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I just picked up the re-release(2800 yen) of this fantastic game and here are my thoughts.

When you first turn on the Saturn, you are treated to an amazing opening theme by Yokoyama Chisa. Anime fans know her as the voice of Princess Sasami or Pretty Sammy from the Tenchi Muyo anime series and its spinoffs. She is also the voice of Yuna from Galaxy Fraulein Yuna and Ryoko from the recent Mobile Battleship Nadesico TV series. The opening theme is just awesome. It's upbeat, catchy, and the theme will follow you throughout the day(no joke!).

Then the game starts. The game is broken down into two major modes. In the Adventure Mode, you interact with the characters in the game. You plan the role of Oogami, and are assigned to lead a group of females as captain of the Teikoku Kagekidan. In the beginning half of the game, you will be introduced to new people. The latter half is more about learning more about the characters you already know. The unique part about Sakura Taisen is the LIPS. This is an interface in which you are given a choice to say/do something and are timed for it. If you don't pick anything within that time, it is as if you said/did nothing. Depending on what you chose, the characters in the game react accordingly. Sometimes the people will act casual, other times, you make a very good impression and the characters will love you for it. And still, there are those times where you said/did the wrong thing and people will lose their trust in you. If you say the right thing to one of the six main females, you will hear a positive chime telling you so. There is also a negative chime that will signal a goof-up. These little chimes determine how well your crew does on the battlefield. Those who you made a positive influence on, will gain attack/defense bonuses. And negative influences will cause a loss of attacking and defensive strength. Throughout these adventure sequences, you may get a chance to roam around. Depending on where you go, different things may happen and that will affect the game slightly. Anime sequences are thrown in important parts as well.

Next is the Battle Mode. In this mode, you duke it out with the bad guys. The battles are fought in an isomeric view(3/4 diagonal view I think). Going into the battlefield, you are generally treated to a CG sequence. When fighting, certain things must be considered such as terrain and such. It's a little strategic in that you can't climb up higher terrain except via a gradual route. You can always go to a lower terrain easily. Movement and attacking is done on a grid that pops up to guide you where to go/attack. The command of the Battle Mode are:

Movement: Move
Attack: Normal, Sure-kill
Defense: Heal(2x per battle per mech), Defend, Charge "super" meter
Other: Advice, Map, Info
Skip Turn

Your mechs have 2 different meters. One displays your hit points, and the other, I call the "super" meter similar to those found on Street Fighter type games. Sure-kill moves can only be done when your "super" meter is fully charged. Then when executed, they are done via a cinematic screen. Also, a combined sure-kill move can be done in conjunction with the highest ranking female. Bosses have "super" meters as well. The weapons of your mechs range anywhere from hand-to-hand. to swords, to guns. Because of these differences, the weapon ranges differ from mech to mech as well. Careful planning of where to set up your team members will make a difference in the battle.

The game is broken up into 10 episodes. In each episode, it opens up with a little prologue. Then the adventure mode begins and spotlights a specific character/ characters. After this, the battle mode begins. Once the enemies are taken care of, an epilogue closes the episode. Finally, there is a preview to the next episode, making this game VERY anime-like.

Onto the ratings:

Graphics: Everything from the girls to the rooms to the mechs have a very nice look. The characters are very detailed and are great for anime fans. In the battlefield, the graphics are beautiful as well. The backgrounds are gorgeous. You see humans fleeing the huge enemy mechs. You see demolished buildings. You see mountains, trees, temples!, etc, depending on the setting. Aside from the less-detailed anime sequences, the art here is very detailed in every aspect. Did I mention facial expressions? You know exactly when you've done well when a girl blushes and smiles. You know when they are upset. You look confused when the situation is unpredictable. All in all, I rate this a 9 1/2.

Sound: Here's the beauty of this game. The sound effects are amazing as well. From the sounds of explosions on the battlefield to knocks on your bedroom door, they are very convincing. The voice actors for the characters are quite famous. In addition to Yokoyama Chisa who does Sakura's voice, you have Tomizawa Michie(SailorMars) as Sumire, Orikasa Ai(Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo) as Ayame, and quite a few other popular voice actors. You hear them speak at crutial moments in the game. The thing I loved is, when the character speaks, their mouths open and the text scrolls at the same speed as well, giving it a very believable feel. Even when there is no speech, the mouths of the characters move at the same speed as the text. I give this a 10.

Music: The background music for this game is simply amazing. There's upbeat battle music, there's sad music for times of grief. There's dark music when the bad guys are on the move, etc. Then there's the opening theme. Verse 1 and chorus is on Disc 1 and verse 2 and chorus is on Disc 2. Pretty cool. Also, during certain cinematic sequences, you will hear other songs as well. The ending theme is performed by Yokoyama Chisa as well. I'd have to give this category a 9.

Fun: Well, I really have to say that knowledge of some Japanese is required to get the most out of this game. I know some words from watching anime and from my Japanese class, but I still don't understand 60% of the text in Sakura. If you can't read Japanese, I think this game would probably bore you because a lot of it is based on text. I enjoyed most of the game but during certain times where there's a lot of kanji I don't know, I simply got bored. Aside from that, the game was compelling all the way through. Plus the possibility of 7 endings, 1 with each girl, and 1 special ending, and mini-games give this game good replay value. If I knew more Japanese, I'd give this a higher rating but right now, the fun rating stays at 8 1/2.

Overall: Well, here you have it. It's fantastic in term of graphics, audio, and is a blast to play. When you get into the Sakura Taisen world, you will start to notice a lot of subtle things that make the game stand out from your typical game. It just gets better and better as you go along with new plot developments and plot twists. I highly recommend this game to anyone who knows some Japanese or who loves anime. For those who don't know Japanese or aren't really into anime, I still recommend checking this game out to see what the fuss is about. And at a 2800 yen Saturn Collection price, how can you go wrong? Overall, a 9 1/2.