The History of Sega Japan R&D Part 5: The Road to 2020 is Complete

It was 2015 when I posted the four part retrospective of Sega of Japan’s game development. 2015 was the year where they announced a new initiative and went as far as to make their previous corporate divisions their own separate companies. Such as Sega Games, Sega Interactive for arcades and so on (which they are already undoing again in April). Sega Game’s new president, Haruki Satomi, promised that he would right the wrongs of the past, gain back the trust of consumers and also shareholders with their “Road to 2020” initiative. Of course this encompasses the evolution of their Japanese in-house studios, which are arguably the core of Sega.

Sakura Wars (aka Project Sakura Wars) now officially rated T for Teen by ESRB

Sakura Wars (previously named Project Sakura Wars) has now been officially rated T for Teen by the ESRB for blood, language, partial nudity, sexual themes, and violence. Here is the rating summary given for the game:

“This is a relationship simulation/action game, set in a steampunk 1920s version of Tokyo, in which players lead a combat troupe to defeat demons by using giant mech suits. Players use swords and blasters to fight enemy robots and demons in melee-style combat. Battles are frenetic, with impact sounds, colorful lights effects, and large explosions. Cutscenes depict additional acts of violence: a woman slashed across the chest, resulting in blood-splatter effects; a child kidnapped at gunpoint by gangsters; animated sequences of giant mechs in battle. The game also contains some sexual material: dialogue referencing pornography (e.g., “I guarantee you that’s porn”; “Whoa, that’s definitely a nudie magazine.”); minigames in which players can zoom-in on characters’ body parts (e.g., legs, buttocks, breasts), with accompanying dialogue (e.g., “Man, those legs…Just imagining the paradise at the end of them…”; “As far as chest size…The bigger, the better!”); a still-image sequence depicting a character groping a woman’s chest while stating, “But they look so soft! Just one little squeeze…” A handful of bath-house sequences depict partially nude female characters, with breasts slightly obscured by steam. The word “sh*t” appears in the game.”

We’re getting close to Spring and we should expect more announcements on the western release for Sakura Wars by SEGA very soon. What do you all think about this news? Leave us a comment below!

 

Project Sakura Wars to be titled “Sakura Wars” according to the Australian Classification Website

According to the Australian Classification website, Project Sakura Wars (aka Shin Sakura Taisen in Japan) will be simply titled “Sakura Wars” in the West with the game rated for M for mature audiences by the Australian Classification website with sexual themes and violence.

No official announcement has been made by SEGA themselves regarding the final title as of yet but it seems that the final title chosen for the game could mean that the company may want to start with a blank state with this title in the West since the series has a small cult following in the West through multiple anime adaptions and the fifth game Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love released back in 2010.

What are your thoughts on the final name for Project Sakura Wars? Leave us a comment below! Sakura Wars is set for release on the Playstation 4 digitally and physically this Spring.

 

Tons of new information for Shin Sakura Taisen released – Stage performance, Animation, and DLC dates announced!

New information on Shin Sakura Taisen, aka Project Sakura Wars in the West, has been released from the recent Sakura Taisen live broadcast stream celebrating the game’s launch in Japan which includes announcements Shin Sakura Taisen, the Stage, the Animation and downloadable content (DLC) release dates. Hit the jump for more information on each announcement after the break.

Persona character designer creates a new character for Project Sakura Wars

We heard not that long ago that SEGA and Atlus are working on a new game for next generation consoles, but it seems that development teams are already working together. It was announced that Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima actually worked on a unique character for Project Sakura Wars, introducing Hakushu Murasame (pictured above).

She was revealed during a Project Sakura Wars Japanese stream, where it showed her talking to her student, Sakura Amamiya and Seijuro Kaimiyama. She plays a competent, composed character through the presentation. We also know she will be voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro who played Elizabeth from the Velvet Room attendant and made her debut in Persona 3. While Hakushu Mursame is getting the attention, it seems that Ken Sugimori (Pokemon) is also making a character for the game, which is shown off in this new video.

You can check out the two hour Project Sakura Wars stream right here. So this project has the redesign done by Tite Kubo (Bleach), Shigenori Soejima (Persona), Ken Sugimori (Pokemon), and even Noizi Ito (Fire Emblem Heroes)? That’s quite the art team.

New info on Shin Sakura Taisen with more character reveals and Great Combat Revue World War gameplay details

Famitsu has released another set on new information on Shin Sakura Taisen by introducing more supporting characters in the story and game play details on Great Combat Revue World War. The few
new characters introduced in Shin Sakura Taisen are President G, the secretary general of  “WLOF” and his flagship, Mister I, President G’s right hand man and the leader of the “WLOF” black clothing unit who performs intelligence activities; Sakura Amamiya’s parents, Hinata & Tekkan; Azami Mochizuki’s foster parent, Yattansai.

In addition to the game’s battle mode sections, the Great Combat Revue World War held by “WLOF” every two years pits you against other Combat Revue teams around the world in 3vs3 team battles with the objective to earn points by defeating foes which in turn fills out gauge at the top of the screen, & victory achieved by filling up the gauge or having more points if time limit reached.

Give Shin Sakura Taisen a try with the demo available for download in the Japanese PSN store on November 21, 2019. The full game will be released on December 12, 2019 for Playstation 4 in Japan and Spring 2020 in Americas and Europe. Special thanks to HDKirin for providing scans and details. Check out the Famitsu scans after the break.

New Info on Shin Sakura Taisen covers main enemies, union attacks, and more!

New information on Shin Sakura Taisen has been released in the upcoming Famitsu article which covers the introduction of the exorcism who are the enemies of the new Flower Division, the highlights of Wind Division members’ battle clothes and “union attacks”. One of the main antagonist is named Oboro, a demon who appears in the Imperial Capital with Yasha and has joy in scaring people and those dying in despair. He specializes in using illusions on his enemies in battle and controls a puppet army of demons covered in armor.

The article also showcased Kaoru Rindo and Komachi Ohba in their battle uniforms and supporting the commander in the Strategy Command Room and in the Shogei Maru. At last, the returning from the classic Sakura Taisen games is the bond gauge and union attacks. In the battle sections, performance will be strengthened according to the depth of bonds with the members of the Flower Division.

Bonds change their initial state depending on choices made in the adventure section, and can deepen by actions during the battle. A “union attack” that can be triggered only once per battle if certain conditions are met and will show a cutscene of Kamiyama with one of the heroines. After the cutscene ends, the status of Kamiyama and the corresponding heroine will be greatly enhanced for a certain period of time.

Shin Sakura Taisen aka Project Sakura Wars will be released on December 12, 2019 in Japan and Spring 2020 for Americas and Europe for Playstation 4.

Shin Sakura Taisen the Comic Vol. 1 and the Novel to be released in Japan this Winter

The official Sakura Taisen website announced that the first volume of Shin Sakura Taisen the Comic, authored by Kouri Noguchi, will be released by Shueisha in Japan on December 19, 2019 on Thursday for 600 yen along with the Novel set for release on the same day for 1,000 yen.

Shin Sakura Taisen the Novel will be written by Ayumi Muyoshi and will set as a prequel to the game where Sumire Kanzaki, retired member of the old Flower Division now commander, is reconstructing the new Flower Division by recruiting new members and Sakura Amamiya first encounter with the team.

If you are a fan of the Sakura Taisen series since the beginning, these books would be great collector items to import as soon as they hit online stores. Fingers crossed for the comic and novel to be licensed over here in the west as soon as Project Sakura Wars releases next year in Spring 2020 for Playstation 4.

TGS 2019: Sakura Taisen CD Song Collection and Shin Sakura Taisen the Stage announced

Last night during SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show stream, Sakura Taisen series, Kohei Takana, made an appearance as a guest and unveiled the Sakura Taisen Song Collection which contains 62 vocal tracks from the entire series and will be a part of the Limited Edition Package. Later during the stream, SEGA announced that Sakura Taisen will return live on stage with Shin Sakura Taisen the Stage in 2020 with Yuna Sekina as the game’s protagonist Sakura Amamiya. There are currently no announcements on the date for the stage show at the moment, but we’ll keep everyone posted. In the meantime, take a look of the CD collection and Sakura Amaimiya music video by Kohei Takana after the break.

TGS 2019: First look at Shin Sakura Taisen Opening Intro and Limited Edition Package

On stage at SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show booth, SEGA has unveiled the opening intro to Shin Sakura Taisen which captures the spirit of the original five games with breath taking visuals and showcased the limited edition package version of the game with visual design by Tite Kubo, author of BLEACH manga series, which contains an art book filled with character designs and more.

With SEGA localizing the game to the west, we hope that the localization team can bring these over as well. You can import the limited edition package through Amazon or Play-Asia. Feel free to take a good look at the limited edition package version after the break.

TGS 2019: Shin Sakura Taisen the Animation coming to Japanese TV in 2020

During SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show Live Stream, SEGA has made an announcement that Shin Sakura Taisen will receive an TV anime adaptation in 2020. The anime will be CGI and directed by Manabu Ono, known for directing several popular anime series such as “The Irregular At Magic High School” and “Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere”. We’ve also added screenshots of the anime in the article below for everyone to see and trailer over on Twitter (Credit towards HDKirin for capturing the stream).

It’s been almost 20 years since we had an TV anime adaptation of Sakura Taisen. With the game releasing to the west later next year, I have fingers crossed for Shin Sakura Taisen the Animation to be picked up in the US and localized. Have you ever watched the Sakura Taisen anime adaptations back in the day of ADV Films/Funimation and what are your thoughts on this announcement? Feel free to leave a comment below.

TGS 2019: New Shin Sakura Taisen Info with Story and Gameplay Trailers

During SEGA’s Tokyo Game Show presentation for Shin Sakura Taisen, the game’s producer, Tetsu Katano, made several announcements on what we can expect from Shin Sakura Taisen starting with a gameplay demonstration of the New Imperial Combat Revue members, Azami and Anastasia, in action. Following from there, they have made a few new character announcements with Yasha (CV: Chisa Yokoyama), A mysterious high-class exorcism that suddenly appeared in the Imperial Capital along with the disaster at the opening ceremony of the Hanatakudan War. Hardcore fans of the Sakura Taisen series will instantly know the identity of this character.

Next on the announcement were the members of the Berlin Combat Revue, Ellis (CV: Nana Mizuki) and Margarete (CV: Rie Kugimiya), with character designs by Fumikane Shimada, known for creating characters sparking the popularity of the mecha musume boom within the 2000s. In the Sakura Taisen V: New York OVA, the Berlin Combat Revue was briefly hinted at as Ratchet Altair left New York to help form a new team. The stream ended with several trailers showcasing the adventure and combat game play along with a few commercials. You can check them out along with character images after the break!

SEGA shows off Tokyo Game Show 2019 line-up

SEGA has finally updated their Tokyo Game Show 2019 website revealing its full line-up for the upcoming event. While the event already had some heavy hitters before, but now they have even more games including Yakuza 7, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD and Hatsune Miku: Project Diva MegaMix.

If you want to see the full line-up, hit the jump. We also included the links where you can find the live streams.

[Via: Gematsu]

Shin Sakura Taisen Official Stream unveils new characters, gameplay, package art, and much more

On the recent Sakura Wars Imperial Theater Propaganda Department Report stream, SEGA revealed a lot of information regarding the upcoming game. As the stream began, they have demonstrated another look at game play by showcasing two Flower Division members, Hatsuho Shinome and Clarice Snowflake, with their own battle mode features and a tutorial session for beginners who are new to the game. Next, the staff introduced a new package art for the game and merchandise to be sold at Tokyo Game Show 2019. They have also revealed that Shin Sakura Taisen will be receiving a manga adaptation by Koyuri Noguchi and will be serialized at Weekly Young Jump on September 12th.

Then the staff shown off a new character, Gekizou, a machine doll designed by Ken Sugimori (known for his artwork behind Pulseman and the Pokemon series) and will serve promoting the Imperial Theater with Seijuro making sure that it doesn’t go down under. At last, another set of characters are revealed to appear in Shin Sakura Taisen with introduction of the London Assault Force who pilot the Spirit Particle Fighters named the Prywen. The London Assault Force is made of Lancelot and her captain Arthur with “BunBun“, illustrator of the Sword Art Online light novels as their character designer.

The new team then challenges Sakura and Seijuro in a battle. The London Assault Force also has another team member that has yet to be revealed as producer, Katano, wanted to show more about Arthur and Lancelot but anymore scenes with them will contain big spoilers. As the stream was about to end, the staff announced that the next set of streams will be held each day at Tokyo Game Show 2019 from September 12 to September 15th. Shin Sakura Taisen is set for release in Japan on December 12th with western release set for Spring 2020.

What are your thoughts on the latest info on Shin Sakura Taisen and what do you expect from Tokyo Game Show? Let us know in the comment below.

SEGA/Atlus Tokyo Game Show 2019 website opens, reveals initial lineup of titles


The annual event Tokyo Game Show is only a month away, and as usual SEGA and Atlus are planning to attend the 2019 event. Now SEGA has released their official website detailing what they are planning. The website at the moment is missing details, such as their lineup of merchandising and their stage schedule, but it does confirm the following titles will appear:

  • Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
  • Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games The Official Video Game
  • Project Sakura Wars
  • Persona 5 The Royal

Note that this isn’t the full lineup, as SEGA/Atlus is likely going to announce more titles these upcoming days and during the show. Tokyo Game Show 2019 is planned for September 12th to September 15th at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.