Which old Sakura Taisen Games are still worth playing ?

9dragons

9dragons

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I am playing Sakura Wars now, and I really enjoy it so far. You could say I am new fan of the franchise now.

I am very interested in trying out the old games now although I am aware that they are different then Shin Sakura Taisen.

I also know that most of them are just in Japanese and that I need a online guide to play them.

It won't be very comfortable way to play these games but I do not mind.

I also have many consoles were the games where released.

Japanese Saturn, my Dreamcast is Pal but I can use Japanese games as well, thanks to a boot disc, also got a Japanese PS2.


Which old Sakura Wars games would you recommend me to play to get familiar with the franchise?

Would be pleased hearing some tips.
 
I mentioned in the other Sakura Taisen thread that I've played the first four. For me, Sakura Taisen 3 on the Dreamcast is the gold-standard for the series. This is kind of a difficult question to answer, though, since some of it will potentially depend on how much you're apt to invest in particular characters. Personally, I really like Kana, of the Teikoku Kagekidan. She's most active in the first two games, but I didn't get so attached to her that it overshadowed the obvious improvements to ST3.

I think the first game may have gotten a translation recently, though. I would really recommend just playing them in order. You're more likely to get more out of them that way, I feel.

Honestly, my least favorite of the bunch was Sakura Taisen 2, though. (Although, I really like the Sakura Taisen themed Mahjong game in the second one.) I think fans tend to either prefer ST2 or ST3. Both of the first two games do some really dumb shit, story-wise, at the end of the games, but the end of Sakura Taisen 2 is particularly eye-rolling. Also it ties in some things from the first game's story that I thought were kind of silly, but they're all highly decent games, regardless.

The other thing about the first two, is that the strategy battles are pretty simplistic. They're mostly a matter of filling a meter for super attacks, and whaling on the enemy. The ARMS system in 3 and 4 is a lot more interesting in terms of AP management, spacing, area of effect, etc.

Sakura Taisen 4 is essentially a fan disc. It's pretty good, but unless you're trying get the endings for all 13 girls, it's only a handful of chapters, and doesn't take long to finish.
 
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Thanks a lot for the detailed answer @Rydeen Playing every game in order is good advice and I think I am going to that. So I can get out most of the franchise.

And you are right there is a translation patch available for the first game on the Saturn. Or it will be available soon. Not sure if is out yet.

The situation about the first game is quite confusing though. I might got it wrong but I believe that there is a port of the first game out there for the Dreamcast and even some kind of PS2 Remake??

If that that is the case i wonder if the quality of these versions is so much superior to the Saturn version, that is worth bothering with them or is the Saturn version more than good enough?
 
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Oh, that's right! I totally forgot about the PS2 version of the first game. I played it on the Saturn, but I've researched the Dreamcast and PS2 versions in the past. The Dreamcast version really only has snappier presentation, but is basically the same as the Saturn version, as I recall. You could play the Dreamcast versions of the first two games, and transfer save data over into the third one for some bonuses, though. The PS2 version does basically overhaul it into the same engine as Sakura Taisen 3, and adds a lot of extra scenes, as well. It also uses the ARMS system, for combat, so that probably would be the best way to play it, actually. Really unfortunate they didn't release that version for the Dreamcast, as well. It came out on the PS2 in early 2003, only about a year after the release of Sakura Taisen 4. Sega didn't officially end their software support for the console until Puyo Puyo Fever was released in 2004, either. Would be so much better on the Dreamcast, or even PC, but oh well. I'm sure Sony had something to do with its exclusivity.
 
Thanks again for the advice. I think i will get all versions for the Dreamcast. It would be nice to have most of the games of the series on one console. And the Sakura Taisen Games are a worthy addition for my DC collection.

Is Sakura Wars So long, my love also wort playing? I think it is the next game after Sakura Taisen 4? It is also the only game of series that is available in the west, until Shin Sakura Wars come out last week.
 
9dragons said:
Is Sakura Wars So long, my love also wort playing? I think it is the next game after Sakura Taisen 4? It is also the only game of series that is available in the west, until Shin Sakura Wars come out last week.
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I haven't actually played Sakura Taisen V yet, because I don't own it for anything, and it's the first game without Oogami Ichiro as the main character. I'm sure it's at least as good as any other game in the series, though. The exploration parts seem to have been updated a bit, and it still uses the ARMS system. So I have to believe it's still fun to play.

I don't know how it ties in with the rest of the series, if at all, but it's probably pretty self-contained, so maybe it would be a good place to start, also.
 
Could be a good start indeed, but story wise I am more interested in the beginning of the story line of the first Sakura T asien. Seeing the old Flower Division would be a cool thing.

The old crew disappeared 10 years before the start of the new Sakura Wars. the only old character left in the new game is Sumire who has just a supporting role.

Looking forward to play the old games to learn more about the characters of the first team.
 
9dragons said:
I am playing Sakura Wars now, and I really enjoy it so far. You could say I am new fan of the franchise now.

I am very interested in trying out the old games now although I am aware that they are different then Shin Sakura Taisen.

I also know that most of them are just in Japanese and that I need a online guide to play them.

It won't be very comfortable way to play these games but I do not mind.

I also have many consoles were the games where released.

Japanese Saturn, my Dreamcast is Pal but I can use Japanese games as well, thanks to a boot disc, also got a Japanese PS2.


Which old Sakura Wars games would you recommend me to play to get familiar with the franchise?

Would be pleased hearing some tips.
Click to expand...
Best to play through them in numerical order. For me the best in the series story-wise (if you can understand it) is 2, but 3, 4 and 5 introduced better battle mechanics. I haven't played the newest one yet, although it'll be probably good (just a shame that Kosuke Fujishima is not the lead character designer anymore).
 
@yuc02 Thanks for the advice.

I have already purchased the first 2 games for my Saturn und already played one a bit with a guide. So far i really like it.

i am also going to order 3 and 4 for my Dreamcast soon.

Would also be intersted in 5 but I do not have Wii though. Not sure if 5 is available on the Ps2 as well? I think so but not absolutely sure...
 
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