Sakura Taisen

For the 2019 PlayStation 4 reboot of the series, see Shin Sakura Taisen.

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Saturn Dreamcast Windows PC Mobile
Sakura Taisen
System(s): Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Windows PC, I-mode 90x
Publisher: Sega Enterprises (JP) Sega (JP) Dysin Interactive (TW) Matrix Interactive (CN) Akella (RU)
Developer: Sega CS2 Red Company Nextech Sega Software R&D Dept. 7 M2 Sega PC
Supporting companies: Kyokuichi Tokyo Movie (animation), Tohokushinsha (voice recording), Neverland (CG animation), Buildup Entertainment (animation) T's Music (audio) Sega Digital Media (audio) Wave Master (audio)
Sound driver: SCSP (1/1 track)
Peripherals supported: Shuttle Mouse, Jump Pack, Dreamcast Modem, Dreamcast VGA Box, Visual Memory Unit
Genre: Dramatic Adventure (ドラマチック アドベンチャー), Adventure
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1996-09-27 ¥6,800 (7,004) GS-9037 JP (Type A) 1996-09-27 ¥8,800 (9,064) GS-9115 JP (Type B) 1996-09-27 ¥8,800 (9,064) GS-9117 JP (Reprint) 1997-06-20 ¥8800 GS-9151 JP (Satakore) 1998-02-11 ¥2,800 (2,940) GS-9191 JP 2000-05-25 ¥4,800 (5,040) HDR-0072 JP (VMU Pack) 2000-05-25 ¥6,800 (7,140) HDR-0089 JP (Memorial Pack) 2002-01-17 ¥3,800 (3,990) HDR-0192 AS 200x JP 1999-04-26 ¥9800 HCJ-0152 JP (Fukyuuban) 2000-08-18 ¥5,800 (6,090) HCJ-0306 JP (XP-Taiou Pack +) 2003-03-20 ¥4,800 (5,040) HCJ-0337 JP (XP-DVD) 2007-01-25 ¥4,800 (5,040) HCJ-0399 RU 2006-11-01 CN 2001-08-18 TW 2001-08-21 NT$699 JP 2006-12-18

Sakura Taisen (サクラ大戦) is a video game developed by Red and Sega CS2 and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn in 1996. It is the first release in the long-running Sakura Taisen franchise.

Sakura Taisen is a cross-genre game combining visual novel and tactical RPG elements set in an alternate 1920s Tokyo. It comprises of a largely female cast which pilot steam-powered robots called "Koubu", defending Tokyo from demons and dark magic while working undercover as musical theater performers.

Story

Fresh out of military school, the protagonist Ogami has been assigned to work for a top-secret all-female imperial military department known as the Flower Division. Their primary responsibility is defending Tokyo against the Hive of Darkness, although their mission and the nature of the enemy remains totally unknown to the general public. The Hive of Darkness's goal is to return Japan to the Shogunate era, and expel Western influence using sorcery.

The Flower Division utilizes steam-powered weaponized mecha known as Koubu, which are specially designed to combat the advanced technology used by the Hive of Darkness. In order to provide an effective guise for their military activities, the Flower Division's headquarters double as a theatre, which is open to the public.

Characters

Flower Division

	Ichiro Ogami (大神 一郎)
	The game's protagonist and player character. After graduating, he was assigned as the Flower Division's new battlefield commander. He is shocked to find himself working in a theatre, and struggles against the eccentric personality of the director. He is tasked with the difficult challenge of keeping the peace between the rest of the Flower Division members. As a unique ability during battles, he can cover another member to shield them from damage.
	Sakura Shinguji (真宮寺 さくら)
	Sakura is mild-mannered, and is disparaged as a simple country girl by other members of the unit. She has poor self esteem, but is very dedicated to training as a theatre actress. She quickly gets jealous of other girls that Ogami shows an interest in. Her fighting style is up-close and personal, utilizing a katana.
	Sumire Kanzaki (神崎 すみれ)
	Having been born into an elite family, Sumire has a large ego, and thinks of herself as being somewhat more refined than other members of the Flower Division. This often leads to resentment and conflict; as a result, she's often cast in the villain role in their performances. She attacks using a halberd, which has slightly longer range than a typical melee weapon.
	Maria Tachibana (マリア タチバナ)
	Maria is calm and focused, and acts as the voice of reason in the Flower Division. However, she is troubled by her past and her suffering during the war in Russia in 1917, and is somewhat closed-off emotionally. She can attack over a larger distance than all other division members besides Kohran.
	Iris Châteaubriand (イリス シャトーブリアン)
	Iris is a young French girl from an aristocratic background. She has not yet been entrusted with a weaponized mech of her own. She carries around her teddy bear Jean Paul everywhere, and gets very upset when he is lost. Despite her immaturity, she's desperate to be treated like an equal by the rest of the division. Once gains the ability to participate in battles, she takes on a unique healing and infiltration role.
	Kohran Li (李 紅蘭)
	Kohran is an eccentric girl who shows a strong interest in technology, and comes up with (sometimes dangerous) novel inventions. She enjoys playing with hanafuda (Japanese playing cards), and is originally from China. She utilizes a long-range fighting style, and can hit multiple targets at once.
	Kanna Kirishima (桐島 カンナ)
	Kanna is one of the more senior members of the Flower Division, along with Maria, who she's known for the longest. She's sporty, athletic, and tomboyish, and sometimes gets mistaken for a man. She is a skilled karate practitioner and utilizes an up-close fighting style.

Gameplay

Adventure sequences

Ogami has the responsibility of patrolling the Flower Division's theatre, where he can have chance encounters with different characters by selecting certain rooms. He can also run into different characters while travelling between rooms in the theatre's corridors. Encounters with other characters may lead to a range of mini-games, including swimming challenges, cooking, and hanafuda card games.

During dialogue sequences, when the player is asked to pick a response, a limited amount of time is available before a default response is automatically selected. Depending on the response chosen, Ogami's relationship with the character may either improve or regress.

Battle sequences

The strategy RPG battle sequences utilize an isometric perspective and feature the girls piloting Koubu. The Koubu have advanced movement capabilities, being able to jump up certain cliff edges. Battlefields can feature stationary elements which must either be avoided and destroyed (e.g. gun turrets) or provide a practical benefit (e.g. restoration pools).

For each turn, each character can be moved and repositioned in the battlefield, and must pick an offensive or defensive action. Each Koubu can perform a Normal or Special attack. The Special attack consumes energy, which must be restored by opting to spend several turns Resting/Charging, or by taking enough damage. When out of energy, Normal attacks can still be performed. Each character can also opt to spend a turn Defending (which reduces damage to a certain extent) or Healing, which can be performed on their own Koubu or on those of other characters, but only a limited number of times.

Each Koubu has a different attack range. Certain characters utilize Koubu which can perform ranged attacks, and others may only perform up-close melee attacks.

History

From a Japanese perspective, Sakura Taisen is one of Sega's premiere titles, being of the defining titles for the Sega Saturn. Oji Hiroi, vice-president of co-developer Red Company, manga artist Kousuke Fujishima and lastly anime writer Satoru Akahori were responsible for the overall project. The combination of dating simulation and tactical RPG elements fit well with contemporary trends in the Japanese video game industry, and along with a focus on characterization, it successfully appealed to a mass-market Japanese audience. Overall coding and much of the gameplay was done by then new Sega division Sega CS2, which had many accomplished Sega creators including Noriyoshi Ohba, Akira Nishino and Toru Yoshida.

Sakura Taisen (or Sakura Wars) was reasonably well-known within western anime circles, due to the accompanying TV show and OVAs.

Legacy

It had a remake, Sakura Taisen: Atsuki Chishio Ni, and a sequel, Sakura Taisen 2: Kimi, Shinitamou Koto Nakare.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
Japanese	サクラ大戦	Sakura Taisen
Russian	Войны Сакуры	Voyny Sakury
Chinese (Simplified)	櫻花大戰	Yīnghuā Dàzhàn
Chinese (Traditional; Taiwan)	櫻花大戰	Yīnghuā Dàzhàn

Production credits

Main article: Sakura Taisen/Production credits.

Magazine articles

Main article: Sakura Taisen/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Saturn version

PDF

Flyer

PDF

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-16: "1996-16 (1996-09-27)" (1996-09-13)

PDF

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1996-17: "1996-17 (1996-10-11)" (1996-09-27)

Play media

Saturn JP TV Advert

Dreamcast version

PDF

Flyer

PC version

CN print advert (2001)

CN print advert (2001)

CN print advert (2001)

CN print advert (2001)

CN print advert (2001)

Physical scans

Saturn version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Weekly Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 83 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 100 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 77 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 91 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 83 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 94

	88
Based on 6 reviews

Sakura Taisen

Saturn, JP
Box
Spinecard Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual Poster

Saturn, JP (Limited Edition, Type A)
Box
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual Jewel case Poster Mouse Pad

Saturn, JP (Limited Edition, Type B)
Box
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual Jewel case Poster Mouse Pad

Saturn, JP (Limited Edition, Reprint)
Box
Disc 1 Disc 2 Manual Jewel case Poster Mouse Pad

Saturn, JP (Satakore)
Box

Dreamcast version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Dreamcast Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 77 Dorimaga (JP) NTSC-J 86 Dreamzone (FR) NTSC-J 70 Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast (RU) 81 Weekly Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 70 GameFan (US) NTSC-J 66 Strana Igr (RU) 85

	76
Based on 7 reviews

Sakura Taisen

Dreamcast, JP
Box
Manual Dream Lineup Vol. 9

Dreamcast, JP (Limited Edition VMU Pack)
Box

Dreamcast, JP (Memorial Pack)
Box

PC version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Virtual'nyye radosti (BY) 90

	90
Based on 1 review

Sakura Taisen

PC, JP
Box
Manual

PC, JP (Fukyuuban)
Box

PC, JP (XP)
Box

PC, JP (DVD)
Cover

PC, TW
Box
Jewel case

PC, CN
Box

PC, RU/CIS/BA (jewel case)
Box
Disc 1 Disc 2

PC, RU/CIS/BA (DVD)

Compliance

Main article: Sakura Taisen/Compliance.

Technical information

Main article: Sakura Taisen/Technical information.

External links

• Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Saturn, Dreamcast, Dreamcast (Memorial Pack), PC (XP-Taiou Pack +)
• Sakura Taisen official website page for the game