Sega Games streamed a program, the third of a series of monthly streams, revealing new information on the upcoming Shin Sakura Taisen on 20 November 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 (October 2019)
- Play Report: Shin Sakura Wars TGS2019 Demo
- Shin Sakura Wars- New Information Released (TGS 2019)
- Shin Sakura Wars- New Information Released (August 2019)
- Shin Sakura Wars- New Information Released (July 2019)
- 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
New Characters Revealed
Oboro (voiced by Kishio Daisuke) is a kouma who suddenly appeared in Tokyo alongside Yasha. He is arrogant and finds joy in bringing fear and despair to others. He specialises in using illusions to bring suffering to those who oppose him, and uses the robot Kugutsukihei Arahabaki.
Amamiya Tekkan (Hayami Shou) is Amamiya Sakura’s father, who is a blacksmith. He raised Sakura on his own after his wife passed away. He does not speak much and is a stereotypical artisan, and is strict but also kind and reliable. He is familiar with protagonist Kamiyama as well, calling him “Sei-bon”.
Amamiya Hinata (Kouda Mariko) is Sakura’s mother, who passed away at the age of 27. Her forward-looking demeanour and unwillingness to ever give up was a great influence on Sakura, who inherits these qualities from her. Sakura’s sword Amamiya Kunisada was also passed on to her from her mother.
Mochizuki Yattansai (Satou Masaharu) is the leader of the Mochizuki ninja village, who raised Azami and taught her the 108 rules of the village. He has been having Azami keep a diary ever since she joined the Imperial Assault Revue and comes to Tokyo every week to check it.
President G (Okiayu Ryoutarou) is the secretary-general of WLOF. Though the WLOF has had many leaders, their real names, ages and countries of origin remain unknown. G is said to have been taken from his real name, but even that is unconfirmed. He is said to be cool and competent, but he hides a great ambition.
Murasame Hakushuu (Sawashiro Miyuki) is a female swordsman who taught Sakura her skills. Nobody knows her age or where she comes from. She has great sword skills, is highly intelligent, and possesses a cool yet genial personality, but has a tendency to confuse those around her with her habit of coming up with and using bad puns.
Murasame’s design was handled by Soejima Shigenori of Atlus, best known for his work on the Persona series.
Original Character Designs Shown
The original art by the various character designers contributing to the game was shown. All of the concept art will be included in the limited edition’s artbook.
Azami’s Combination Attack Shown
Azami’s combination attack with Kamiyama was shown. Like in previous games in the series, when the player character’s bond with a particular character is strong enough, they will be able to perform combination attacks in battle which also have special animated sequences.
Tournament Battle Shown
One round in the the match against the Shanghai Combat Revue was shown. The revues do not directly fight each other, but rather compete by defeating as many hologram enemies as possible to collect more points than the other team. The player can choose to ignore the opposing team or intrude in their battles, and there are special gold enemies that are worth more points than regular ones that the teams compete for.
Battle Simulator Revealed
Though not directly shown, it was revealed that the game will include a “battle simulator” feature which allows players to replay previous battles, sometimes with different characters. Some missions will also unlock special bromides.
Smartron Features Shown
The “Smartron” smartphone-like steam-powered device used by characters in the game was shown. The player can use the Smartron’s map function to keep track of where characters are and how to trigger events, recap the story, keep track of bromides collected, and play the koi-koi hanafuda minigame.
Shin Sakura Taisen will be released in Japan on 12th December 2019. The game will be released in the west in spring 2020.