bluedotlounge
CAGiversary!
http://www.examiner.com/x-13269-Gaming-Lifestyle-Examiner~y2010m3d22-Sakura-Wars-So-Long-My-Love
Feel free to click on the link to support my habit (it also has the screenshots.
It is not often a video game features a Phoenix Wright-style mock trial centered on the preservation of Harlem and is then followed with an SRPG-style subway battle featuring steampunk mechs and a giant inter-dimensional sword-wielding mecha-dragon. That is one of the many unusual set-ups that gamers can look forward to in NIS America's Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. Westerners have had opportunities to get into the franchise before, but this has only been limited to anime and manga releases. The game series that Sega started on the Saturn in 1996 is finally seeing its first U.S. translation with So Long, My Love (originally released in Japan as Sakura Wars V: Farewell, My Love).
The game's flashy introductory music video shows off inspired versions of Kosuke Fujishima's (Ah! My Goddess, You're Under Arrest) character designs and introduces the cast. The characters' varying costumes and hairstyles call to mind Sentai archetypes.
Even though this game is based in 1920's New York, the player is still treated to a brief appearance of series' mainstay Sakura Shinguji. Her Imperial Assault Force team sends the game's main character Shinjiro Taiga off to the Big Apple in what initially appears to be a misguided allocation of staff resources. This establishes the storyline of the title's first chapter which involves Taiga's New York orientation.
Upon meeting the members of the New York Fighting Troupe, the player is able to get into the game's light dating-sim element. By impressing the various women in So Long, My Love with the correct responses, Taiga's relationship with the ladies strengthens, making the team more effective in battle.
It takes a solid hour in each TV-inspired episode to get into actual combat. As SRPGs go, So Long, My Love's gameplay relies on an easy to understand structure where each character has a variety of actions to choose from before their turn ends. Each battle offers their own unique challenges that forces the player to think and strategize in ways that does not apply to the previous skirmish. These fights are not especially difficult and the Star Division features a support team who will give Taiga more than enough advice.
After playing through the first four (out of eight) chapters, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is shaping up to be the last PlayStation 2 game worth picking up. It should also be noted that NIS America is also releasing this game on the Nintendo Wii. Stay tuned this week when we publish our review as well as give more insight on the game's out-of-the-ordinary plotlines, relationship-building, and its battle system.
Feel free to click on the link to support my habit (it also has the screenshots.
It is not often a video game features a Phoenix Wright-style mock trial centered on the preservation of Harlem and is then followed with an SRPG-style subway battle featuring steampunk mechs and a giant inter-dimensional sword-wielding mecha-dragon. That is one of the many unusual set-ups that gamers can look forward to in NIS America's Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love. Westerners have had opportunities to get into the franchise before, but this has only been limited to anime and manga releases. The game series that Sega started on the Saturn in 1996 is finally seeing its first U.S. translation with So Long, My Love (originally released in Japan as Sakura Wars V: Farewell, My Love).
The game's flashy introductory music video shows off inspired versions of Kosuke Fujishima's (Ah! My Goddess, You're Under Arrest) character designs and introduces the cast. The characters' varying costumes and hairstyles call to mind Sentai archetypes.
Even though this game is based in 1920's New York, the player is still treated to a brief appearance of series' mainstay Sakura Shinguji. Her Imperial Assault Force team sends the game's main character Shinjiro Taiga off to the Big Apple in what initially appears to be a misguided allocation of staff resources. This establishes the storyline of the title's first chapter which involves Taiga's New York orientation.
Upon meeting the members of the New York Fighting Troupe, the player is able to get into the game's light dating-sim element. By impressing the various women in So Long, My Love with the correct responses, Taiga's relationship with the ladies strengthens, making the team more effective in battle.
It takes a solid hour in each TV-inspired episode to get into actual combat. As SRPGs go, So Long, My Love's gameplay relies on an easy to understand structure where each character has a variety of actions to choose from before their turn ends. Each battle offers their own unique challenges that forces the player to think and strategize in ways that does not apply to the previous skirmish. These fights are not especially difficult and the Star Division features a support team who will give Taiga more than enough advice.
After playing through the first four (out of eight) chapters, Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love is shaping up to be the last PlayStation 2 game worth picking up. It should also be noted that NIS America is also releasing this game on the Nintendo Wii. Stay tuned this week when we publish our review as well as give more insight on the game's out-of-the-ordinary plotlines, relationship-building, and its battle system.