Sega has revealed more footage, information, and images of the upcoming Shin Sakura Taisen, which is codenamed “Project Sakura Wars” for the west.
The new assets were showcased during a livestream from Tokyo and on the official website.
First of all, we get to see the beautiful box art of the game, featuring the heroine Sakura and her koubu mecha.
We also learn that the game will be playable at Tokyo Game Show, and the demo will feature both the adventure and the battle parts of the game.
Those who will play will receive a special bromide featuring one of the heroines. Incidentally, here we find a bit of a mystery. There is one bromide that is still hidden, and the same goes for the merchandise that will be sold at the venue. This likely means that there is one more relevant female character who has not been revealed.
More reveals are going to come at the show, as there will be four panels featuring the game, one per day between September 12 and September 15.
Interestingly, the official description of the panels say that the panels will share information not only about Project Sakura Wars, but the series in general as well.
The game is also getting a manga drawn by Yuriko Noguchi, which will begin serialization on Weekly Shounen Jump 41 on September 12. You can see the first image in the gallery at the botton of the post.
Moving on to Project Sakura Wars itself, we get the introduction of the battle uniforms for Atsuho Shinonome and Claris, alongside their mecha.
They both use the newer Mugen-type koubu like the hero Seijiro Kamiyama and unlike Sakura.
Claris’ Mugen carries a magic book and specializes on magical attacks. Her special attack “Arbitre d’enfer” can lock onto many enemies and shower them with magical projectiles.
Atsuho rides a crimson Mugen carrying a huge warhammer. In battle she can deliver powerful fire-based attacks on surrounding enemies with Her special attack is Shinonome Jinja no Kagura Hammer and is a call back to her work as a shrine maiden. Shininome Jinja is the name of the temple she belongs to, and Kagura is sacred dance dedicated to the Kami performed at Shinto shrines.
In the clips below you can see them both in action.
Another video segment shows a battle in the Ginza district, which is basically a tutorial level teaching the basics of the new combat system.
We then move on to something a bit more light heated, in the form of the mascot “Gekizou-Kun.”
If you thought Ichiro Ogami had it bad with his mundane job at the theater in the original Sakura Wars, our new hero Seijiro Kamiyama is appointed by Sumire Kanzaki as the new Propaganda Director.
That involves literally transforming into the mascot to advertise for the theater, while also covertly gathering intel.
Life is hard for the Captains of the Floral Revues.
Gekizou-Kun is designed by Pokémon Art Director and Character Designer Ken Sugimori. Talk about another big name, if this game didn’t have enough already.
Next, we get the introduction of Arthur and Lancelot, respectively leader and member of the London revue (also known as the Knights of the Round Tabe), and new rivals for our heroes.
Arthur is an 18-year-old English knight heir of an Earl. He inherited the holy sword Excalibur and the name Arthur itself. Both have been passed down to the heirs of the family through the generations.
He is usually a serious British gentleman and quite popular among the ladies, but in battle he becomes daring and aggressive.
Lancelot is 17 and she is brave and proficient in battle. Her dual-wielding ability and black livery have her known as the “Black Knight.”
She is cheerful and doesn’t think too deeply about things. She often acts before thinking, combining a wild side with an innocent one.
They’re designed by Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru character designer BunBun.
Their mecha are named Bridven and their armor is based (obviously) on the image of western knights. They normally fight with western longswords.
You can see all the images in the gallery below.
If you’d like to learn more about Project Sakura Wars, you can enjoy the latest screenshots, latest gameplay reveal, the previous one, and an earlier gallery of screenshots and art.
You can also check out some awesome artwork by main character designer Tite Kubo and the second batch of character sketches.
Incidentally, we recently heard that one of the sources of inspiration for the battle system is the opening animation of Sakura Wars 3, which you can watch here.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Sakura Wars series, you should take a look at my dedicated article explaining what it’s all about.
The game will launch in Japan exclusively for PS4 on December 12, and in the west in 2020.
