Sega Games streamed a program, the second of a series of monthly streams, revealing new information on the upcoming Shin Sakura Taisen on 25 July 2019.
The new game, entitled Shin Sakura Taisen (New Sakura Wars) in Japanese, takes place in the fictional year of Taisho 29 (equivalent to AD 1940), twelve years after the last game (Sakura Wars V) took place.
Also see:
- Shin Sakura Wars- New Information Released (June 2019)
- New Sakura Wars- May 2019 Developer Interview
- Sega Fes 2019: Sakura Wars Exhibition Opened, New Sakura Wars Revealed
Azami and Anastasia
The stream showed new footage of characters Azami and Anastasia’s introduction scenes from the game.
Character song reveal
It was announced that all of the characters in the game will be getting their own songs, and Sakura’s song, Otome Nandesuyo, which was composed by Tanaka Kouhei, arranged by Tada Akifumi, had lyrics by Ishii Jirou, and is performed by Sakura’s voice actress Sakura Ayane, was played on stream.
Shanghai Combat Revue reveal
The Shanghai Combat Revue, also known as Wu Shen Long was revealed, along with two of its members and their mechs.
Yang Xiaolong (voiced by Umehara Yuuichirou) is the captain of Wu Shen Long. 18 years old, he is a hot-blooded young man who speaks what is on his mind with a smile. He uses melee techniques in combat, and is a skilled chef who specialises in fried rice.
Huang Yu (voiced by Uesaka Sumire) is a member of Wu Shen Long. 16 years old, acrobatic, and cheerful, she loves the combat revues, and thus takes a harsh stance towards the Tokyo revue due to current state. She does however approve of how Amamiya Sakura tries her best never giving up, and gets along with her.
The Wu Shen Long’s mechs, the spirit fighters Wang Long (”King Dragon” in Chinese) and their pilot uniforms were also revealed.
Each country’s combat revue’s characters features a different character designer, and the Shanghai combat revue is designed by Horiguchi Yukiko. Producer Katano Tooru suggested that London’s combat revue will be revealed next.
Battle system reveal
The full designs for Kamiyama and Sakura’s pilot uniforms were revealed, and the battle system was shown for the first time. Unlike previous games’ turn-based strategy, Shin Sakura Taisen uses a musou-style action system which also includes features such as wall running (on predetermined spots), a dodge that slows down time in the vein of Bayonetta’s witch time and lets the player counter with a powerful attack when timed right, and the ability to swap characters in an instant.
Sega Games chief product officer Nagoshi Toshihiro joined producer Katano Tooru in discussing the changes in the battle system, and they said that when looking at what they wanted the game to be, they decided that they wanted the battle system to reflect what Sakura Wars 3’s opening movie showed combat to be like.
The official website was updated to include new information on the battle system as well.
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- Regular attacks are performed with the square and triangle buttons, and can be combined into different combos.
- The player can also dash to traverse long distances quickly, jump, and use steps to dodge attacks.
- Special attacks, which are powerful cinematic attacks unique to each character can be performed when a special gauge is filled by defeating enemies or collecting specific items. Fulfilling special conditions also allows Kamiyama to perform special combination attacks with other team members.
- Perfect dodges are performed by using a step at the exact time of an enemy attack, and allow the player to perform a powerful counter.
- The bond gauge represents Kamiyama’s bond with other team members, and higher bonds result in them becoming stronger. The initial level of the bond gauge is determined by Kamiyama’s actions during the adventure parts, and the gauge can also be raised by performing certain actions in combat.
The site also shows Kamiyama and Sakura’s special attacks. Kamiyama’s Juuoumujin: Arashi is a continuous attack that overwhelms enemies around him, while Sakura’s Tenken: Sakurafubuki wipes out enemies directly in front of her, cleaving through enemy lines.
New trailer and release date
Finally, a new trailer with some new footage and the revealing of the game’s Japanese release date as 12 December 2019 was shown.
The first print of the game will include a download for a PS4 theme featuring the game’s main visual and theme song, and a limited edition including a CD set with all of the songs (over 60 tracks) from all six games in the main series and a 72 page A4 artbook. There will also be a digital deluxe edition which includes the same content in digital form.
Regular versions of the game (both physical and digital) will be priced at 8800 yen, and the limited and digital deluxe editions of the game will be priced at 14800 yen (tax excluded).
Shin Sakura Taisen will be released in Japan on 12th December 2019. The game will be released in the west in spring 2020.
