Sakura Wars

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love
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Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love

North American Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love cover art.
Developer(s) Sega
Idea Factory[1] (Wii)[2]
Publisher(s) PlayStation 2:

JP Sega, Red Entertainment (licensor)
NA Nippon Ichi Software
Wii

NA/EU/AUS NIS America

Distributor(s) NA Koei
EU Tecmo Koei
AUS AFA Interactive

Designer(s) Hiroi Oji
Artist(s) Kōsuke Fujishima
Hidenori Matsubara
Writer(s) Satoru Akahori
Composer(s) Kohei Tanaka
Series Sakura Wars
Sakura Taisen World Project
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Wii
Release date(s) PlayStation 2

JP July 7, 2005
NA March 30, 2010 [3]
Wii

NA March 30, 2010[3]
EU April 9, 2010[4]

Genre(s) Tactical role-playing game[5][6]
Dating sim[7]
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) CERO: B
ESRB: T[8]
OFLC: PG[9]

Media/distribution DVD-ROM, Wii optical disc
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (サクラ大戦V 〜さらば愛しき人よ〜, Sakura Taisen Faibu ~Saraba, Itoshiki Hito yo~?, Sakura Wars V ~Farewell, My Love~) is a tactical role-playing game with dating sim elements.[7] It was developed and published by Sega, and licensed by Red Entertainment, as the fifth title in the Sakura Wars series for PlayStation 2 and Wii. It was released on PlayStation 2 in Japan on July 5, 2005, and it was released on PlayStation 2 and Wii in North America on March 30, 2010 and on the Wii in PAL territories on April 2, 2010. First revealed at the Tokyo Game Show convention in 2002, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is a title of the Sakura Taisen World Project compilation.

Set in an alternate universe New York City during the late 1920s, the game's storyline focuses on a naval ensign, Shinjiro Taiga, as he is summoned from Japan to New York to lead a fighting troupe disguised as a musical troupe to defeat an evil warlord and his subordinates from conquering America as its kingdom. The gameplay includes elements from previous games in the series, such as the LIPS system and combat systems.

Contents [hide]
1 Gameplay
2 Synopsis
2.1 Characters
2.2 Plot
3 Development
3.1 Localization
4 Music
5 Releases
6 Reception
7 References
8 External links


[edit] Gameplay
Like previous Sakura Wars installments, the game consists of two modes of gameplay: Adventure Mode and Battle Mode. In Adventure Mode, Shinjiro Taiga, the main protagonist, is controlled from a third-person perspective and can move around New York. However, characters can also accompany him while traveling around New York. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love features the series' traditional Live & Interactive Picture System, or LIPS. Under this system, whenever an event occurs in the game the player must choose Shinjiro's next action within a limited amount of time. The four types of the LIPS system consist of Normal LIPS, which is displayed when the player must make a decision; Analog LIPS, which the player can raise the action gauge up or down depending on the situation; Double LIPS, which gives the player a longer amount of time to make decisions; and Stick LIPS, where the player can manipulate the Analog Stick to raise a gauge depending on the situation. Depending on the player's interactions with the Star Division, trust points will increase or decrease and can also affect their skills in combat. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love also introduces a device known as the Cameratron, which the player can use as a camera to take photos and also functions as a time clock and radio.

The battle mode in Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love uses the Active and Real-time Machine System, or ARMS, which was first featured in Sakura Wars 3. A maximum of six characters may be used in battle. Under the ARMS system, the player controls each member's unit, known as a Star, can move using the action bar and use the action provided, such as Normal, Supermove, Healing and Joint as well as the Strategem, such as Shin, Gi and Tai.[10] The Star can transform into Ground Form or Flight Form depending on the situation and the player can change areas in some battles[10] In addition to standard, battle techniques, each character has a special ability. Players may save their game during eyecatches, where they can also track the party's status.

[edit] Synopsis
According to an NIS America press release, the plot description is:

The first Sakura Wars game to reach North America, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love takes the franchise to America with the franchise's first story set in America, following a new hero who joins the US version of the Hanagumi. Demons have appeared in New York, and its up to Shinjirou, Gemini Sunrise and a new cast of characters to take them out. The cast serves as performers during the day and warriors when called upon, continuing series tradition.
Sakura Wars is a strategy RPG that features a unique sim-based story system. Character interaction plays a major role in a storyline that never follows a set course, and your responses to the various characters in the game can ultimately change the story content and even the final outcome. The battle system is divided into two main parts; ground combat and air combat. Ground combat takes place using two-legged mechanized suits, which transform into jet fighters to take the fight to the sky. Every mech unit in the game can transform from battle mech mode to jet fighter mode during combat.[1]
[edit] Characters
This section requires expansion.

See also: List of Sakura Wars characters
Shinjiro Taiga
Shinjiro is a young naval officer from Japan with a rank of Lieutenant. He is selected to become the new captain of the New York Combat Revue's Star Division.
Gemini Sunrise
Gemini is a very cheerful cowgirl who tends to be a bit clumsy. Her master's last words bring her from Texas to New York with her fellow horse, Larry. She is very interested in Japanese culture and tends to daydream often.
Sagiitta Weinberg (Cheiron Archer in the English language version)
Sagiitta, or Cheiron, is a strong-willed African-American lawyer who practices out of Harlem. She is very intelligent and is recognized for her exceptional perseverance, toughness, independence and confidence. She serves as a sub-antagonist in Episode 2 as she works with Steam Forntier to demolish her hometown of Harlem. After facing her in a mock trial, Shinjiro helps remind her why she studied law in the first place and becomes closer with him.
Rikaritta Aries (Rosarita Aries in the English language version)
Rikaritta, or Rosita, is a Mexican markswoman and bounty hunter despite being only 11 years old. She is very energetic with an abundant appetite and obsession with food.
Diana Caprice
Diana is a local birdwatcher who is as compassionate as a goddess. She is a doctor in training who has lost her will to live until Shinjiro gives her the hope she needed to keep going, despite everything she has been through.
Subaru Kujo
Subaru's true gender and age are completely unknown, though the character tends to use pronouns such as "herself" when speaking in the third person. However, Subaru is defintely a noble from a Japanese family and excels at Noh and other traditional Japanese dances.
Supporting characters of Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love include Ratchet Altair, a former captain of the European Star Division and captain of the Star Division until Shinjiro replaces her, she becomes the vice-commander soon after; Michael Sunnyside, the commander of the Star Division; Cherry Cocker (Plum Spaniel in the Japanese language version) and Anri Yoshino of the Rainbow Division, who help the Star Division in battles; Yuichi Kayama of the Moon Division, who owns a Romando shop; and Xingzhi Wong (Gyouchi Oh in the Japanese language version), who is the designer of the STARs and owns a Chinese restaurant.

[edit] Plot
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love begins with Shinjiro Taiga departing from Tokyo to New York City. Shortly after arriving there, Shinjiro witnesses a bank robbery being foiled by Gemini Sunrise, a samurai cowgirl. Shinjiro is arrested, but Yuichi Kayama, the leader of the Moon Division, clears him and they enter the Little Lip Theater to meet Shinjiro's captain, Ratchet Altair, and the Star Division's commander, Michael Sunnyside. Taiga and Gemini meet each other outside the theater, and later meets the theater's drink bar hostess, Cherry Cocker, and gift shop seller, Anri Yoshino. Along the way, Taiga meets Subaru Kujo, a Japanese musician while in the garden and Cheiron Archer, a lawyer. Later, just as Taiga finishes watches a musical based on Cleopatra, an emergency occurs and Ratchet orders Taiga to watch over the theater. After Shinjiro is assigned by Sunnyside to be a ticket clipper, he goes to Central Park and meets Diana Caprice, a birdwatcher. Eventually, Shinjiro is accepted as a member of the Star Division when he shows Ratchet the results of his progress. However, Ratchet is injured during a battle on the Statue of Liberty with Ranmaru, a recurring antagonist in the game, forcing her to let Shinjiro take over as the captain. After the player thwarts Ranmaru's invasion, Ratchet becomes the assistant commander.

Later, Cheiron organizes a mock trial involving Shinjiro and Carlos, a member of the biker gang, the Centaurs, to evict the people of Harlem, where the city is being burned by Kokuryu-hime. Eventually, Cheiron is revealed to be a member of the Centaurs, and realizes her feelings for the people of Harlem. After defeating Kokuryu-hime to save Harlem, Shinjiro encounters Rosarita Aries, a bounty hunter from Mexico, and she joins the Star Division. As a perfectionist, she becomes depressed when Shinjiro is injured after an attack but learns that everyone makes mistakes, its how one deals with their mistakes that make the person.

The group formally meets Diana who they learn has a weak body and has lost her will to live. Shinjiro eventually convinces her that even if the circumstances look dire, she can fight her destiny and give her a new path to follow. After losing a duel with Subaru, Shinjiro is forced to perform on stage as a new star called Peppermint. Subaru questins why Shinjiro is able to pull off what he does even though he is flawed. Subaru opens herself up to the group eventually recognizing everyone's importance in her life, including Shinjiro's importance. Soon, after learning about the Five Star Warriors, Shinjiro recruits Gemini to the Star Division due to her ties to the Five Star Warriors. But in discovering that Ranmaru is one of their enemies, Gemini's sister, Geminine, who resides in her body as an alter-ego, goes after him to get revenge on her fallen master. Shinjiro is able to convince Geminine that revenge is not the right way. Afterwards, Geminine decides to rest inside Gemini for a while after using too much of her influence to dominate Gemini's body.

After performing their Christmas show, the Star Division go out to stop Ranmaru's robot from being repaired only for Shinjiro to be severely injured by Oda Nobunaga, a dark spirit who was revived. After acquiring the resolve to fight Nobunaga without sacrificing anyone to the Five-Ring Mandala, the only method to seal Nobunaga, Shinjiro is promoted to Captain of the New York Combat Revue Star Division as they all go off to fight Nobunaga. The Revue uses the Ahab, the Star Division's airship, to successfully infiltrate Azuchi Castle. Inside, the party battles their way through Nobunaga's defenses and their dark clones. However, Shinjiro is inside his dark clone when he arrives near Nobunaga. He manages to escape the dark clone after many pleas from the Star Division and defeats it. Making a final stand against Nobunaga, the Star Division successfully defeats him, but Nobunaga comes out alive and following a brief confrontation with between him and Shinjiro, Nobunaga looks into Shinjiro's feelings before disappearing. Sunnyside, Ratchet, Anri and Cherry watch as Nobunaga's castle disintegrates into cherry blossoms.

[edit] Development