime (the OVAs at least) until you've played at least part of the first game. As Icarus said, it's all characters meeting up, and if you don't really care about them or know who they are, you'll be bored silly. If you're looking into the DC versions, they released a limited edition pack with all four games in a nice collector's box, but I don't know how much that goes for today as opposed to the individual releases.
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SAM
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These games are real fun if you can read Japanese. Of which I cannot. If you know what the girls are saying you would lough alots. The answer in the Adventure parts is obvious, but you would really want to choise the wrong answer just to see what would happened, this would be real fun. You would go through the game more than once, just to see what happen if different option is choisen. The voice acting is great. The Battle is boring, just wish they can be skipped.
I have 1, 2 and 3 for PC and the remark of 1 in PS2. All in Chinese.
BTY, the 5 installment have just released on PS2. Just wish they would release a Chinese version...
I have 1, 2 and 3 for PC and the remark of 1 in PS2. All in Chinese.
BTY, the 5 installment have just released on PS2. Just wish they would release a Chinese version...
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Dartagnan1083
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The complete collectors box goes for between $170 and $280 from what I've seen.
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Dartagnan1083 wrote:The complete collectors box goes for between $170 and $280 from what I've seen.
Don't bother with it then... you can get the games individually for less than $20 each, with the exception of 4 which -might- run you $30 on a bad day.
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I have Sakura Taisen 1 and 2 for the Saturn and both are excellent. Both are heavily Japanese language oriented and they do have lots of decision boxes that are timed. But Kayama has lovingly provided a set of walkthroughs in JIS format so you can get through the game with a little effort (and it's well worth it!) and you'll understand everything very well. Print them out and have them ready to go when you play - and then you can follow the action and dialog well enough.
I've heard Sakura Taisen (aka Sakura Wars) described once as 'playing anime' and I'd be inclined to agree. Beauitful hand-drawn visuals and a rather involved story with a modicum of decision points. The game is really a character driven anime with a bit of mech combat sim thrown in for good measure. Given the price, you are unlikely to go wrong - if you only want to try it to see if you would like it, I'd suggest Sakura Taisen 2 for the Saturn as it's slightly more polished than the first - but both are worth owning.
I've heard Sakura Taisen (aka Sakura Wars) described once as 'playing anime' and I'd be inclined to agree. Beauitful hand-drawn visuals and a rather involved story with a modicum of decision points. The game is really a character driven anime with a bit of mech combat sim thrown in for good measure. Given the price, you are unlikely to go wrong - if you only want to try it to see if you would like it, I'd suggest Sakura Taisen 2 for the Saturn as it's slightly more polished than the first - but both are worth owning.
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Hey, I'm the guy with the pink LE Sakura Taisen DC! 
I'd recommend getting the DC versions of 1 and 2 over the Saturn versions, because the visuals are a lot cleaner. I own 1-3 on the DC. I'm still on the first disc of #2 because I got sidetracked. Maybe I'll resume it this summer.
The OVAs are basically supplemental to the games. They fill in the cracks. I don't know why they even bothered releasing them domestically, and what's even more surprising is that people actually liked them without playing the game. To me, I don't think they stand on their own very well at all. They're nice, but only those who have played the games can truly appreciate them.
As for the TV series, it's a stand-alone series. It covers basically the first game, but it's far more serious and is obviously more inspired by Evangelion. (In fact, it was nicknamed "Sakurangelion" by Japanese ST fans). I prefer the silly cuteness of the games. It seems to spoof other anime, especially Evangelion to some extent. The TV show seemed to be trying too hard to be serious. I've only made it halfway through the series, but I'll soon be able to watch the rest of the show once ADV gets around to shipping all my DVDs I got from them on sale for only $7 each.
#4 seems is rather inexpensive, and I'd like to pick it up someday. I was at the fall 2001 Tokyo Game Show when they previewed this game along with the upcoming ST movie. Chisa Yokoyama (Sakura) was there. The fourth game lets you form your own team from characters from Japan and Paris. As for the fifth game and episode zero, I've kinda lost track of those. Then of course there are the supplemental games on the Saturn and DC, but the only ones I've bothered with are the Columns games. Then there's the cosplay musical videos, but only the die-hard fans in Japan seem to be interested in those. I personally think they're silly.
The Lando/Kayama translations are excellent as a general walkthrough. I've completed the first game twice, and by following Kayama's walkthrough, Oogami has fallen in love with Sakura at the end of the game. Sakura seems to be the default romance, mainly because she makes her interest in Oogami much more obvious.
If you want to explore the game more, however, you'll have to know a bit of Japanese. I wasn't able to access all the mini-games, but I do have a bit of reading ability to be bold enough to explore the game outside from the walkthroughs, like peeking at Sakura in the shower in the first game and again in the bath in the second game.
The battles are pretty straightforward, and they're a bit easy, as was discussed in an earlier ST thread on here. I wish there was a difficulty setting. At least, I don't remember there being one.
I'd recommend getting the DC versions of 1 and 2 over the Saturn versions, because the visuals are a lot cleaner. I own 1-3 on the DC. I'm still on the first disc of #2 because I got sidetracked. Maybe I'll resume it this summer. The OVAs are basically supplemental to the games. They fill in the cracks. I don't know why they even bothered releasing them domestically, and what's even more surprising is that people actually liked them without playing the game. To me, I don't think they stand on their own very well at all. They're nice, but only those who have played the games can truly appreciate them.
As for the TV series, it's a stand-alone series. It covers basically the first game, but it's far more serious and is obviously more inspired by Evangelion. (In fact, it was nicknamed "Sakurangelion" by Japanese ST fans). I prefer the silly cuteness of the games. It seems to spoof other anime, especially Evangelion to some extent. The TV show seemed to be trying too hard to be serious. I've only made it halfway through the series, but I'll soon be able to watch the rest of the show once ADV gets around to shipping all my DVDs I got from them on sale for only $7 each.
Dude, once again you prove that you don't know what you're talking about. Even the LE version is going for $36 currently on eBay with Buy It Now. That certainly doesn't cost a lot.Elixir wrote:Sakura Taisen 3 for DC costs alot now, yes. I managed to find a 2.7 gb torrent of the entire thing, though.
#4 seems is rather inexpensive, and I'd like to pick it up someday. I was at the fall 2001 Tokyo Game Show when they previewed this game along with the upcoming ST movie. Chisa Yokoyama (Sakura) was there. The fourth game lets you form your own team from characters from Japan and Paris. As for the fifth game and episode zero, I've kinda lost track of those. Then of course there are the supplemental games on the Saturn and DC, but the only ones I've bothered with are the Columns games. Then there's the cosplay musical videos, but only the die-hard fans in Japan seem to be interested in those. I personally think they're silly.
The Lando/Kayama translations are excellent as a general walkthrough. I've completed the first game twice, and by following Kayama's walkthrough, Oogami has fallen in love with Sakura at the end of the game. Sakura seems to be the default romance, mainly because she makes her interest in Oogami much more obvious.
If you want to explore the game more, however, you'll have to know a bit of Japanese. I wasn't able to access all the mini-games, but I do have a bit of reading ability to be bold enough to explore the game outside from the walkthroughs, like peeking at Sakura in the shower in the first game and again in the bath in the second game.
The battles are pretty straightforward, and they're a bit easy, as was discussed in an earlier ST thread on here. I wish there was a difficulty setting. At least, I don't remember there being one.
Undamned is the leading English-speaking expert on the consolized UD-CPS2 because he's the one who made it.
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Dartagnan1083
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The one advantage to the Collectors box is that you get all the games for DC in a really pretty 10-disc binder.
http://www.ncsx.org/2002/ncs040102/scb.htm
Kinda pricey though, so it's up to you
http://www.ncsx.org/2002/ncs040102/scb.htm
Kinda pricey though, so it's up to you
currently collecting a crapload of coasters, carts, controllers, and consoles
Track my "Progress"
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GaijinPunch
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FYI, I am selling the OVA volumes 2 and 3 in the trading section:
http://forum.shmups.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4562
These two volumes have stories that actually stand alone, and are not just fill-in-the-cracks like volume 1 is.
http://forum.shmups.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4562
These two volumes have stories that actually stand alone, and are not just fill-in-the-cracks like volume 1 is.
Undamned is the leading English-speaking expert on the consolized UD-CPS2 because he's the one who made it.
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captain ahar
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