25 years ago, SEGA and Red Company brought the love and war RTS/Dating Sim/Visual Novel series Sakura Wars into the world for the first time on Saturn!
First conceptualized in 1990 by Oji Hiroi, he worked tirelessly over the years until him and his team furthered his concept, and finally released the first iteration on the SEGA Saturn on September 27, 1996 in Japan.
Over the course of it’s 25 year run, six mainline Sakura Wars games, and countless spinoffs were released on several different console generations. Most on SEGA consoles, but a few entries on SEGA’s competing consoles, some even when it was competing with said companies! Sadly, many of these games (See, all besides two titles), were locked to Japan, and were never officially localized. Leaving the only true way to enjoy these games, being either learning Japanese, or keeping a guide handy during your playthrough of the games.
Years later however, several fans have stepped up, and localized many of the games themselves. While many of the games are still locked to the Japanese language, good progress is being made to make these playable to western fans, well, until hopefully SEGA localizes a compilation of the series..
In this article, I want to feature all of the Sakura Wars games that either have a localization available, or is in the process of being localized officially or unofficially:
Sakura Wars – Sega Saturn
Localized by fans in December of 2019, was released to coincide with the Japanese release of Sakura Wars on the PS4. Was put out as a fan translation patch by NoahSteam, TrekkiesUnite118, cj_iwakura, BowlOfLentils, CrouchingMouse, Schlomo, MatatabiMitsu, and the rest of the team.
Where to download the patch:
ROMHacking.net
Sakura Wars: Columns 2 – Dreamcast
Localized by fans in May of 2021, Derek Pascarella (AKA A-Team), Burntends, Natsume38, Danthrax4, esperknight, nanashi, and the rest of their amazing team dropped this neat spin off title as the first of probably many Sakura Wars translation on said console.
Where to download the patch:
GitHub
ROMHacking.net
Sakura Wars GB: Go Fourth, Young Cadet! – Game Boy Color
Currently in the works, this game is a very unique choice, as it was put on a rival’s console when the game was contemporary. The translation is led by Burntends, who has participated in several Sakura Wars fan translations in the past. While no release date is set, it’s looking like it will be dropping sometime in 2021.
Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love – PS2 / Wii
The first Sakura Wars game officially localized in the west (Ironic, as it’s the fifth title in the series). Release in Japan on July 7, 2005 for the PS2, and later localized for the PS2 and Wii on March 30, 2010 in North America, and April 9, 2010 in Europe by NIS America. Strangely enough, this only came out on the Wii in Western countries, but not in Japan.
The PS2 version has both the Dub and Sub variations of the game, but the Wii only has the Dub on it’s disc.
Sadly, this game is now out of print, and fetches quite a bit online. No PSN or Wii shop store release was ever made for the game…
Sakura Wars – PS4
The latest release in the long series of Sakura Wars games! This was a first in the series, as it was localized and developed both by SEGA, being released in Japan on December 12, 2019, and the rest of the world on April 28, 2020.
While this only features a subtitled option, it also is available in several languages for non-English speaking western fans to enjoy! Although it did cost an English Dub option, it was overall worth it in order to make the game more accessible.
This game is perhaps the most accessible title in the series. You can buy it both physically at many retailors, or online on the PSN store. Let’s hope this trend continues with further release in the series, as it’s a series many gamers have been awoken to, and possibly the most inaccessible series in SEGA’s catalogue.
Where to buy physically:
Amazon
GameStop
Where to buy digitally:
PSN Store
While this is only the tip of the iceberg for Sakura Wars games, I hope one day each and every title is fully playable in the west, whether it be fan translations or official releases. Let us know what Sakura Wars titles you’d like translated next!
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