Sakura Taisen to cross over with Borderbreak

[ROJM]

After a semi absence of nearly 6 years SAKURA TAISEN makes another sort of comeback after the franchise's appearence in PHANTASY STAR PORTABALE but in a crossover with another Sega franchise....

The game maker Sega revealed on Thursday that it is having characters from its Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen) dating simulation/tactical role-playing games cross over into the Border Break robot shooter arcade games. Sega made the surprise announcement during a Border Break stage event at its Amusement Machine Show 2011 booth, but gave no further details about the collaboration.

Red Company developed the first Sakura Wars game for Sega in 1996. The franchise follows the alternate-history adventures of several all-female mechanized task forces — that also perform musicals to maintain their top secret cover. NIS America, a subsidiary of the game company Nippon Ichi Software, adapted the Sakura Taisen V ~Saraba, Itoshiki Hito yo~ game as Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love, the first Sakura Wars game to be released in North America. There have also been many anime and manga adaptations over the years, including the return of Ikku Masa's Sakura Wars the Manga Part II in next month's inaugural issue of Kodansha' Monthly Shonen Magazine +.

Sega's AM2 division launched Border Break in 2009 as a fast-paced multi-player 3D shooter game with robotic mecha. It was an early showcase for Sega's RingEdge arcade hardware architecture. Yuichi Motohashi and Takumi Miyajima launched the Border Break NA manga series in the debut issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype Ace magazine earlier this month.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/interest/2011-09-18/sega-reveals-sakura-wars/border-break-game-crossover

Well i guess this must be leading towards a new ST game at one point.

[jonboy101]

It's a pity that it takes a crossover for a series that used to be successful to show it's face in public again. Of course after the apparently terrible dungeon crawler and then the glitchy PS2 games, maybe it was for the best.

I doubt we will see a major iteration any time soon. I cant recall a sakura game that hasnt been panned since 4. The remakes were allegedly bad and they underperformed, and the the Sakura Universe didnt fare much better. Cancelled or garbage. Theres also the issue of over saturation. They released an ass-ton of Sakura games on the PS2, mostly remakes and spinoffs. If Sega does make a new ST game, it'll likely be a spinoff or some subplot that's viewed with skepticism and then apathy.

I read a poll a few years back. I think it was in famitsu, and they were asking gamers which series they wanted to see make a comeback the most. Sakura Taisen came second, and this was just months after th DS dungeon crawler came out and sold, what, 50,000 units? Half what Sakura Taisen Tetris was pulling on the Saturn?


We will probably get a mediocre 3DS "reboot" instead, like Shinobi. It's sort of sad that Sega doesn't seem to have the time for it's own series anymore, speaking of Shinobi. It almost feels like Sega wants the games to fail. Who tests the waters with something like the Shinobi or Golden Axe or (going further back) Vectorman or Altered Beast. Sorry to go off topic a bit.

[ROJM]

Well they were meant to be making this MMO of SAKURA TAISEN but its all been quiet then. The SAKURA WORLD PROJECT seems to be a big disaster really, a pity games like KOUMA never made it out. What makes me laugh is this crossover game(if it is a genuine crossover game and not BB just featuring some ST characters as a bonus) is typical Sega because its not the first thing most people would have wanted or expected to see from a new Sega crossover game. Anyhow this is the seventh crossover title from Sega now.(not counting Sonic+Mario since that's an intercompany crossover.)

[jonboy101]

It's probably for the best Koumo never made it out the door. Overworks never really did great work on the ps2. The Sakura remakes were rough, episode zero was garbage and five wasn't that good. They had to cancel Skies for the system and Shinobi wasn't up to par with their genesis outings. Obviously altered beast was a train wreck. Gungrave was a lot of flash, but kind of fun. Not the best record. Of course their gamecube outings weren't much better. Legends was an upgraded port and clockwork knight cancelled.

My impression is they were just way too overworked and ambitious and I think they suffered for it.


Its probably just bonus characters, but I can see am2 making a mech rumbler. Shame virtual on isn't making an appearance. What are the hitmaker people up to I wonder?

I think it's a successful strategy. They're building support for characters to come back. Crossover, then ports and bundles, then new outsourced games.

[ROJM]

It's probably for the best Koumo never made it out the door. Overworks never really did great work on the ps2. The Sakura remakes were rough, episode zero was garbage and five wasn't that good. They had to cancel Skies for the system and Shinobi wasn't up to par with their genesis outings. Obviously altered beast was a train wreck. Gungrave was a lot of flash, but kind of fun. Not the best record. Of course their gamecube outings weren't much better. Legends was an upgraded port and clockwork knight cancelled.

My impression is they were just way too overworked and ambitious and I think they suffered for it.


Its probably just bonus characters, but I can see am2 making a mech rumbler. Shame virtual on isn't making an appearance. What are the hitmaker people up to I wonder?

I think it's a successful strategy. They're building support for characters to come back. Crossover, then ports and bundles, then new outsourced games.

But that's the problem,i don't think Crossovers with other franchises or ones that hasn't been around is a bad thing but this insistence of releasing an old game in an estabilshed or recent series be it a port or upgrade port has never really worked. It didn't work with SHENMUE,it didn't work with the PS2 SAKURA TAISEN, it didn't work with NIGHTS either and i don't think it will work with GUARDIAN HEROES. If they're going to make a new entry of a game series they should just make one. That's what people want to see at the end of the day.
As for SHINOBI i think that had the same problem as GUN VALKYRIE, that game was really designed for the DC and maybe if they had been released on the DC as they were originally intended the game wouldn't have been an afterthought in people's minds as it is now.

[Sega Uranus]

Sakura Taisen V is great, fans were just mixed on the new cast is all. The franchise was being transformed into a general media series instead of a game series, so it upset a lot of the fans, not to mention a lot of RPGs were so more advanced in terms of game design.

Only the first game was remade, the rest were just ported to PlayStation 2 and the PC. Of course standard ports of those kind of games will not be received as well as a brand new game.

The series has had a rough few years, worst of all was when SEGA made thousands of pachinko machines based on Sakura Taisen 3 earlier this year and they all broke down and had to be removed.

Whenever the series returns - And I am sure it will - I would expect them to change a lot of the series staples, like the static character art. I expect them to change that with whenever Valkyria 4 happens too.

But yeah, on the topic of Border Break: Will the characters just be in the cockpit are their specific mechs like the Kobu going to be added into the game? Maybe even some locations? The Eiffel Tower seems like literally the perfect place to set up a Capture The Flag mission type around.

[ROJM]

Sakura Taisen V is great, fans were just mixed on the new cast is all. The franchise was being transformed into a general media series instead of a game series, so it upset a lot of the fans, not to mention a lot of RPGs were so more advanced in terms of game design.

Only the first game was remade, the rest were just ported to PlayStation 2 and the PC. Of course standard ports of those kind of games will not be received as well as a brand new game.

The series has had a rough few years, worst of all was when SEGA made thousands of pachinko machines based on Sakura Taisen 3 earlier this year and they all broke down and had to be removed.

Whenever the series returns - And I am sure it will - I would expect them to change a lot of the series staples, like the static character art. I expect them to change that with whenever Valkyria 4 happens too.

But yeah, on the topic of Border Break: Will the characters just be in the cockpit are their specific mechs like the Kobu going to be added into the game? Maybe even some locations? The Eiffel Tower seems like literally the perfect place to set up a Capture The Flag mission type around.

What are you on about? ST was always promoted as a media series since the beginning. I can't see fans getting heated up about that. V was just a let down, not terrible but not to the usual standards of the series which was down to what V was really designed for, to introduce the ST series to a western audience,which was what the sakura world project was all about in the first place if the plan had gone accordingly.

[Sega Uranus]

The original concept was to always have the games be more important than everything else, but as the series progressed, more financial support and series writers moved onto the multiple television series and movies.

[ROJM]

The original concept was to always have the games be more important than everything else, but as the series progressed, more financial support and series writers moved onto the multiple television series and movies.

Sigh, all the Sakura Taisen media stuff were licensed to other companies, which had their own budgets that wouldn't have anything to do with the games budget whatsoever. And considering that its media related stuff is minimal compared to a lot of other japanese video game franchises, i really doubt that the games suffered because of it. it was only V that had the trouble and let's face it most Sega games at that time were being criticised by just about everybody. If Sega was focusing on one thing too much specifically with ST it was the toys/merchandise that drawfs the media ties ins ten fold.

[Sega Uranus]

But it is true. Many series writers and directors left to work on stuff like the movies. Because the series is partially owned by many companies it does not make much sense to take many chances with the franchise any longer. SEGA made games like Valkyria to progress from what they were allowed to do with Sakura Taisen, and they even managed to make a decently sized fanbase outside of Japan too.

I see no problem in marketing toys. If anything, the Shining series lives on right now because of toys.

[jonboy101]

God isn't that a sad state of affairs for shining.

[ROJM]

But it is true. Many series writers and directors left to work on stuff like the movies. Because the series is partially owned by many companies it does not make much sense to take many chances with the franchise any longer. SEGA made games like Valkyria to progress from what they were allowed to do with Sakura Taisen, and they even managed to make a decently sized fanbase outside of Japan too.

I see no problem in marketing toys. If anything, the Shining series lives on right now because of toys.

They, being the staff which was really the creator and one of the writers only worked on one bloody movie,SU. Everything else has always been licensed which means that the licensors PAID Sega and Red to obtain it. It wasn't Sega funded or sponsered. And that actually includes the movie.

ST has had teething troubles since RED left Sega, mainly because they were busy making other games for other companies, and the fact that they were brought out by another company based in China where they were planning to release an MMO trading card ST game. nothing has actually stopped in ST terms, more scaled back but not stopped in terms of game dev.

Valkyria as i told another member that frequents this site was always planned as a franchise which i agree with you they can do more with it but i don't think it was ever designed to replace ST. If anything Sega under the sammy regime would want Valykria, Shining and ST to become stronger franchises.

God isn't that a sad state of affairs for shining.

Yeah because they're not really selling it to a video game crowd but the stupid dress up shallow idiots that make up  part of the otaku in japan's counter culture.

[jonboy101]

On the other hand, Sega seems to be making off like a bandit. The most recent sales figures I saw put last year's entry above the 200k mark. And these don't look like particulary expensive games either, so I doubt Sega plans on changing their mind on what the games should be like. Unless they decide to bring the games back to the west.

[ROJM]

Yeah but most of the classic era SHINING games weren't that expensive, probably ARK and the SF3 scenarios were the most expensive to make.
But now if you include the SHINING FORCE CROSS series of arcade games their budget exceeds prehaps the entire series.

It is too bad they don't go with camelot because it obviusly isn't money/budget that's perventing it.

[jonboy101]

I was of the impression it's Camelot that won't work with Sega, not the other way around. If I'm not mistaken, they were fed up with the way they were treated back in 97-98.